zhòu

curse

Variant of . Derived from , with the (show) component being replaced by (mouth) component when the meaning extended to "curse". Depicts a kneeling person () opening their mouth () to pray for disaster to happen on someone.

Components

Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth

Depicts a mouth open to pray.

Iconic component
jié person kneeling

Depicts a person kneeling.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangtjus

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica