釆

According to the Shuowen Jiezi (説文解字 shuōwén jiězì), its origin is a pictograph representing the split claws of an animal. The idea of distinguishing arose from hunters identifying the type of prey based on animal tracks.

When used as a radical, it generally conveys meanings related to "distinguishing" or "discrimination."

The character 采 originally is a phono-semantic compound of 爪 (claw) and 木 (tree), but because its form in the clerical script (隸書 lìshū) resembles 釆, it has been classified under the 釆 radical.