丁 dīng male adult
male adult; 4th heavenly stem; the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems 天干; small cube
How it came to be
象形 · Pictogram
A drawing of the thing it means.
Originally: nail
A nail seen from the side: the flat head across the top, the shaft coming down and hooking where it has been bent over.
How it is used
- As a common char it means an adult male / member of a population: 人丁 (réndīng) household members, 壮丁 (zhuàngdīng) able-bodied man for conscription.
- Also the 4th of the ten heavenly stems, so it labels item 'D' in ordered lists (甲乙丙丁 = A B C D).
- And it names small diced cubes in cooking: 鸡丁 (jīdīng) diced chicken, as in 宫保鸡丁.