懸

Phono-semantic compound derived from 縣 (현, “county; to hang”):

心 (마음 심, “heart, mind”) — semantic extension, emphasizing psychological or figurative “suspense, uncertainty.”

縣 (매달 현, “to hang; county”) — phonetic and semantic base.

Originally, 縣 depicted “a human head hung by a string from a tree” (grim imagery symbolizing “to suspend”). Over time, 縣 came to mean “county, district” as an administrative unit. To preserve the older sense of “to hang/suspend,” the form 懸 was created by adding 心, highlighting both literal and figurative meanings.

현수 (懸垂) — suspension, hanging down

현상 (懸賞) — reward, prize (lit. “a reward hung up for offer”)

현공 (懸空) — hanging in midair

현심 (懸心) — worry, anxiety (lit. “heart hanging/suspended”)

Contrast: 縣 in modern Chinese is simplified to 县, used exclusively for “county” as an administrative division. 懸 preserves the older sense of “hanging” (literal/figurative).