Origin

This character combines the mountain radical (山) appearing twice with the small or thread-like radical (幺) in the middle as a sound hint for the pronunciation. The visual idea of a mountain with something small or delicate woven through it suggests something hidden or confined within—like the way a narrow, winding valley deep within mountains feels secluded and hard to reach. Over time, this extended to mean anything profound, deep, or faint, as if obscured by distance or concealed by layers, much like what lies hidden in remote mountain places.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).