楚 - Dong Chinese dictionary

chǔ

clear

Original meaning:

bush

Phonosemantic compound. 林 represents the meaning and 疋 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bush". The meaning later shifted to "distinct" and "clear".

Components

林 Meaning component

lín

forest

林 hints at the original meaning of 楚, "bush", which is no longer the most common meaning of 楚 in modern Mandarin.

疋 Sound component

pǐ, shū, yǎ

foot

楚 and 疋 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.楚 /*[s.r̥]aʔ/, /*s.r̥aʔ/, /*s.r̥aʔ/
疋 /*sra/

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze script

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

楚

chǔ

name of feudal state; clear; distinct; orderly; pain; suffering; deciduous bush used in Chinese medicine (genus Vitex); punishment cane (old)

楚

Chǔ

surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[HúběiShěng] and Hunan 湖南省[HúnánShěng] provinces together; Chinese kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722-221 BC)

Most common words with 楚

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	清楚	clear
	楚	clear
	宋楚瑜	James Soong (1942-), Taiwanese politician expelled from Guomindang in 2000 when he founded People First Party 親民黨\|亲民党
	痛楚	pain
	一清二楚	to be very clear about sth (idiom)