Jump to content
Chinese-forums.com
Learn Chinese in China

Is the component in 尔 from 刀 or 勹?


lukey296
 Share

Recommended Posts

as well as the characters 次,象,解, etc.

 

Pleco is giving me mixed messages on this one. Says it's called "dao1" but from the component "勹". I also seem to remember Heisig referred to it as coming from 勹

 

I was sure it was from 勹 but now I've just seen somebody teach it online as being from 刀. It would help me out if someone could tell me for sure.

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Site Sponsors:
Pleco for iPhone / Android iPhone & Android Chinese dictionary: camera & hand- writing input, flashcards, audio.
Study Chinese in Kunming 1-1 classes, qualified teachers and unique teaching methods in the Spring City.
Learn Chinese Characters Learn 2289 Chinese Characters in 90 Days with a Unique Flash Card System.
Hacking Chinese Tips and strategies for how to learn Chinese more efficiently
Popup Chinese Translator Understand Chinese inside any Windows application, website or PDF.
Chinese Grammar Wiki All Chinese grammar, organised by level, all in one place.

Just read your articles and you clearly know your stuff! 

 

I'm developing an online course at the moment and I'm using aspects of the heisig method, giving every character component an associated image to easily make mnemonics. The general philosophy is, as long as you can think of an image that helps you remember vividly, then it doesn't really matter what that image is. However I'm also using real etymology of the characters to aid memorization (e.g. 不 meaning "root" - the part you really don't want), my attitude to which is summed up well in your article:

 

 

 

(From part 2): As far as character learning, knowing the comprehensive story is probably not very helpful, unless you are already a paleographer. However, a simplified, condensed version of that story that emphasizes the important nodes of a character’s evolution, explained in everyday language can be both helpful and interesting to some people.

 

You're right, looking at etymology won't help with everyone for every character, but it can still be a powerful learning tool.

 

In the situation of 你/尔, even though the component isn't meant to be 刀 or 勹, I'll still associate one of them with the component to make it easier tfor my students to remember characters at the beginner stage. However, I still think that learning the etymology of a character can make remembering characters easy and interesting, where appropriate.

 

Thanks for the great post. You have a new follower!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The radical of 尔 is 小.  The top part is not a radical, it's just a short 撇 「丿」and a 橫鈎 「乛」.  As OneEye said above, 尔 was the caoshu 草書 and xingcao 行草 form of 爾.  It actually originated from the top part of 爾, and can be written as 尒 or 尓, both reflect better the origin of the character.  尔/尒/尓 were already used as simplified forms of 爾 more than two thousand years ago.

 

BTW 欠 is a radical by itself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Click here to reply. Select text to quote.

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...