Definitions

kuài a state in Henan province

Etymology phono-semantic

place

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

is a phono-semantic compound. The right-side semantic radical , a shortened form of , indicates association with cities, territories, or states. The left-side component (simplified from ) serves purely as a phonetic clue, contributing no meaning. The traditional character is written , retaining the full phonetic alongside the same city radical. This character was coined solely as the name of an ancient vassal state from the early dynastic period and has never taken on additional definitions or verbal uses.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern