座右铭
zuò yoù míng · HSK 7
motto
📜 座右铭 = seat + right + inscription: words inscribed to the right of your seat
Decomposition: 座 seat + 右 right + 铭 inscription. The etymology is literal — ancient scholars carved a guiding maxim onto a plaque kept to the right of where they sat, so it stayed in daily view as a personal motto.
座 — 广 (shelter) + 坐 (to sit)
Originally written as 坐, meaning 'to sit' (two people 人人 sitting on the ground 土). The shelter radical 广 was added to specify the place where one sits — a seat, throne, or platform. 坐 remained the verb 'to sit,' while 座 became the noun 'seat.'
右 — hand 𝆑 (又) + mouth 口
Originally a pictograph of the right hand (又). Later 口 'mouth' was added to distinguish the directional meaning 'right' from the older hand sense. The 又 component now appears stylized as the top-left stroke shape, while 口 sits below.