Depicts using a digging tool (歹) to bury a person (人). Based on the original meaning "corpse", now written as 屍. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "die".
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 人 than it was in ancient scripts.
Character Evolution
Oracle Bone~1250-1000 BCOracle Bone~1250-1000 BCOracle Bone~1250-1000 BCBronzeEarly Western Zhou~1000 BCBronzeLate Western Zhou~800 BCBronzeLate Warring States~250 BCBronzeLate Warring States~250 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealShuowen~100 ADSealShuowen~100 ADClericalQin221-206 BCRegularModern
