区qū

区

Hover to feel · click to explore

Simplified · Today

繁体

Traditional Chinese

The traditional form 區 preserves a vivid picture—a container holding multiple items, from which the original meaning of "to store or collect" derived. When simplified to 区, this visual clarity was lost, leaving only a shadow of the character that once clearly showed goods bundled in a basket. Today it serves as a common administrative unit, appearing in words for district, region, and zone, though the eye can no longer see what the hand once drew.

← → navigate · swipe on mobile

Shuowen

区 (qū). The character combines 匚, a box-like enclosure, with 囗 (not shown but underlying 品) representing a mouth or opening—together suggesting a space that contains or conceals. In oracle bone inscriptions, this depicted a container holding multiple items, conveying the original sense of hiding, storing, or categorizing things within a bounded area. The meaning later extended to denote a district or region, as a defined space set apart.

Pinyin

qū· HSK 1

区qū

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin