卧 (wò): to lie down; to recline

Meanings

1 to lie down; to recline
2 to crouch; to sit (of animals)

Characters

卧

wò

to lie down; to recline

Examples

HSK 1

他卧在床上休息。

Tā wò zài chuáng shàng xiūxi.

He lay on the bed resting.

HSK 3

这是卧室。

Zhè shì wòshì.

This is the bedroom.

Tips

usage

Most commonly seen in 卧室 (bedroom) and 卧铺 (sleeping berth on a train).

Components

radical

卜 bǔ

divine; consult an oracle

Right 卜 - the indexing radical. Originally a pictograph of cracks in an oracle bone, here functioning as a positional indicator rather than carrying its divination meaning. Together with the lowered-eye image on the left, the pairing gives the picture of a person at rest - eyes shut, body reclined.

semantic

臣 chén

minister; downcast eye

Left 臣 - originally a pictograph of an eye drawn vertically, lowered in deference. In 卧 the eye image is repurposed to depict a person lying down with eyes closed in rest. Carries the entry's core meaning even though the indexing radical is on the right.