窃
竊qiè
#2,099 most
frequent character
to steal, secretly, (humble) I
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
窃 qiè pairs 穴, a cave or hole, with 切 qiè. Stealing rice from a hole gives the first meaning, 'to steal coarse rice'. From there it grew to 'to steal', then 'to do something secretly', and finally a humble way to say 'I'. 切 qiè supplies the sound.
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