侧

The Chinese character 侧 (cè) is composed of two parts: the radical 阜 (fù) and the phonetic component 昔 (xī). The radical 阜 originally meant "mound" or "hill", and it is often used in characters related to geography or topography. The phonetic component 昔 is a simplified form of the character 夕 (xī), which means "evening" or "sunset".The combination of these two components gives the character 侧 its meaning of "side" or "lateral". This is because the side of something is often associated with the slope of a hill or the setting sun. In addition, the character 侧 can also be used to mean "inclined" or "tilted", as well as "partial" or "biased".The character 侧 has a long history of usage in Chinese, and it can be found in many ancient texts. For example, it is used in the Analects of Confucius to describe the way in which a person should sit: "When sitting, do not lean to one side." It is also used in the Book of Songs to describe the beauty of a woman's side: "Her side is like a cut of jade."Today, the character 侧 is still commonly used in Chinese, and it can be found in a variety of contexts. For example, it is used in the word 侧面 (cèmiàn), which means "side view", and in the word 侧重 (cèzhòng), which means "to emphasize".The character 侧 is a versatile character with a rich history, and it is an important part of the Chinese language.