圈

Formed as a phono-semantic compound:

囗 (enclosure, boundary) provides the semantic component, showing something surrounded.

卷 (roll, scroll, “권”) provides the phonetic element.

Originally depicted an enclosed space, such as a pen or corral for animals.

Semantic range:

- animal pen, corral, enclosure (우리);

- circle, loop, round shape (동그라미);

- sector, sphere, field, domain (구역, 범위, 분야);

- to confine, to pen in (가두다).

동물권 (動物圈) — animal pen / enclosure

원권 (圓圈) — circle, round shape

생활권 (生活圈) — sphere of daily life, living area

문화권 (文化圈) — cultural sphere

영향권 (影響圈) — sphere of influence

세 바퀴를 돌다 (三圈) — “to run three laps” (around a track).

In Korean, the meaning tends to emphasize enclosure / corral (“우리”), but in compound words it often extends to domain / sphere (“권역, 생활권”).

The suffixal usage (“~권”) is productive in Korean to indicate scope or range: e.g., 문화권 (cultural sphere), 생활권 (living area).

In Modern Chinese (HSK 4), 圈 most often means “circle”, and by metaphor, a community or social circle (e.g., 朋友圈 “friend circle” on WeChat).