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

他卧在床上休息。

Tā wò zài chuáng shàng xiūxi.

He lay on the bed resting.

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.