郵

Ideogram/compound form:

郵 = 邑 (“town, settlement”) + 垂 (“to hang down; to send down,” phonetic/semantic)

邑 marks an administrative location or post station.

垂 suggests something being passed down or transmitted, symbolizing the transmission of messages.

In ancient China, 郵 originally referred to relay stations along major roads where government couriers (驛傳) rested, changed horses, and transmitted documents.

Thus original meaning: “relay post; courier station.”

In modern usage, this evolved to postal mail.

Postal:

郵便 (우편) — mail, postal service

郵局 (우국, 우체국) — post office

郵遞 (우체) — mail delivery

郵資 (우자) — postage fee

Relay / historical:

郵亭 (우정) — posthouse pavilion

郵驛 (우역) — postal relay station (ancient)

Connection with 驛 (역):

郵 and 驛 were both parts of the ancient courier system:

郵 — small stop; 驛 — major relay station.

郵 was for message transfer and notices;

驛 for horse change.

Postal symbolism:

Because 郵 indicates structured communication across distances, it appears in many modern neologisms, including “email” terminology in Chinese.

Classical citations:

《周禮·地官·郵人》 (Rites of Zhou)

「郵人掌達邦國之書。」

“Postal officers oversee the delivery of documents between the states.”

郵 = relay station; courier system.

《史記·秦始皇本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「置郵驛以通使。」

“He established postal and relay stations to facilitate envoys.”

郵 = relay post.

《漢書·刑法志》 (Book of Han)

「傳郵不絕。」

“Messages through the relay posts never ceased.”

郵 = official courier communication.

Simplified form 邮 removes 邑 → 阝 and reduces 垂 to 小-like form.