寡 guǎ widowed
怎么记住“寡”: 宀 roof + 丆 thumb tack + 且 moreover + 分 divide = widowed. Under his quiet roof grandpa pins their photo with a thumb tack to the shelf and, moreover, still divides each cake in two, newly widowed.
部件结构
会意 · Meaning + meaning
originally 宀 + 頁
Two or more parts whose meanings together make the new meaning.
寡 = 宀 roof + 𪟊 lone person
- 宀 roof meaning
- 𪟊 lone person shape only
- 丆 thumb tack
- 且 moreover
- 分 divide
- 八 eight
- 刀 knife
Under his quiet roof grandpa pins their photo with a thumb tack to the shelf and, moreover, still divides each cake in two, newly widowed.
How it came to be
The oldest form shows a single person under the roof of a house: someone left alone.
用法
- Two threads: widowed: 寡妇 (guǎfu) widow, 守寡 (shǒuguǎ) to remain a widow; and few/scant: 寡言 (guǎyán) taciturn, 沉默寡言 (chénmò-guǎyán) reserved.
- 优柔寡断 (yōuróu-guǎduàn) = indecisive; 孤陋寡闻 (gūlòu-guǎwén) = ill-informed.
- 寡 as 'few' contrasts with 众 (zhòng, many): 寡不敌众 (guǎ bù dí zhòng) the few can't beat the many.