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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

六

liù
six
  • Pictogram
  • HSK 1
  • TOCFL 1
  • radical 八
  • 4 strokes
  • 陸
  • 陆

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Origin

Pictogram (象形) – perhaps a shed. Originally using the similar-sounding word 廬 (OC *ra, “shed, cabin”) to represent the concept “six” (Liu Xinglong). Alternatively, it may be an ancient counting symbol.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-k-ruk (“six”).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • inheritedProto-Sino-Tibetan*d-k-ruk “six”

Words built on it: 學

Meanings

character
  1. six
  2. small text; The size of type between 小五 (xiǎowǔ, “little 5”) and 小六 (xiǎoliù, “little 6”), standardized as 7½ point.
  3. proficient
  4. awesome; excellent; remarkable
  5. a surname (pronounced Lù)
  6. name of an ancient state (pronounced Lù), also found in placenames (e.g., 六安 (Lù'ān) Lu'an, Anhui, China)

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

六：《易》之數，陰變於六，正於八。从入从八。凡六之屬皆从六。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 周朝時的六國，故址約在今安徽省六安縣。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 六 was written 字形演變

  1. 六 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 六 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 六 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 六 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  5. 六 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  6. 六 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 六