影子

The Chinese word 影子 (yǐngzi) for "shadow" is composed of two characters: 影 (yǐng) and 子 (zi). The character 影 originally meant "to reflect" or "to cast a shadow". It is composed of the radical 日 (rì) for "sun" and the phonetic component 彡 (shān), which represents the shape of a person standing in the sun. The character 子 (zi) originally meant "son" or "child". It is composed of the radical 宀 (mián) for "roof" and the phonetic component 孑 (jié), which represents a person standing alone.When combined, the characters 影 and 子 form the word 影子 (yǐngzi), which literally means "the child of the sun". This is a poetic way of describing a shadow as a child that follows the sun. The word 影子 is also used to refer to a person's shadow, as well as to the concept of a shadow in general.