■ radical

zhì

to administer

How it’s built

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 台 represents the sound. Originally referred to a body of water in Shandong province. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

氵

meaning

water — 氵 is a component form of 水.

台

sound

platform; station; (simp.) table; counter — The pronunciation of 治 was similar to 台 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.

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