守
shǒu · HSK 4
guard
🛡️ 守 = 宀 (roof) + 寸 (hand/inch) — a hand under a roof keeps watch
The roof radical 宀 marks a building or home, and 寸 originally depicted a hand. Together they encode someone stationed at the house with hand ready — guarding, defending, keeping watch over what's inside.
守 — roof 宀 + hand/measure 寸
Originally depicts a hand (寸) under a roof (宀), suggesting someone guarding or maintaining a household. The combination evokes the idea of holding or keeping watch over a place. From this concrete image of guarding a home, the meaning broadened to 'guard,' 'protect,' 'keep,' and 'observe (rules).'