Origin

This character combines a hand radical on the left, which classifies it as an action you do with your hands, with the component 末 on the right that serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The 末 component sounds like "matsu," which matches the on'yomi reading マツ. The hand radical together with this sound component creates a character meaning "to rub" or "to paint" — actions performed by hand that often involve spreading or applying something across a surface. Over time, the related meanings of erasing and rubbing away developed from this core sense of hand motion.

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