07/12/2013
Big vs Man vs Sky 大 vs 夫 vs 天
Hello again! This post is a review of a character we find in a lot of compounds, along with two others that are easily confused. Let’s start with 大, which means “big”, “large” or “great”. In the oracle-bone scripts, its pictograph shows a person with their arms spread wide.
Original Post: http://on.fb.me/1bgrAuM
大 as adjective: big, senior, main, important, serious, strong, your
大 as adverb: very, greatly, fully
大 as noun: adult, grown-up, size, doctor
大 as verb: grow up, be brought up
PINYIN: 大 da4 (or dai4)
Pronunciation: http://bit.ly/1cerVPN
Stroke: http://bit.ly/17Q0U6Y
Style: Traditional and Simplified and Kanji
Rarity: Common
Our second character builds off of the first. We add a horizontal stroke near the top of 大 (big), and we get a new character: 夫, which means man. The stroke at the top of the character (一) represents a hairpin, which indicates that this person is an adult. In ancient Chinese culture, boys used to fasten their hair with a pin to show their matured status once they reached the age of fifteen (what a young age to be “mature”!). A 大 (big person), plus a 一 (hairpin), is an 夫 (adult male).
Original Post: http://on.fb.me/1camPUA
夫 as noun: man or husband
夫 as adverb: again, once more
PINYIN: 夫 fu1
Pronunciation: http://bit.ly/IHi3Gc
Stroke: http://bit.ly/1aRn7St
Style: Traditional and Simplified and Kanji
Rarity: Common
The Chinese character 天 means “sky”, “heaven”, and “day”. You’ll notice that it looks a lot like 夫 (man), except the top stroke (一) has moved up. 一 no longer represents a hairpin, but instead the space above a person’s head. That’s why this character means “sky”, “heaven”, “day”, “god”, etc. These are all things that are “above” humankind.
Original Post: http://on.fb.me/19gbAch
天 as noun: sky, day, heaven, period of time in a day
天 as adjective: natural, celestial, godly
PINYIN: 天 tian1
Pronunciation: http://bit.ly/1hBT0Us
Stroke: http://bit.ly/1ei1bRo
Style: Traditional and Simplified and Kanji
Rarity: Common