大

It is a pictograph of a person (人) stretching their arms wide to signify “big” or “large.”

A variant form is 亣, which directly inherits the ancient script shape.

The character can also be pronounced "태", but is usually read as "대".

When used as a prefix, it not only means “big” in size but also conveys “greatness” (e.g., great nations or institutions).

As a suffix, it can indicate “university” (e.g., 서울 대 for Seoul University).

Typically, when verbs are assigned a Korean meaning from Chinese characters, the verb endings use -(으)ᄅ.

However, 大 and 白 (white) are among the few characters that use the -(으)ᄂ ending.

There are many other characters meaning “big,” but most are read as “클” rather than “대.”