舞
wǔ · HSK 5
dance
💃 舞 = dance; top shows two hands waving sleeves, bottom 舛 = crossing feet
Ancient pictograph of a dancer: the upper strokes depict ornamental sleeves or tassels held in both hands, and the bottom 舛 component shows two feet stepping in opposite directions — the motion of a dance.
舞 — dancer with tassels 無 + opposing feet 舛
舞 is a pictograph of a person dancing while holding ox-tail tassels or feathered streamers in both hands; the upper part 無 originally depicted the dancer with ornaments, and 舛 below shows two feet stepping in opposite directions. When 無 was borrowed to mean 'not/none,' 舛 was added to preserve the original 'dance' meaning.