Origin

The character 隅 combines the "hill" or "earth" radical on the left—suggesting something related to land or terrain—with the component 禺 on the right, which serves as a sound hint for the pronunciation. The meaning "corner" or "nook" likely developed from the idea of the corner or edge of a hill or raised area, since corners and nooks are places where surfaces meet at angles, much like the corners of terrain features. Over time, the character generalized to mean any corner or secluded spot.

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