吊
diào · HSK 6
a string of 100 cash
🪢 diào sounds like 'dee-ow' — the cry of mourners at a funeral
吊 originally depicted a person wrapped with a cord, referring to a strung-together unit of 100 coins. The meaning later extended to hanging, suspending, and mourning the dead — all sharing the core sense of something tied or strung up.
吊 — 口 mouth on top + 巾 cloth below
Originally a pictograph showing a person hanging by a rope, depicting the act of suspending or hanging. Over time it came to mean 'to hang, suspend' and by extension 'to mourn' (since mourners would hang offerings). The modern form 吊 replaced the older 弔, which showed a person wrapped in cords.