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等děng

Character evolution

等

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Simplified · Today

Shuowen

Equal. The character combines bamboo (竹) with temple/office (寺), originally depicting bamboo strips of uniform length stacked together in ancient archives—these were the equal-sized tablets used for official records. From this sense of uniformity and levelness came the extended meanings of ranking, waiting, and equivalence. The oracle bone form shows bamboo symbols arranged in parallel rows, capturing the essential idea of things being aligned and equal.

Pinyin

děng· HSK 1