狀
부수: 犬
획수: 8획
狀(상) has the meanings ‘shape’, ‘appearance’ and ‘state’.
狀(장) has the meanings ‘form’, and ‘certificate’.
狀 = 爿 + 犬
X = phonetic + semantic
• 爿 is suggested to depict a bed (see historical forms).
• 犬 depicts a dog (see historical forms).
This character was originally used to describe ‘the shape of a dog’ and from this comes the abstract meanings ‘shape’, ‘form’ and in turn, ‘state’.
Evolution:
狀 = ’the shape of a dog’ ➔ ’shape/form’ ➔ ’situation’ ➔ ’description’ ➔ ’certificate’
Mnemonic
爿 is suggested to depict a bed and looks like 뉘, so you can think of the verb 뉘다 (from 눕히다) which means to lay somebody down horizontally (아기를 뉘다). 犬 depicts the shape of a dog (obvious in the historical forms), so you can think about laying a sleeping dog into a basket. As you step back and look at the shape of your fat pet, you question how he got in this state.
Vocab
| 形狀 | 형상 | shape; form; figure |
| 狀態 | 상태 | condition; state; situation |
| 狀況 | 상황 | situation; condition |
| 症狀 | 증상 | symptom (medical) |
| 現狀 | 현상 | status quo; current state |
| 實狀 | 실상 | fact, truth; real situation |
| 賞狀 | 상장 | certificate |
| 答狀 | 답장 | answer, reply (letter/email) |
| 令狀 | 영장 | draft notice; warrant |
| 招請狀 | 초청장 | written invitation |
Additional notes
Different Unicode characters are used to differentiate 狀(상|U+72C0) and 狀(장|U+F9FA).
Other resources
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Unihan Database (상|U+72C0)
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Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Grant, B.K. (1982). A Guide To Korean Characters: Reading and Writing Hangul and Hanja, [s.v. 536]. Seoul: Hollym.
— Henshall, K.G. (1998). A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters, [s.v. 717]. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing.
— Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters, [s.v. 狀, 爿, 犬].
— 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. 739]. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing.