About
As a phono-semantic compound, 瓤 features the semantic radical 瓜 on the left, rooting it in the category of gourds and melons. The phonetic component 襄 sits on the right. Its primary meaning specifies the soft, edible pulp or flesh inside melons and other fruits, distinguishing this inner consumable part from the outer rind. This semantic core later expanded to describe the soft, interior filling or core of various other objects, such as stuffing in a baked good or the inner workings of a mechanism. Throughout its history, the concept of a soft, enclosed inner substance has remained consistent.