源

Phono-semantic compound:

水 (water radical) – semantic, indicating water, flow, or source;

原 (plain, origin, “won”) – phonetic element.

The character depicts water flowing from its starting place or foundation.

By extension, it signifies the root, basis, or origin of things.

Semantic range:

- physical source of water: spring, fountain, headwater;

- figurative origin: cause, root, foundation, basis;

- by extension: resources, energy, lineage.

근원 (根源) – origin, root

수원 (水源) – water source

원인 (原因) – cause

자원 (資源) – resources

전원 (電源) – power source

기원 (起源) – beginning, origin

原 (언덕 원) – “plain, field, original”; similar in shape and sound, but without the water radical.

願 (원할 원) – “to wish, desire”; shares the 原 phonetic element, but distinct in meaning.