箱

A phono-semantic compound consisting of:

竹 (대 죽) — semantic component, indicating bamboo or objects made of bamboo.

相 (서로 상) — phonetic component, providing the sound sang / xiāng.

Thus, 箱 literally means “a bamboo container,” reflecting the early use of woven bamboo or wooden chests for storage.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「箱，竹器所以藏物也。从竹，相聲。」

“箱 is a bamboo container used to store things; composed of 竹 (‘bamboo’) and 相 (‘phonetic’).”

箱子 (상자) — box, case

冰箱 (빙상) — refrigerator (“ice box”)

信箱 (신상) — mailbox (“letter box”)

書箱 (서상) — book chest

行李箱 (행리상) — suitcase, luggage

木箱 (목상) — woodsen box

箱包 (상포) — bags and suitcases (as a product category)

工具箱 (공구상) — toolbox

In traditional Chinese households, 箱 referred to bamboo or wooden chests used for clothes, documents, or valuables.

It symbolized containment, safekeeping, and domestic order.

In literary and ritual contexts, 箱 often represents memory or inheritance — a vessel of personal or ancestral items.

For example, 書箱 (book chest) became a metonym for the scholar’s world, as books and boxes traveled together during official service or exile.

「開箱取書。」 (儒林外史)

“He opened the box to take out the book.”

Here 箱 conveys the everyday domestic function of storage and protection of valued objects.

In modern usage, 箱 has been generalized to cover containers of all materials — metal (金屬箱), glass, or plastic — especially in technical and consumer products:

冰箱 (refrigerator)

電箱 (electrical cabinet)

音箱 (speaker cabinet)

This semantic expansion reflects the continuity of the core idea: an enclosed space for keeping or protecting something.

Metaphorically, 箱 can suggest the storage of memories or feelings, as in poetic lines describing “dusty boxes” (塵箱) of forgotten letters.

In Japanese and Korean literature, 箱 imagery often conveys nostalgia, containment, and secrecy.