厚

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 厚 (hòu) is composed of two parts: the radical 阜 (fù), which means "mound" or "hill", and the phonetic component 臼 (jiù), which is a pictograph of a mortar and pestle. The original meaning of 厚 was "thick" or "solid", which is related to the idea of a mound or hill being solid and stable. Over time, the meaning of 厚 expanded to include the meanings of "generous", "kind", and "sincere". This is because a person who is thick or solid is often seen as being reliable and trustworthy, and therefore generous and kind. The character 厚 is also used in the sense of "heavy" or "weighty", both literally and figuratively. For example, a heavy object is physically thick or solid, while a weighty matter is one that is important or significant.