根

Phono-semantic compound:

木 (tree, wood) – semantic element, indicating plants or trees.

艮 (gèn, trigram name; to stop, firm) – phonetic element.

The combination suggests the “root of a tree,” later extended metaphorically to mean foundation, origin, or basis.

Semantic range:

- literal: the physical root of a tree or plant.

- foundation, basis – as in 근본 (根本), fundamental root.

- origin, cause – as in 기원 (起根).

- to take root, establish firmly.

근본 (根本) – root, foundation, origin

여근 (餘根) – remaining root, stump

악근 (惡根) – root of evil

기근 (饑饉/饑根) – famine (lit. hunger-root)

근거 (根據) – basis, grounds

In Daoist and Buddhist texts, 根 is also used metaphorically to refer to the six sense faculties (eye-root, ear-root, etc.), signifying the sources of perception.