Meaning & readings
duplicate, double, compound, multiple
Origin
The character 複 combines the clothing radical 衤 on the left with 复 on the right. The 复 component serves as a sound hint, telling you roughly how to pronounce the character. The clothing radical suggests something made of fabric that can be layered or folded, which naturally connects to the idea of something doubled or layered. Over time, the meaning expanded from physical doubling (like folded cloth) to the broader concept of duplication, multiplicity, and compound structures.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).
Components
- 衤
- 复
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 14
- Kangxi radical
- 145
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #915 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+08907