故乡
gùxiāng · HSK 3
home
🏠 故乡 = old/former + village = hometown
故 means old or former; 乡 means village or countryside. Together they name the village you came from — your birthplace or ancestral home. Compare 故事 (old + matter = story) where 故 carries the same 'former/past' sense.
故 — 古 (old) + 攵 (action/strike)
故 combines 古 'old' as the phonetic with 攵, a variant of 攴 meaning to strike or act. Originally it referred to a cause or reason behind an action. From this it extended to mean 'former, old, deceased' and 'therefore, hence' as a connector.
乡 — simplified form of 鄉; right side 阝(city/region)
Originally depicted two people facing each other across food vessels, showing a communal feast in a village. The meaning shifted from 'shared meal' to 'home village' and 'countryside.' The simplified form 乡 keeps a stylized trace of this scene.