逆

Originally pictographic, later phono-semantic compound.

Semantic elements: 彳 (조금 걸을 척, “to walk”) and 止 (그칠 지, “to stop”) → combined into 辵 (⻍, “to go, to move”).

Phonetic element: 屰 (거스를 역), depicting a person standing with arms and legs spread apart, i.e., the form of 大 reversed upside down — symbolizing opposition or reversal.

Thus, 逆 expresses “to move in the opposite direction” — literally “to go contrary to.”

Appears in oracle bone script (甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén) in several forms:

as simple 屰 (“inverted man” shape),

as 屰 with 止 below,

as 屰 with 彳 beside,

and finally as 屰 + 彳 + 止 — the form that evolved into the modern 逆.

The original meaning was “to meet, to go toward,” synonymous with 迎 (영).

Over time, the sense reversed to “to oppose, to go against.”

The two words 迎 (“to meet”) and 逆 (“to go against”) are regarded as cognates — originally having similar pronunciation and shared etymological roots.

역행(逆行) — retrogression; moving backward; acting contrary to trend

역풍(逆風) — headwind, adversity

역류(逆流) — reflux, reverse flow

반역(反逆) — treason, rebellion

거역(拒逆) — defiance, resistance

역격(逆擊) — counterattack (archaic synonym of 영격 迎擊)

The shift of meaning from “to meet” to “to oppose” reflects a semantic reversal — the idea of moving toward became moving against over centuries of usage.

In classical Chinese texts, 逆 could still carry both meanings depending on context. For example:

「逆命」— “to defy orders.”

「逆旅」— “a roadside inn” (literally, “place for travelers to meet”).

Today, only the adversarial sense (“to go against”) remains active in all East Asian languages.