duō

much

Depicts two pieces of meat together to convey the meaning "much" or "plentiful". In ancient China meat was a rare treat. Unrelated to .

Components
肉 iconic component

  Iconic component

ròu

  

meat

Depicts a piece of meat.

肉 iconic component

  Iconic component

ròu

  

meat

Depicts a piece of meat.

Evolution

多 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
多 Bronze script Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Bronze script

Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)
多 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
多 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
多 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

duō

much, many; more than, over; many; much; often; a lot of; numerous; more; in excess; how (to what extent); multi-; Taiwan pr. [duó] when it means "how"

Most common words with 多
Freq.
Word
Meaning

many

多少

number

许多

many

好多

many

多久

how long?

Component uses

Meaning component in 5 characters (3 verified)

Sound component in 5 characters (1 verified)