知

In oracle bone script (甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén), it was composed of:

干 (방패 간, “shield,” a symbol for a hunting weapon);

矢 (화살 시, “arrow”);

口 (입 구, “mouth,” indicating oral transmission).

Together these conveyed the idea of passing on hunting and battle experience orally.

By the time of the bronze inscriptions (金文 jinwen), 干 was dropped and 曰 (가로 왈, “to speak”) was added, forming 智. Later, the character split into 知 and 智.

The relationship between 知 and 智 is notable:

In terms of character form, 智 appears earlier than 知 in bronze inscriptions. In terms of meaning, however, scholars believe the verb “to know” (知) gave rise to the nouns “knowledge” and “wisdom” (智).

智 (non- daiyōji)

radicalno: 111

addcomponents: 矢 +3

strokes: 8

cangjieinput1: 人大口 (OKR)

composition1: ⿰ 矢 口