Appears from the bronze script period onward.
Compound character, originally pictographic/ideographic:
Left side: 手 (hand) – semantic, representing the hand used in ritual gesture.
Right side: originally a depiction similar to 來 (grain offering) – symbolizing presentation of offerings.
Together: the act of offering grain with both hands while bowing, hence the meaning “to bow, to worship.”
Over time (bronze inscriptions → seal script → clerical script), the form evolved into two hand (手) components, visually suggesting two hands joined in reverence.

Semantic range:
- to bow in respect or worship;
- to salute, to pay homage;
- to worship deities or ancestors;
- extended: to visit respectfully (拜訪);
- modern colloquial: “bye-bye” (音譯 from English).

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

to criticize, to comment, to strike, to slap, to approve, to endorse

to receive, to bear, to undertake, to inherit, to continue, to succeed, to support, to carry

skill, ability, technique, craft, art, workmanship

to throw, to fling, to pitch

to brush off, to shake off, to dust, to wave away, repel

to expand, to open up, to broaden, to print, to make a rubbing, to engrave, to carve

to pull out, to extract, to uproot, to remove, to withdraw, to surpass, to excel

to seize, to detain, to arrest, to restrict, to restrain, to be bound by

to bow, to pay respects, to worship, to salute, to pray, to visit

to wipe, to clean, to wash away

to hold, to grasp, to carry, to maintain, to sustain, to persist

to point, to indicate, finger

to raise, to provoke, to stir up, to lift, to poke, to incite

to seize, to catch, to arrest, to capture

to give

to search, to look for, to probe, to explore

to connect, to join, to come into contact, to receive, to engage

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Explore the meaning, etymology and usage of this Chinese character. Learn its radical and how it is applied in Korean language.

Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

Chinese characters (Hanja)

Chinese characters dictionary

拜

Etymology

Characters next to each other in the list

References