p8nda
p8nda BETA
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具

jù
noun #1,583

Meanings

  1. 1 tool; device; utensil
  2. 2 to possess; to have
  3. 3 measure word for corpses, coffins

Examples

HSK 1
家具很贵。
Jiājù hěn guì.
Furniture is expensive.
HSK 3
你需要什么工具？
Nǐ xūyào shénme gōngjù?
What tools do you need?
HSK 3
具体时间是几点？
Jùtǐ shíjiān shì jǐ diǎn?
What is the specific time?

Tips

usage
具 is used in: 工具 (tool), 家具 (furniture), 具体 (specific/concrete), 具有 (to possess), 玩具 (toy), 餐具 (tableware). It carries a sense of 'having or equipping with something.'

Components

radical
八 bā
eight; split apart
Bottom indexing radical 八 - here a pair of legs splaying outward, the twin supports of the offered vessel. Not the number 'eight' in meaning but the same shape. Together with the cauldron above and the grip-line between, the whole character is a compound ideograph: 'hold up a complete vessel, possess/be furnished with.' Hence 'tool, utensil, possess.'
semantic
目 mù
eye
Top - visually 目 (eye) but historically a graphic regularisation of the upper part of 鼎 (a three-legged ritual cauldron). The original 具 pictured a cauldron held aloft by two hands, signifying offering up a complete ritual vessel. The 'eye' reading is a modern silhouette only - useful for stroke order but not for meaning.
semantic
一 yī
one; horizontal stroke
Middle horizontal - represents the hands' grip-line beneath the cauldron, a historical residue of the lifting frame. Visually it joins the upper 'eye' to the splayed legs below, forming the picture of a vessel held up steadily. Without this stroke the bottom 八 would float free of the top.

Stroke Order

具 jù