便
부수: 亻
획수: 9획
便 has the meanings convenience, excrement, mail, companion and side.
便 = 亻 + 更
X = semantic + semantic/phonetic
Caution: The interpretation of 便 is somewhat unclear.
• 亻 depicts the side view of a person and means ‘person’.
• 更 originally depicted a hand holding a whip 攴 and a chariot 丙. It is now a fusion of these two forms and represents ‘whipping someone’.
Some scholars suggest 更 originally meant ‘one chariot after another’ and from this came the meaning ‘change’ (as in change between chariots).
Evolution:
便 = to whip someone ➔ borrowed use ➔ convenient ➔ relief ➔ urinate/defecate
便 = to whip someone ➔ borrowed use ➔ convenient ➔ quick ➔ flight ➔ mail
便 = to whip someone ➔ borrowed use ➔ to depend on ➔ companion ➔ side
Mnemonic
Imagine your local, dependable postman 亻 riding a chariot at great speed. He’s furiously whipping the horses 更 to conveniently 便 deliver your mail on time.
Vocab
| 便利 | 편리 | convenience |
| 便宜店 | 편의점 | convenience store |
| 不便 | 불편 | inconvenience |
| 便法 | 편법 | expedient |
| 簡便하다 | 간편하다 | simple |
| 便하다 | 편하다 | comfortable |
| 便安하다 | 편안하다 | relaxed |
| 便 | 변 | feces |
| 排便 | 배변 | defecation |
| 小便 | 소변 | urine |
| 便器 | 변기 | toilet |
| 便所 | 변소 | lavatory |
| 郵便 | 우편 | |
| 便紙 | 편지 | letter |
| 男便 | 남편 | husband |
| 便짜다 | 편짜다 | to team up |
| 便들다 | 편들다 | to take sides with |
| 便가르다 | 편가르다 | to separate into groups |
| 相對便 | 상대편 | opponent; competitor |
| 맞은便 | 맞은편 | the opposite side |
| 反對便 | 반대편 | the opposing side |
| 形便 | 형편 | situation; circumstance |
| 한便 | 한편 | side; meanwhile |
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Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Daum 사전, [s.v. 便].
— Grant, B.K. (1982). A Guide To Korean Characters: Reading and Writing Hangul and Hanja, [s.v. 571]. Seoul: Hollym.
— Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters, [s.v. 便, 亻, 更].
— Seely, C., Henshall, K.G., & Fan, J. (2016). The Complete Guide to Japanese Kanji: Remembering and Understanding the 2,136 Standard Japanese Characters, [s.v. 610]. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing.