把

Phono-semantic compound, though early forms suggest possible ideographic origins.

手 (손 수) — semantic component, indicating the action of the hand.

巴 (꼬리 파) — phonetic component, providing the sound bǎ / pa and possibly depicting a curled or grasping motion.

However, as noted by Professor Shin Dong-yun (신동윤) in <한자로드> (Hanja Road):

「巴는 갑골문에서 손을 뻗고 무릎을 꿇은 사람의 옆모습을 본뜬 글자이다.」

“巴, in oracle-bone script, depicts a side view of a kneeling person extending an arm.”

This indicates that the earliest form of 把 may have originated as a compound ideograph representing a hand grasping or controlling something before oneself, later reanalyzed as a phono-semantic compound with 巴 as its phonetic.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「把，持也。从手，巴聲。」

“把 means to hold or grasp; composed of 手 (‘hand’) with the sound 巴.”

把持 (파지) — to hold firmly; to monopolize or control

把握 (파악) — to grasp; to understand; to seize

把守 (파수) — to guard, to defend

把玩 (파완) — to handle appreciatively (as in a precious object)

把勢 (파세) — to display one’s power or influence

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 527):

「把，執也。」

“把 means to grasp or to hold.”

In Confucian texts, 把 symbolizes both practical and moral grasp — mastery through firm control and attentiveness.

Book of Han (漢書 · 賈誼傳):

「把權不行仁，則亂也。」

“To hold power but not exercise benevolence brings disorder.”

(把權 here implies holding authority.)

Zhuangzi (莊子 · 外物):

「把其心而不釋。」

“He holds fast to his heart and does not release it” — 把 here extends metaphorically to spiritual firmness and inward grasp.

Later Han · Record of Officials (後漢書 · 百官志):

「執文書者曰把吏。」

“The clerk who holds official documents was called pasi (把吏)” — denoting one entrusted with handling or keeping something.

In Daoist writings, it can signify holding yet not clinging, as in the Dao De Jing notion:

「執而不持，長而不宰。」

“Hold without clutching; lead without dominating.”

The act of 把 thus becomes a metaphor for measured engagement — to grasp without grasping too tightly.

Grammaticalized (modern Chinese):

Used as a measure word for objects held by hand (e.g., 一把劍 “a sword”).

Used in the 把-construction (把字句), marking the object before the verb (e.g., 把書放在桌上 “put the book on the table”).

Its meanings range from physical holding to mental or administrative control, and eventually to grammatical and idiomatic uses expressing possession, comprehension, or manipulation.

From ancient inscriptions to modern syntax, 把 encapsulates one of the most human actions — the will to grasp, to act, and to understand.