轮子

The Chinese word 轮子 (lúnzi) for "wheel" has an interesting etymology. It is composed of two characters: 轮 (lún), which originally meant "round" or "circle", and 子 (zi), which is a diminutive suffix. Together, they form the word 轮子, which literally means "small round thing". This etymology reflects the fact that wheels are round objects that are used for transportation.The character 轮 (lún) has a long history in Chinese. It first appeared in oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In oracle bone script, the character 轮 was depicted as a circle with a dot in the center. This dot represented the axle of the wheel.Over time, the character 轮 evolved into its current form. The dot in the center of the circle was replaced by a small cross, which represented the spokes of the wheel. The character also gained the phonetic component 侖 (lún), which helped to indicate its pronunciation.The character 子 (zi) is a diminutive suffix that is often used to form nouns that refer to small objects. In the case of 轮子, the character 子 is used to indicate that the wheel is a small round object.The word 轮子 (lúnzi) is first attested in the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD). It quickly became the standard Chinese word for "wheel". The word is still used today in both Mandarin and Cantonese.