表
- outside, surface, to show;
Etymology
Components:
衣 (clothing) – indicates something worn or covering;
毛 (fur, hair) – indicates hair or surface texture.
Originally, 表 depicted the outer garment or fur on the surface – symbolizing the outer layer. Over time, it generalized to mean “outside”, “surface”, and then “to show”.
During script evolution, the form simplified: 衣 + 毛 became a compressed 亠 + 毛.
Similar shape characters
Contrasted with 裏 (리 / lǐ) – meaning “inside.”
表 = outside, exterior;
裏 = inside, interior.
Modern Simplified Chinese: 表 also covers 錶 (watch), so “wristwatch” is written 手表 in China.