卒

Originally written 䘚, attested from oracle bone inscriptions.

衣 (옷 의) — clothing

爻 (효) — cross pattern

Together depict the patterned uniform of attendants, servants, or soldiers.

From this base sense of “soldier, servant,” the meanings “to die” and “to finish” arose — soldiers on campaign often met death, hence the association.

卒業 (졸업) — graduation, to finish studies

卒死 (졸사) — sudden death

卒記 (졸기) — obituary record in annals (record after one’s death)

士卒 (사졸) — soldiers, rank-and-file

猝卒 (졸졸) — sudden, abrupt

In Joseon Annals, 卒記 refers to posthumous evaluation of a person after death.

Colloquial Korean phrase: “나를 졸로 보냐?” — “Do you take me for a mere commoner (a ‘졸’)?”

Rare Sino-Korean reading 졸 is shared by only a few characters (卒, 拙, 猝).

In Japanese Shinjitai, when used as part of compounds it sometimes shifts to 卆 (e.g., 粋 → 粋, 砕 → 砕), but the standalone 卒 remains unchanged.