剩

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

刀 (칼 도) — semantic component, originally marking the meaning of cutting or division, implying the act of separating what remains from what is taken.

乘 (탈 승) — phonetic component, giving the sound shèng / sing / seung and carrying a related notion of adding up, accumulating, or exceeding.

Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字) does not list 剩, as it is a later derivative of 賸 (U+8CF8), which carried a broader range of meanings:

「賸，餘也。从貝，朕聲。」

“賸 means what is left over or added. Composed of 貝 (‘valuables’) and phonetic 朕.”

Thus, 賸 originally depicted surplus wealth, literally what remains after division of goods.

Later, 剩 arose as a simplified variant emphasizing the physical action of cutting off the remaining part (刀 semantic). The substitution of 刀 for 貝 represents a semantic shift from remaining wealth (economic sense) to remaining portion (physical or general sense).

剩餘 (잉여) — surplus, excess, remainder

剩下 (잉하) — to be left over, to remain (Chinese usage)

剩飯 (잉반) — leftover rice or food

剩物 (잉물) — remaining materials

剩水 (잉수) — residual water

過剩 (과잉) — excess, superabundance

盈剩 (영잉) — overflowing surplus

In Korean compounds, 剩 appears almost exclusively as 잉, particularly in abstract or compound forms like 과잉 (過剩), “overabundance, excess.”

賸: originally “to add, to have more, surplus wealth.”

剩: later, “to be left over, remain, residue after division.”

The evolution mirrors a semantic narrowing — from abundance to remainder.

By the Han dynasty, the physical notion of what remains after cutting off had stabilized, fitting the addition of the 刀 radical.

In modern Chinese, 剩 is ubiquitous in daily expressions such as:

「吃不完的飯要打包，不要浪費。」

“Pack up the leftover food; don’t waste it” — 剩飯 (leftover rice) is the typical term.

Cultural and symbolic meaning:

The concept of “what remains” (剩 / 賸) has deep symbolic value in classical thought:

In Confucianism, moderation (中庸) is praised — having neither deficiency nor surplus (無過無不及).

Hence, 過剩 (excess) carries a cautionary tone.

In Daoism, “that which remains” symbolizes the yielding abundance of nature — surplus energy that nourishes life.

「天之道，損有餘而補不足。」 (Laozi, ch. 77)

“Heaven’s Way takes from what is in excess and gives to what is lacking.”

Thus, 剩 and its derivatives (like 剩餘, 過剩) became linguistic vehicles for discussing balance, restraint, and the natural flow of abundance and lack.

From ancient bronze inscriptions to modern compounds like 과잉 (過剩), 剩 continues to signify remainder, excess, and the subtle balance between fullness and moderation.

Phonological notes:

The original sound of 剩 and its parent 賸 in Old Chinese is reconstructed as:

Old Chinese: zreŋʔ / zroŋʔ (Baxter–Sagart)

Middle Chinese: ɕɨɐŋH / zshengH (departing tone)

Thus, the Sino-Korean reading 잉 derives historically from an older Korean adaptation of the alternate reading of 賸 (잉 / 승) — a rare case where a derived form (剩) retained a secondary pronunciation distinct from its phonetic base (乘 → 승).

In Chinese and Japanese (Shinjitai), both characters are read shèng and shō, corresponding to the “surplus/remain” sense.

Hence, Korean 잉 preserves a unique semantic lineage, tracing not to 乘 but to the inherited reading from 賸’s alternative 잉 value — a philological anomaly in Sino-Korean sound history.

賸