立方
lì fāng · HSK 7
cube
🧊 立 stand-up + 方 square = a square raised up into three dimensions: a cube
立 means stand or erect and 方 means square or right-angled. Together they name a square pushed up off the page into a solid: the cube. It also shortens 立方體 (the cube shape) and 立方米 (cubic meter), the unit for measuring volume.
立 — person standing on ground (大 over 一)
Pictograph of a person standing with arms outstretched on the ground line below. The original oracle bone form clearly shows a frontal human figure planted on the earth. The core meaning 'to stand' extended to 'establish, set up, erect.'
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'