没méi
Character evolution
没
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简体
Simplified Chinese
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Shuowen
没. In oracle bone script the character consists of the water radical (氵) combined with a hand (又) that presses down into the water, depicting the act of submerging or sinking. The original meaning "to sink" later extended metaphorically to "to have none", giving the modern sense of "not have" (没有). The composition of water and a hand (later simplified as 殳) shows the action of immersing, explaining the character's form.
Pinyin
méi· HSK 1