派

A phonosemantic compound character, made from:

水 (수) – indicating the meaning (“water”), showing that the concept is related to flowing or dividing water;

𠂢 (파) – providing the sound.

The original sense is “a branch of flowing water”, i.e. a tributary or offshoot of a river.

《說文解字》 (Shuowen Jiezi):

「派，水別也。」

“派 means the separation of water.”

From this physical meaning, the abstract sense developed: a branch of thought, group, or lineage.

In modern Korean, 派 almost always refers to group identity or ideological alignment, not physical branching.

派閥 (파벌) — faction; clique

流派 (유파) — school; tradition; stylistic current

宗派 (종파) — religious sect

學派 (학파) — academic school; school of thought

派系 (파계) — factional system

反對派 (반대파) — opposition faction

改革派 (개혁파) — reformist faction

分派 (분파) — subdivision, sect

派遣 (파견) — dispatch

派 does not mean “send” originally; meanings like 派遣 (dispatch) are derived.

The character is neutral by itself, but compounds may carry positive or negative connotations.

In Classical Chinese, 派 is closely tied to water metaphors for lineage and influence.

「江水分流，別為支派。」

“The river divides its flow and becomes separate branches.”