About
The Chinese character 笤 is a phono-semantic compound, with the bamboo radical 竹 on top indicating its semantic category, objects made from bamboo, such as a broom. The bottom component 召 provides the phonetic basis, though the modern pronunciation has shifted slightly from the original sound. The character is most commonly used in the compound word 笤帚, meaning a short-handled broom typically made from bamboo strips or straw.