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码mǎ

Character evolution

码

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Simplified · Today

Shuowen

码. Composed of 石 (stone) as the semantic radical and 马 (horse) as the phonetic component; the traditional form 碼 depicts stones stacked or arranged. Originally referred to a stone wharf, pier, or a pile of stones used as a marker—something solid and countable—hence its later extension to numbers, codes, and weights. The character captures both the material (stone) and the function (arrangement for counting or marking).

Pinyin

mǎ· HSK 1