婁

Traditionally analyzed as a compound ideograph, though some scholars consider it a phono-semantic borrowing:

女 + 女 + 丨/冖 — possibly depicting two women connected, representing entanglement, pulling, linking.

In early texts, 婁 is associated with binding / dragging, giving rise to the meaning ‘to pull’.

Another branch of semantic development relates to astronomy, where 婁 is the name of a lunar mansion star group.

Because of its stable phonetic value (루 / lóu / lóu), 婁 became a frequent phonetic component, especially in characters pronounced lóu, lǒu, lù, shuò depending on derivation.

《說文解字》 (Shuowen Jiezi):

「婁，引也。从女从女。象連引之形。」

“婁 means ‘to pull / draw’. Formed from 女 + 女, depicting the shape of linking/pulling.”

Words that conceptually or etymologically relate to 婁 or use it as phonetic:

루수 (婁宿) — one of the 28 lunar mansions

누각 (樓閣) — pavilion

누수 (漏水) — water leakage

수학 (數學) — mathematics

누더기 (褸) — rag, tattered clothing (褸 uses 婁 as phonetic)

루(婁) as an astronomic term: 28수 중 루수(婁宿)

As a family name: 루씨(婁氏) (rare)

婁宿 (Lóu Xiù) — Astronomical significance:

16th of the 28 Lunar Mansions (二十八宿)

Corresponds roughly to stars in Aries in modern astronomy.

Symbolic meanings include:

- agriculture

- livestock

- military preparedness

婁 is a strong phonetic base for characters with readings:

lóu → 樓 (building)

lòu → 漏 (to leak)

lǚ or lǒu → 褸

shù / shuò → 數 (multiple readings)

Rare meaning — “drag; pull”. This meaning survives only in classical texts and dictionaries, not in modern speech.

Classical citations:

史記 · 天官書》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「婁為昴之次，主兵。」

“Lóu is the mansion next to Mǎo (昴) and governs matters of war.”

《晉書 · 天文志》 (Book of Jin, Astronomical Treatise)

「婁宿六星，主田畜。」

“The six stars of the Mansion Lóu preside over agriculture and livestock.”

These confirm its role as one of the 28 lunar mansions (二十八宿).

Do not confuse with:

婁 vs. 樓 (楼) — modern “building, story” simplified in Chinese

陋 (누추할 루) — different etymology and tone