Analysis of 对

bazza
 August 15, 2007 at 07:25 PM posted in General Discussion

Is 对 supposed to represent a thumbs-up? As it's made up of the right-hand radical 又 and thumb radical 寸.

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daizi
 August 16, 2007 at 12:00 AM

寸 (cùn) means "hand", with the dot representing a thumb. 又 (yòu) is just the simplification for 業, which has no known meaning (對=duì traditional) .

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aeflow
 August 15, 2007 at 11:54 PM

Probably not.

I'm not sure where you get the "thumb", 寸 is supposed to be "Chinese inch" or "very small". In French, they use the same word for inch and thumb (pouce), but I'm not sure about Chinese.

I'm not sure where you get the "up" either.

Don't forget the traditional form is 對 and the significance or origin of the right-hand side is apparently obscure.

I'm not sure that a "thumbs up" gesture was even used in China until modern times, it seems pretty unlikely.

What mnemonics would you dream up for 时 or 过 etc. and how would thumbs fit in there?

Personally, I think mnemonics are bunk, but hey if they work for you...