九jiǔ

九

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Modern simplified form (簡體). 九 (jiǔ, "nine") retains its ancient pictographic shape — a stylized elbow bent at a right angle — unchanged from oracle bone script to today's simplified form. As a component it appears in 仇 (resentment), 轨 (track) and 旭 (rising sun), where the original "elbow" meaning has faded into pure phonetic element.

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Shuowen

九, the numeral nine, originally depicted a bent elbow in oracle bone script. The form consists of a horizontal stroke meeting a downward hook, visually evoking a crooked arm. This shape was chosen because the elbow's bend symbolized the ninth position in a sequence, and the hook emphasizes the bending motion.

Pinyin

jiǔ· HSK 1

九jiǔ

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin