Meaning & readings
use, send on a mission, order, messenger, envoy, ambassador, cause
Origin
This character combines two parts to show the idea of employment and command. The left side is a person marker, showing that the character involves human action. The right side, 吏, represents an official or administrative authority—originally picturing someone in an official role. Together, the character depicts a person acting under official direction or authority, which naturally developed into meanings like "to use," "to send on a mission," and "messenger." The sense of directed action by one person toward another, under some authority, captures what it means to use someone or send them as an envoy.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).
Components
- 亻
- 吏
Common words
- 駆使 くし using freely; making full use of
- 公使 こうし envoy; diplomat below the rank of ambassador (e.g. deputy chief of mission, charge d'affaires)
- 行使 こうし use; exercise (of one's right, authority, power, etc.)
- 酷使 こくし exploitation; overuse
- 使い つかい errand; mission
- 使う つかう to use (a tool, method, etc.); to make use of
- 使者 ししゃ messenger; envoy
- 使節 しせつ envoy; ambassador
Reference
- Strokes
- 8
- Kangxi radical
- 9
- Grade
- Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #219 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 3
- Unicode
- U+04F7F