■ radical

yuē

treaty

How it’s built

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 勺 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "to bind". The meaning later shifted to "restrain", "keep under control", "appointment", and "approximately".

糹

meaning

silk; thread — 糹 is a component form of 糸.

勺

sound

spoon; ladle — The pronunciation of 約 was similar to 勺 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.

Appears in

Characters that use 約 as a component, most common first.

喲yōah

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