奢

Phono-semantic compound:

大 (큰 대) — semantic: greatness, largeness, excess

者 (놈 자) — phonetic: gives sha / sa sound

Originally, 奢 meant:

- “large/excessive conduct of a person”

- “exceeding proper measure.”

This evolved into the moral sense of luxury, extravagance, arrogance.

In Korean Sino-vocabulary, 奢(사) appears in contexts of luxury, waste, arrogance, and excessive display.

Extravagance / luxury:

奢侈 (사치) — 사치스러움; luxury; extravagance

奢華 (사화) — 화려하게 사치스러움; luxurious, lavish

奢費 (사비) — 과도한 비용; wasteful expense

奢悦 (사열) — 지나친 즐거움; excessive pleasure

Boasting / flaunting:

奢談 (사담) — 허풍 섞인 말; boastful speech

奢靡 (사미) — 호화스럽고 사치스러움; luxury + decadence

奢望 (사망) — 지나친 바람; excessive expectation; ambition

Arrogance / overbearing:

奢傲 (사오) — 오만하고 사치스러움; arrogant and extravagant

奢慢 (사만) — 건방지고 사치스러움; arrogant, haughty

Political & economic contexts:

奢侈罪 (사치죄) — 사치 행위에 대한 죄목; charges of extravagance

奢政 (사정) — 사치스러운 정치 → 국가 재정 악화; deterioration of national finances

奢侈風 (사치풍) — 사치 풍조; climate of extravagance

奢 is overwhelmingly used in negative, admonitory contexts.

In Confucianism, 奢 is a vice directly opposed to 儉 (검, frugality).

Ancient states warned repeatedly that 奢 leads to:

- ruin of households

- bankruptcy of states

- corruption of morals

奢 should not be confused with:

赦 (사 → forgive)

舍 (사 → house)

余/餘 (여 → surplus)

Only 奢 carries the meaning of wasteful excess or luxurious display.

Classical citations:

《史記·貨殖列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「奢侈傷財。」

“Extravagance harms the treasury.”

《韓非子·五蠧》 (Han Feizi)

「奢而不節，亡之道也。」

“To be extravagant without restraint is the road to ruin.”

《晏子春秋》 (Chronicles of Master Yan)

「奢者易侈，侈者易傲。」

“One who is extravagant becomes wasteful, and the wasteful become arrogant.”

These passages show that 奢 had strong ethical, political, and economic warnings against excess.