元
- first, beginning, origin;
- chief;
Etymology
Originally depicted a person’s head; later evolved into meanings of “chief” and “origin.”
In Oracle Bone Script, it was drawn as 人 (“person”) with an extra horizontal stroke above the head, representing the head itself.
In Bronze Inscriptions, a head-like form remained visible. The idea of “head” extended to mean “chief, leader.”
Another interpretation is that the horizontal stroke signifies “above” (上), hence “the one above people → leader.”
When broken down (파자): 二 above 儿 (“child, person”), though in reality the top “二” represents an old form of 上.
Usage in Korean
Currency Usage:
Widely used in the Sinosphere to denote currency.
The word yuan (unit of Chinese money) was originally 圓 (“round, circle”), but due to identical pronunciation, 元 became the standard.
Used not only for the Chinese yuan but also for other currencies:
韩元 = Korean won
日元 = Japanese yen
美元 = US dollar
欧元 = Euro
(also Hong Kong dollar, Macao pataca, New Taiwan dollar → 元/圓 depending on context).
Words that derived from 元
Additional notes
• In Japan, used to denote a predecessor in office (similar to “former”), but unlike Korean 전(前), which applies only to the immediate predecessor, 元 can apply to any past holder regardless of order.
• One of the “Four Virtues” (元, 亨, 利, 貞) in the I Ching (Book of Changes).
• In the Thousand Character Classic, 元 is used in the sense “dark/black” (검을 원).
• Historically, during times of name/taboo avoidance (e.g., Northern Song emperor Shenzong, Qing emperor Kangxi), the character 玄 (hyeon, “dark”) could not be used, so 元 was substituted — a practice that continued in certain contexts.
- 一一山 (MMU)
- ⿱ 一 兀
- ⿱ 二 儿
