foundation
English · foundation
foundation, base, plinth under a pillar
- 这座建筑的基础很牢固。zhè zuò jiàn zhù de jī chǔ hěn láo gù.The foundation of this building is very solid.
- 我们要打好学习的基础。wǒ men yào dǎ hǎo xué xí de jī chǔ.We need to build a good foundation for our studies.
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 18 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (石) compact and narrow, and allot slightly more horizontal width to the right phonetic component (出) so the entire character looks stable and balanced.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 礎 uses 歺 for the phonetic component on the right, which was simplified to 出 in the modern Chinese character set.
Radical 石 · Stone Radical (stone, rock, cliff)
Semantic Clue (形旁): 石 (indicates that a foundation or plinth is made of stone or rock)
Phonetic Clue (声旁): 出 (original sound: chū)
A stone (石) placed beneath a pillar to prop it out (出) and support the entire structure serves as the foundation (础).
- 石 stone, denoting material or structural basis
- 出 provides the approximate pronunciation 'chǔ'
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
9· Phonetic Root: 出 (chū)Origin: Originally created as a phono-semantic compound where the stone radical (石) signifies the heavy stone base under wooden pillars in ancient Chinese architecture, paired with the phonetic element 出.
Semantic Evolution: From the physical stone pillar base in ancient buildings, the meaning broadened metaphorically to any abstract foundation, basis, or groundwork.
- In traditional Chinese architecture, wooden pillars were never planted directly into damp dirt; they rested on stone plinths (礎) to prevent rotting.
To build a rock-solid foundation (础), you need a heavy STONE (石) peeking OUT (出) from the ground to hold up your house.
jī chǔConfusing the left radical 石 (stone) with 示 (altar/spirit), leading to miswriting the character as *初* or other radical variants.
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