帥

Ideogram/compound combining:

巾 (cloth; banner)

阜 (mound / elevation) — appearing here in an early form

The composition suggests a banner raised on a mound, symbolizing command, leadership, or someone who directs troops.

In ancient forms, 帥 depicted the act of leading soldiers under a banner.

The verb meaning “to lead, to command” is older than the noun meaning “commander.”

Because of the semantic closeness, it often interchanged with 率 (“to lead; rate”) in classical texts.

장수 (將帥) — general, commander

수령 (首帥) — chief commander

총수 (總帥) — supreme commander

원수 (元帥) — marshal; highest military rank

Literary / classical:

솔거 (率居) — to dwell leadingly (archaic verb reading)

솔로 (率勞) — to lead and toil (classical)

Pronunciation history:

As a verb, 帥 was traditionally read 솔 in Korean.

As a noun (“commander”), it is read 수.

In modern Korean, the reading 솔 is rare outside classical/literary contexts.

帥 and 率 historically interchange; some classical editions show variants used in parallel.

In seal script, the banner shape is more explicit, reinforcing the idea of military leadership.

Classical citations:

《左傳》 (Zuo Zhuan)

「帥師而行。」

“He led the army and advanced.”

《史記·項羽本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「自帥其士卒。」

“He personally led his soldiers.”

《廣雅》 (Guangya)

「帥，率也。」

“帥 means ‘to lead.’”

《後漢書》 (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)

「將帥不和，軍必敗。」

“When generals and commanders are not in harmony, the army is bound to be defeated.”