床
- bed, couch, platform;
Etymology
Mixed phono-semantic/semantic compound:
广 (엄, “house, shelter”) — denotes building/interior.
木 (목, “wood”) — originally the phonetic element (from 牀), also adds meaning “wooden structure.”
Thus “a raised wooden structure inside a house,” i.e., a bed, couch, or platform.
Usage in Korean
In Korean: especially refers to 평상 (wooden outdoor platform/bench).
病床 (병상) — sickbed, hospital bed
平床 (평상) — wooden outdoor platform/bench
床頭 (상두) — bedside, bedhead
床板 (상판) — bed board, wooden planking
Words that derived from 床
Additional notes
Semantic shift:
In Middle Chinese, 床 meant folding wooden chair (胡床) or indoor couch (榻).
Modern Chinese: primarily “bed.”
Japanese: “bed, raised floor, or floorboard.”
Korean: especially “평상,” a large wooden bench/platform, often outdoors.
Alternative forms
Traditional form: 牀 (U+7240), still used in some contexts.
- 戈木 (ID)
- 難戈木 (XID)
- ⿸ 广 木