子

A pictograph modeled after the shape of a newborn baby.

Looking closely at the character, it shows a head, two arms stretched out to the sides, and legs.

Although it looks like it has only one leg, this is interpreted as representing a newborn who cannot yet stand on their own.

In oracle bone script, unlike the lines representing arms and legs, the head is drawn as a large loop to indicate the disproportionately large head of a baby compared to the body.

Starting as early as the Spring and Autumn period, or at least by the Han dynasty, 子 began to be used specifically to mean “son.”

Based on historical records, when used alone, 子 could mean:

• a descendant or person of a later generation,

• a son who continues the family line in a patrilineal society,

• or a respected member (usually male) of a family’s future generations, depending on the context.

Also, in names like Confucius (孔子) or Mencius (孟子), 子 is used as a respectful suffix meaning “master” or “teacher.”

Sometimes, 子 alone can refer to Confucius himself. In Confucian texts, the phrase 子曰 (zi yue) means “The Master said...”

Additionally, 子 was sometimes used in Classical Chinese as a second-person pronoun (you).

The character has various meanings, but the most common is to refer broadly to a child from infancy through youth.

A representative example is 女子 (woman, girl).

子 is also used as a diminutive or nominalizing suffix in words such as:

帽子 (hat)

椅子 (chair)

箱子 (box)

額子 (frame)

卓子 (table)

This suffix usually has no independent meaning but helps distinguish homophones. This kind of suffix is called 指小辭 (diminutive suffix).