睦

A phono-semantic compound:

目 — “eye” (semantic component)

坴 — phonetic component (lù / mù)

Originally, 睦 conveyed the idea of closeness or proximity, likely derived from people looking upon one another without hostility. From this sense of being close, the meaning naturally expanded to peaceful relations, mutual goodwill, and harmonious coexistence.

The involvement of 目 (eye) emphasizes mutual regard, recognition, and attentiveness, which are foundational to social harmony.

In Korean, 睦 is especially notable as a surname, which is rare among Hanja characters.

목씨 (睦氏) — the Mok surname

화목 (和睦) — family harmony; domestic peace

친목 (親睦) — friendly relations; fellowship

睦 denotes harmonious and amicable relations, especially among people who are close or bound by social ties.

Related characters:

和 — harmony; peace

親 — close; intimate

穆 — solemn harmony; dignified calm

善 — goodness; benevolence

仁 — humaneness; benevolent virtue

Nuance comparison:

睦 — harmony grounded in mutual closeness and goodwill

和 — harmony as balance or peace

穆 — harmony with solemnity and moral gravity

Relationship with 穆:

睦 and 穆 are treated as semantic equivalents in many classical and traditional contexts.

Both convey ideas of harmony, gentleness, and dignified calm.

穆 tends to emphasize solemn calm or dignified harmony, often in ritual or moral contexts.

睦 focuses more on interpersonal harmony and amicable relations.

Philological remarks:

圥 and 坴 are graphically and phonetically related.

Through graphic simplification and script evolution, 𡍬 disappeared from active use.

A derivative form 𧶠 (with 貝 added) survives indirectly as a phonetic component in characters like 讀 and 續, though its original shape is no longer visually apparent in regular script.

In Classical Chinese, 睦 frequently appears in contexts describing:

- family harmony

- social peace

- orderly relations between groups or states

Typical collocations include:

和睦 — harmony; concord

親睦 — close and friendly relations

敦睦 — sincere harmony; fostering good relation

Ancient variant 𡍬 (U+2136C), recorded in Shuowen Jiezi.

Composed of 囧 and 圥.

Later analysis suggests 囧 is a scribal variant of 目, supporting continuity with the modern form.