王

wàng
#299 most
frequent character
(literary) (of a monarch) to reign over (a kingdom)

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

王 began as a drawing of an axe blade, a sign of power. That gave the first sense, 'highest ruler'. The meaning then grew to 'ruler' and 'king'.

Drawn as: axe blade

王 as a component in other characters

sound8 characters
picture7 characters

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