徹

Originally written with 鬲 (earthen cauldron) + 又 (hand):

鬲 — a tripod cooking vessel with perforations or openings

又 — hand or action

Original sense: “to pierce / open / clear through (the vessel)”, extended to penetrating through obstacles.

The modern form consists of:

彳 (step-by-step movement) — semantic, movement, passage

育 (to raise; phonetic component) — phonetic approximation

攴/攵 (to strike) — suggesting an action or forceful clearing

As writing evolved, the combined form came to mean “to move through completely,” “to clear, to penetrate,” and then metaphorically “thoroughly, entirely.”

Penetration / opening:

徹底 (철저) — thorough; absolute

貫徹 (관철) — to carry out fully; to accomplish through

徹夜 (철야) — all night long; overnight (lit. “to go through the night”)

徹視 (철시) — to see through

Removal / clearing:

掃徹 (소철) — clean out completely

撤去 (철거) — removal; dismantling (撤 is related)

Semantic shift:

physical penetration → abstract, conceptual thoroughness.

This is why modern Chinese and Korean both use 徹 mainly for “thorough / complete.”

Classical citations:

《論語·雍也》 (Analects)

「知者徹也。」

“The wise are those who see through things clearly.”

徹 = penetrate / understand thoroughly.

《孟子·告子上》 (Mencius)

「徹彼桑土。」

“Clear away that mulberry land.”

徹 = remove, clear out.

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

「徹通道路。」

“They opened and connected the roads.”

徹 = to open passage / make through-roads.

Distinction from 轍:

Though similar phonetically in Middle Chinese, 轍 (wheel track) is unrelated in meaning.