Origin

The character combines the speech radical on the left, which marks words related to language and communication, with a sound component on the right that indicates the pronunciation. The overall character developed to express the idea of speaking humbly or with self-restraint — the kind of modest speech that comes from not boasting about yourself. The shape captures how humility is fundamentally about what you say and how you express yourself to others.

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