Chinese character 久 jiǔ – for a long time
1. for a long time.
2. long.
HSK – 3
STROKES – 3
RADICAL – 丿
Elements —- Pictogram of a modified person.
Phonetic series 久.
Pictogram of a person 人= ⺈ with something in his leg, possibly some fetters that force him to walk slowly. Walk slowly > for a long time > long.
长久 chángjiǔ – for a long time (long + long time)
永久 yǒngjiǔ – perpetual (always + long time)
Although apparently the person 人 is at the bottom and he seems to show something in his head, the character actually shows a variant of person, which appears also in other characters, such as 危, 色, 奂, etc. This confirms that something is added to the leg, and not to the head. In the Shuowen Jiezi it is defined as «the distance between the two legs of the man».
More posts on Chinese characters
Praise for the book on Chinese characters
Praise for the book on Chinese characters Good News! I'm happy to share that my book Chinese Characters: An Easy Learning Based on Their Etymology and Evolution has been selected by BookAuthority.org as one of The Best Etymology Books for Beginners! BookAuthority...
12 Chinese idioms related to the tiger
12 Chinese idioms related to the tiger With the arrival of the Year of the Tiger 2022, here are 12 set phrases (chengyu) related to the tiger, so that those who are getting familiar with the Chinese language can practice one each month. As a wolf, as a tiger 如狼似虎...
Caractères chinois – le livre
Caractères chinois - le livre Ce livre est consacré à révéler à l'étudiant occidental le "mystère" des caractères chinois, rendre leur apprentissage simple, fournir les clés pour entrevoir le sens et la prononciation des caractères inconnus. Pour ce faire, nous allons...
Chinese characters -person
A sample of the first three pages of the English translation of my book on Chinese characters 人 rén – person, human being • adult • each. This is a pictogram of a person standing, with legs separated. Person > kind of person > every > other. It is one of the...
The magic of Chinese characters
The magic of Chinese characters The written word, the Chinese characters, have had from their very origin, a magical meaning for the Chinese. There is no doubt that for them a character is not only a symbol of the concept it claims to represent but the object itself....
Chinese idioms
Chinese idioms One of the most difficult aspects of Chinese is to learn is the so-called idioms or chengyu (成语). In general, they refer to short sentences composed of four characters that allude to some historical fact or literary anecdote from ancient times. Its...