四处
sìchù · HSK 6
everywhere
🔄🌍 四 (four) + 处 (places) = four directions, meaning everywhere
Think of the four cardinal directions — north, south, east, west. If something is in all four places, it is everywhere. 四处 literally bundles four + places into all around.
四 — enclosure 囗 + divide 八
Originally 四 was written as four horizontal strokes (亖), a simple tally for the number four. The current form, showing 八 (divide) inside an enclosure 囗, was borrowed during the Zhou dynasty and gradually replaced the older tally form. The shape is unrelated to its meaning today.
处 — 夂 (foot) + 几 (low table/stool)
Originally depicted a person stopping (夂, an inverted foot) beside a stool (几), suggesting someone settling down in a place. From 'to dwell/stay' the meaning broadened to 'place, location' (chù) and 'to handle, deal with' (chǔ). The simplified form drops the older 虍 top found in 處.