1 夫 [fū]
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The appearance of 夫 symbolizes a human figure with a hairpin on his head, so the original sense of this character is a man, e.g. 匹夫([pǐ fū] ordinary man), This original sense is called primitive sense(本义), which represents the basic meaning of the character. The primitive sense can be extended, then several meanings can be derived, and these meanings are called extended senses(引申义).
The character 夫[fū] has the following extended senses:
1) husband: e.g.夫妻([fū qī] husband and wife).
2) person engaged in manual labor: e.g. 船夫([chuán fū] boatman), 樵夫([qiáo fū] woodcutter).
2 天 [tiān]
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Its primitive sense is the top of the head. The lower part of this pictograph symbolizes the human figure from face front view, and the upper part symbolizes the crown of the head. The stroke 一[héng] emphasizes the place of the crown.
Its extended senses are as follows:
1) sky: because the sky is always on the upper side over all human heads, the sense of overhead — sky or heaven is derived from this primitive sense, e.g. 蓝天([lán tiān] blue sky).
2) day: because in the day the heaven is bright, the meaning “day” is derived, e.g. 每天([měi tiān] every day),三天三夜([sān tiān sān yè] three days and three nights).
From this sense, the following senses can be further derived:
1) a period of time in a day: e.g. 天不早了([tiān bù zǎo le] It is getting late).
2) season: e.g. 春天([chūn tiān] spring), 冷天([lěng tiān] cold season).
3) weather: e.g. 晴天([qíng tiān] fine day),下雨天([xià yǔ tiān] rainy weather).
4) nature: e.g. 天灾([tiān zāi] natural disaster).
5) God: e.g. 天神([tiān shén] deity).
6) emperor: e.g. 天子([tiān zǐ] Son of Heaven).
3 文 [wén]
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Its primitive sense is a tattoo (文身). From the scripts we can see, in the human body, there are several lines covering it up and decorating it. Shuo Wen Jie Zi says: “文 means crossing lines; it portrays crossing lines”(《说文》:“文,错画也,象交叉。”)
From the sense “tattoo”, several extended senses are derived:
1) paint over, cover up: e.g. 文过饰非 ([wén guò shì fēi] conceal faults and gloss over wrongs).
2) script: e.g. 金文([jīn wén] bronze script).
3) language: e.g. 中文([zhōng wén] Chinese language).
4) literary composition: e.g. 论文([lùn wén] dissertation).
5) literary language: e.g. 半文半白([bàn wén bàn bái] half literary and half vernacular).
6) culture: e.g. 文物([wén wù] cultural relic).
7) civil: e.g. 文官([wén guān] civil official).
8) gentle, refined: e.g. 文静([wén jìng] gentle and quiet).
4 心 [xīn]
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Its primitive sense is the heart. The pictographic scripts symbolize the form of the heart.
Its extended senses are as follows:
1) intention, mind, feeling: the ancient Chinese believed that the heart was the organ for thinking, so the sense of “heart” is derived — the sense of intention, mind and feeling, e.g. 爱国心([ài guó xīn] patriotic feeling), 伤人的心([shāng rén de xīn] hurt somebody’s feeling).
2) center, core: the heart is situated in the center of human body, so the sense of center is derived from the original sense, e.g.手心([shǒu xīn] center of the palm), 圆心([yuán xīn] center of a circle).
5 臣 [chén]
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Its primitive sense is an eye that is raised and rotated through ninety degrees, and it represents that someone submits oneself to obey the order of the slave owner or to wait upon the slave owner. Because when he takes these actions, he bends his neck in submission, and his eyes appear to be vertical slits when looked at from the side.
Thus the following extended senses can be derived from the primitive sense:
1) slave: in classic Chinese text Shu (《书经》), it is said: “男曰臣,女曰妾” (Male slave is called 臣[chén], and female slave is called 妾[qiè]).
2) official under a feudal ruler: e.g.臣子(official in feudal times).
In modern Chinese written language, the primitive sense of 臣[chén] has disappeared.
6 眉 [méi]
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Its primitive sense is an eyebrow. The upper part over the eye is emphasized in all pictographs, and it means this part is the eyebrow, e.g. 眉头([méi tóu] brow). SW says: “眉[méi] means the hair above the eye, from 目([mù] eye) and the picture of an eyebrow; the upper most part portrays the lines on the forehead.”(《说文》:“眉,目上毛也,从目;象眉之形,上象额理也。”)
Its extended senses are as follows:
1) top margin of a page: e.g.眉批([méi pī] notes and commentaries at the top of page).
2) features: e.g.眉清目秀([méi qīng mù xiù] have delicate features).
7 自 [zì]
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Its primitive sense is a nose. The pictograph resembles the form of the nose from face front view. Its upper part is the bridge of the nose and its lower part is the nostril Its extended senses are as follows:
1) self, oneself, one’s own: when a person expresses his own, he always points at his nose, so the sense of “oneself” is derived from the primitive sense, e.g.自费([zì fèi] at one’s own expense),自顾自知([zì gù zì zhī] each for himself).
2) naturally, certainly, of course: the sense of “self” can be farther derived — the sense expressing a self-existed circumstance or self-change situation, e.g. 听其自然([tīng qí zì rán] let things take their own course).
Now the primitive sense of this pictograph has gone down, and the character 鼻([bí] nose) replaces it to express the sense of nose.
8 耳 [ěr] ear
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Its primitive sense is an ear. The pictograph looks like the form of the ear, e.g. 耳骨([ěr gǔ] ear bone).
Its extended senses are as follows:
1) any ear-like thing: e.g. 银耳([yín ěr] tremella), 鼎耳([ding ěr] ears of a tripod).
2) on both sides, flanking: e.g. 耳房([ěr fáng] side room).
9 老 [lǎo] old
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Its primitive sense is old people. The pictograph depicts an aged man walking with a stick, e.g. 老汉([lǎo hàn] old man).
Its extended senses are as follows:
1) old, aged: e.g.他不显老([tā bù xiǎn lǎo] He does not look old).
2) of long standing, not new: e.g.老朋友([lǎo péng you] old friend).
3) outdated: e.g. 老习惯([lǎo xí guàn] outdated custom).
4) overdone, tough: e.g. 鸡蛋煮老了([jī dàn zhǔ lǎo le] Eggs are overdone).
5) dark: e.g. 这件衣服的颜色太老了([zhè jiàn yī fu de yán sè tài lǎo le] The color of this piece of clothing is too dark).
6) constantly, for a long time: e.g.他老是在家里([tā lǎo shì zài jiā lǐ] He always stays at home).
10 长 [zhǎng] / [cháng]
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Its primitive sense is old people. The pictograph describes the idea that an old man with long hair is walking with a stick, e.g.长辈([zhǎng bèi] elder member of a family).
From this primitive sense, several extended senses are derived, which can be divided into two groups according to their pronunciations.
A. extended senses with the pronunciation [zhǎng]:
1) elder, senior: e.g.我比他长十岁(I am ten years older than him).
2) eldest, oldest: e.g.长兄(eldest brother).
3) chief, head: e.g.部长(minister).
4) grow, develop: e.g. 树长得快(The trees grow fast).
5) come into being, begin to grow: e.g.长锈(get rusty),
6) enhance, increase: e.g.长才干(enhance one’s abilities).
B. extended senses with the pronunciation [cháng]:
1) distance between two points: e.g.长跑(long distance running).
2) of long duration: e.g.长年累月(over the years).
3) strong point: e.g.取长补短(overcome one’s shortcomings by learning from other’s strong points).
PS: Mind Map for Describing Human&Body Characters