括

扌 (手) — “hand,” indicating a manual action

𠯑 — (phonetic element, later conflated with 舌), provides sound (gwal / guā)

Although the modern form visually contains 舌 (“tongue”), this is not the original semantic component. The similarity is graphical only; 舌 is not involved in the original meaning or pronunciation.

The earliest meaning of 括 was “to tie or bind together by hand.” From this physical action, the meaning expanded metaphorically:

binding → bringing many things into one

bringing into one → including, encompassing

including → summarizing or generalizing

This semantic expansion is very typical in Classical Chinese.

포괄 (包括) — inclusion; comprehensiveness

개괄 (槪括) — outline; general summary

총괄 (總括) — overall control; general management

괄호 (括號) — parentheses; brackets

Related characters:

包 — to wrap; to include

束 — bundle; bind

結 — tie; knot; unite

統 — unify; govern

總 — total; overall

Semantic contrast:

括 — emphasizes gathering many into one concept or unit

包 — emphasizes enclosing or wrapping

束 — emphasizes physical bundling

統 — emphasizes control or governance

In Classical Chinese, 括 is often used in abstract or administrative contexts, especially meaning:

- to include all cases

- to sum up or generalize

Examples (classical-style meanings):

括天下之理 — to encompass the principles of the world

以一言括之 — to sum it up in one phrase

Such usages emphasize conceptual unification rather than physical binding.