粪
fèn · HSK 7
manure
💩 fèn sounds like fun but dung is no fun at all
The top component 米 (rice) hints at the cycle: grain goes in, manure comes out. The character tracks rice through the whole digestive journey.
粪 — rice 米 + different 异 (top: 田)
Originally a pictograph showing two hands holding a winnowing basket dumping rice husks and waste, meaning 'to sweep away refuse.' Over time it came to mean the refuse itself, especially excrement or manure. The modern form combines 米 (rice) with a simplified element from the older shape.