南

nā
#307 most
frequent character
used in 南無|南无[na1mo2], Taiwan pr. [na2]

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

南 first showed a musical instrument and meant that instrument. The sense 'south' was borrowed only for the sound, with no link to the picture. So today's common meaning comes from that sound loan.

Drawn as: musical instrument

南 as a component in other characters

sound6 characters
献喃楠罱蝻腩

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