Origin

This character appears to be a picture of a person bending or kneeling down in a posture of supplication. The two strokes at the top represent the head and upper body, while the lower strokes show the legs bent in a pleading gesture. Over time, this image of someone in a humble, requesting posture came to mean "to beg" or "to ask," since begging and asking often involve such a posture of deference toward another person.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.