Origin

This character combines the meaning of "grandchild" (孫) with the "movement" or "path" radical (辶), which suggests stepping back or withdrawing. The idea is that just as a grandchild yields to their elder's wisdom, the character came to represent the act of being modest or humble—stepping back from prominence or surrendering one's position to others. The walking radical reinforces the sense of moving backward or retreating in deference. Together, these parts express the humble attitude of knowing one's place and yielding to those ahead of you.

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