著 - Dong Chinese dictionary

zhe, zhāo, zháo, zhuó, zhù

[progress particle]

Original meaning:

chopsticks

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "chopsticks", now written as 箸. The modern meanings are phonetic loans.

Components

艹 Meaning component

cao, cǎo

grass

Alludes to bamboo chopsticks. 艹 and ⺮ (bamboo) were often used interchangeably with each other because of their visual and semantic similarity.

艹 hints at the original meaning of 著, "chopsticks", which is no longer the most common meaning of 著 in modern Mandarin.

者 Sound component

zhě

one who...

Evolution

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

着 (著)

zhe

manifest; (Cant.) to wear; aspect particle indicating action in progress

着 (著)

zhāo

(chess) move; trick; all right!; (dialect) to add

着 (著)

zháo

to touch; to come in contact with; to feel; to be affected by; to catch fire; to burn; (coll.) to fall asleep; (after a verb) hitting the mark; succeeding in

着 (著)

zhuó

to wear (clothes); to contact; to use; to apply

著

zhù

to make known; to show; to prove; to write; book; outstanding

Most common words with 著