北

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 北 (běi) for "north" is composed of two parts: the radical 阜 (fù) and the phonetic component 歹 (dǎi). The radical 阜 originally depicted a mound of earth, and it is often used in characters related to geography or topography. In the case of 北, the radical 阜 represents the idea of a high place or a peak. The phonetic component 歹 originally depicted a person with a deformed hand, and it is often used in characters related to misfortune or calamity. In the case of 北, the phonetic component 歹 is used to indicate the pronunciation of the character.The combination of the radical 阜 and the phonetic component 歹 creates the character 北, which represents the idea of "north". This is because in ancient China, the north was considered to be the direction of darkness and cold, and it was associated with misfortune and calamity. The character 北 was therefore used to represent the north, and it has been used in this sense ever since.