模

Phono-semantic compound composed of:

木 (나무 목) — semantic element, indicating relation to wood or material shaping.

莫 (없을 막) — phonetic element, providing the sound mó and evoking the idea of covering or forming.

Originally referring to wooden molds or patterns, it extended to any act of copying, imitating, or shaping after a model.

模樣 (모양) — appearance, form

模仿 (모방) — to imitate, to model after

模型 (모형) — model, miniature

模擬 (모의) — simulation, to emulate

規模 (규모) — scale, scope

模範 (모범) — example, model of virtue

模板 (모판) — template, framework

模糊 (모호) — vague, indistinct

模製 (모제) — to cast, to mold (in manufacture)

In Confucian and artistic discourse, 模 often represents the relationship between pattern (法) and principle (理) — the visible form that expresses the invisible law.

聖人作則，凡人效模。

“The sage establishes the standard; others follow the model.” — Confucian aphorism.

Here 模 conveys the idea of embodied imitation — learning by reproducing a moral or artistic archetype.

In Daoist and aesthetic contexts, 模 can also carry a subtler, paradoxical meaning: true spontaneity arises only when one has fully absorbed and transcended the model.

學模而忘模，是為自然。

“To study the model and then forget the model — this is true naturalness.”

This idea parallels the painter or calligrapher who, after long imitation of masters, achieves effortless originality — the 無爲 (wu wei) of artistry.