操

Phono-semantic compound composed of:

手 (손 수) — semantic component, representing “hand,” signifying manual action or control.

喿 (울 조) — phonetic component, giving the sound jo and depicting birds chirping in trees — suggestive of activity, liveliness, and continuous effort.

Together, the structure expresses “to act with the hand in an active, controlled manner”, which evolved to mean both handling external matters and governing one’s internal principles.

操作 (조작) — operation; manipulation; to handle

操縱 (조종) — to control; to steer; to direct

操守 (조수) — moral integrity; principle; conduct

志操 (지조) — resolution and moral character

操行 (조행) — moral conduct; virtue

操練 (조련) — training; drill; exercise

操心 (조심) — to worry; to be concerned (lit. “to grasp with the heart”)

操手 (조수) — operator; driver; one who handles machinery

操場 (조장) — playground; drill ground

操持 (조지) — to manage; to uphold (especially ethical discipline)

In early texts, 操 described manual control — to hold tools, weapons, or reins.

Over time, this concrete sense expanded to include mental and moral self-control.

In Confucian ethics, 操 came to mean “maintaining inner integrity” (守操) — the steadfast holding of moral principle regardless of temptation or hardship.

「守其操者，不變於榮辱。」

“He who keeps his integrity is unmoved by honor or disgrace” — Book of Han (漢書).

In Han and Tang literature, it appears in phrases like 貞操 (정조) — meaning moral chastity or virtue, particularly in reference to women who preserve purity of mind and conduct.

In Buddhist and Daoist writings, 操 also connotes discipline in spiritual practice — the act of training and controlling the mind (修心之操).

操 symbolizes mastery — the art of holding firmly, whether in hand or in heart.

It unites action and restraint, implying strength guided by principle.

The hand (手) represents power and capacity, while 喿 suggests movement and sound — together forming the image of living control, the ability to act decisively yet harmoniously.

「操者，持也，守也。」

“To '操' is to hold fast and to keep” — Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字).

Thus, 操 stands for control born of discipline — mastery that commands without losing balance, conviction that holds without rigidity.

操 teaches that what we hold shapes what we become.

To grasp virtue is to direct life with steadiness and purpose; to lose control is to let action wander without principle.

「操心以正，則行無邪。」

“When the heart is held upright, conduct cannot go astray.”

Hence, 操 stands as a character of integrity, self-mastery, and ethical firmness — a reminder that the truest strength lies not in what we seize, but in how firmly and rightly we hold it.