About
The character 帑 functions as a noun with two meanings and pronunciations depending on context. Pronounced tǎng, it denotes a treasury or public funds, with the cloth radical 巾 at the bottom historically linking to textiles as stored wealth. The upper component 奴 (nú) primarily provides the phonetic element. When pronounced nǔ, it is an archaic term for a man’s wife and children, serving as a variant of 孥. This dual structure shows how one form can support distinct semantic lineages.
Etymology Hide
