Origin

This character combines two visual ideas to represent a tree trunk. The component 十, meaning "ten" or used as a cross shape, appears at the top and suggests the branching structure of a tree spreading outward. Below it, 早 originally depicted the sun or something rising early, but here it represents the solid base or body from which branches grow. Together, the character pictures the main woody stem of a tree, which then extended metaphorically to mean the "main part" or central element of anything, and eventually to describe someone's core talent or capability.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).