Deciphering Oracle Bone Script | 帚 (zhǒu)
Source:HICC
|
2025-04-10 15:22
甲骨文通常用“帚”为“妇”。“帚”字构形像一把立起来的扫帚，可能当时的古人认为打扫是妇女的职责，所以用“帚”表示妇女。后来，“帚”专指“扫帚”，所以又追加意符“女”，并为后世字形沿袭。今天使用的规范汉字则是省略了“帚”字的部分笔画。
The oracle bone script form of "帚(Zhou)", resembling a standing broom, was used to represent "妇(Fu, woman)" as it may be traditionally believed that cleaning is the responsibility of women. Later on, the "帚" was specifically referred to as "broom", and the component "(nv, female)" was added beside it, the new version becoming one of the original forms of the simplified Chinese character "妇".
Web editors: Shen Jianqi, Tong Lin
