守

The Chinese character 守 (shǒu) is composed of two parts: the radical 亻(rén), which represents a person, and the phonetic component 殳 (shū), which represents a weapon. The original meaning of 守 was "to guard" or "to protect", which is still one of its most common meanings today.The character 守 has a long history, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally written as 殳, which was a pictograph of a person holding a weapon. Over time, the character evolved into its current form, 守.The character 守 has many different meanings, including "to guard", "to protect", "to defend", "to keep", "to maintain", "to observe", and "to obey". It can also be used as a verb or a noun.For example, the phrase 守卫 (shǒuwèi) means "to guard" or "to protect", while the phrase 遵守 (zhǔnshǒu) means "to observe" or "to obey". The character 守 can also be used as a noun, as in the phrase 守卫者 (shǒuwèizhě), which means "guard" or "protector".The character 守 is a common character in Chinese, and it is used in a wide variety of words and phrases. It is an important character to learn for HSK learners, as it is essential for understanding many different aspects of Chinese culture and society.