圉 (yǔ) · horse stable, groom (one who tends horses), frontier

Meanings

1 horse stable
2 groom (one who tends horses)
3 frontier
4 border region

Characters

圉

yǔ

stable / frontier

Examples

HSK 7-9

古代设有圉人，专司养马。

Gǔdài shèyǒu yǔ rén, zhuān sī yǎng mǎ.

In ancient times there was an official called yǔrén, in charge of tending horses.

HSK 7-9

亦聊以固吾圉也。

Yì liáo yǐ gù wú yǔ yě.

It will also serve to secure our frontier. (《左传》)

Tips

memory

The 囗 (enclosure) radical wraps everything inside - fitting for both meanings: an enclosed corral for horses, and an enclosed border zone of a state. The inside element 幸 hints at 'safety / fortune' kept within.

register

Classical Chinese only. You will see it in 《左传》, 《周礼》, and the compound 圉人 (yǔrén, royal groom). Never used in modern speech.

Components

radical

囗 wéi

enclosure; pen

Outer enclosure radical - the big square wrapping the inside, top-left and top-right strokes first and closed on the last horizontal. Distinct from the smaller 口 mouth. As the indexing radical it carries the meaning: 圉 is a fenced pen for horses or a walled frontier. Family: 国, 园, 困.

semantic

幸 xìng

lucky; fortunate (here a fetter)

Inside 幸 - the modern shape pictures 'lucky' but the original glyph was a wooden fetter for criminals. Combined with the enclosure outside, 圉 reads as 'shackled prisoner kept in a pen' - the etymology of a guarded horse-stable, and secondarily of a guarded frontier zone.