對

It evolved to mean “to face, to respond, to match, to oppose,” and is widely used in both classical and modern terms, including technical “anti-” usages in Korean and Chinese.

對 depicts a hand holding an object (丵), originally meaning “to face or handle something.”

Ideogram:

Composed of 丵 (착, “dense vegetation or object”) and 寸 (촌, “hand/measurement”).

Represents holding something shaped like 丵 in the hand.

Meaning development:

There are several interpretations of what 丵 originally depicted:

A writing tablet (suggesting “to write and respond”) – Lin Yiguang, 文源

A lampstand (implying “to hold up a light and face something”) – Zhu Fangwei, 殷周文字釋叢

A toothed weapon (symbolizing confrontation) – Gao Hongjin, 中國字例

Because of the uncertainty over 丵’s exact meaning, the precise origin of 對 is debated.

Today 對 is used for ideas of “facing,” “responding,” or “opposing.”

Appears in very common words like:

對答 (대답) – “to reply”

相對 (상대) – “relative, counterpart”

對應 (대응) – “to correspond, to match”

In modern contexts, it conveys “counter-” or “anti-” in technical terms:

對空砲 = anti-aircraft gun

對戰車 = anti-tank

對人地雷 = anti-personnel mine

対