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

家具很贵。
Jiājù hěn guì.
Furniture is expensive.
你需要什么工具？
Nǐ xūyào shénme gōngjù?
What tools do you need?
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; (here: vessel-shape)
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