匕

In 설문해자 (an ancient Chinese character dictionary), the original meaning of the character 匕 (bi) is explained as "placing side by side in comparison (arranging closely and in order together)." The shape is said to follow an inverted figure of a person (人), and it is currently used to mean a utensil used when eating—specifically, a "spoon."

In oracle bone script, just like in bronze inscriptions, the shape resembles an inverted figure of a person (人) on both sides, so not only does it lack the original meaning, but it also has little relation to a spoon or a dagger.

Some interpret this as being derived from the image of a person bowing with bent arms, symbolizing a woman of low social status, and regard this as the original meaning—connecting it to the prototype of the character 妣 (bi, meaning "deceased mother").

In this view, the original meaning of 匕 was replaced by 妣, and among oracle bone script characters, a character that combined a long-handled knife and a hand to represent a food-scooping tool (刀 + 又) was mistakenly replaced with 匕, which is how it came to mean "spoon."