clan

Origin & mnemonic

The radical derives from a pictograph of a plant or sprout growing from the ground. Over time it evolved to denote clan names or family names, possibly because members of the same clan were seen as branches of a common root.

Mnemonic: A plant growing from its root symbolizes members of a clan descending from a common ancestor.

• 氏shì🔊

  (bound form) family name; surname (as in 王氏[Wang2 shi4] "the Wang clan")

  4 strokes

• 民mín🔊

  (bound form) the people

  5 strokes

• 氐Dī🔊

  name of an ancient tribe

  5 strokes

• 氓máng🔊

  used in 流氓[liu2 mang2]

  8 strokes