TSUMUGU · A2 (est.) · 字
爾
爾 ＝ 冂 ＋ 尒
ㄦˇ · ěr
pronoun — you; thus, so; (suffix) -ly
字源 FORM — what the parts do
冂形an outer frame
尒聲ěr — gives the sound, sunk into the frame
An outer frame (冂) closed around 尒 ěr, which carries the sound exactly though it has sunk into the strokes. The word serves as "you," and as the "thus, so" that ends a phrase: 爾後、莞爾、出爾反爾.
意 · Meanings
(本義)爾— you (archaic)常用
→爾後— thereafter, thenceforth
→莞爾、率爾— thus, so (phrase-ending)
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
你nǐthe everyday "you" — 你 adds the person 亻 to ; 爾 is the older word尒ěrthe phonetic alone — the bare core before the frame closed around it