卦

Used especially in the I Ching (周易) to denote the 64 hexagrams employed in divination.

Phono-semantic compound:

卜 (복, “to divine”) — semantic, indicating divination.

圭 (규, “jade tablet, measuring tool”) — phonetic, providing the sound 괘.

The character originally referred to the cracks or signs obtained from oracle bone divination, later extended to the hexagrams of the I Ching.

점괘 (占卦) — divination hexagram

괘상 (卦象) — symbolic image of a hexagram

괘사 (卦辭) — the explanatory text of a hexagram in the I Ching

팔괘 (八卦) — the Eight Trigrams, basic symbols from which the 64 hexagrams are formed

In oracle bone divination (商 dynasty), 卜 signified cracks on heated bones/shells used for predicting outcomes.

In Confucian tradition, 卦 is central to the I Ching (Classic of Changes), where 64 hexagrams represent the dynamic patterns of the cosmos and human affairs.

The Eight Trigrams (八卦) — ☰ 乾, ☷ 坤, ☵ 坎, ☲ 離, ☳ 震, ☶ 艮, ☴ 巽, ☱ 兌 — serve as the building blocks of divination and cosmology.

In folk usage, 卦 also extends metaphorically to mean “omen” or “sign” about events.