有 yǒu — to have, to possess; there is, there are; to exist
yǒu (third tone, dipping)
to have, to possess; there is, there are; to exist
6 strokesRadical 月Frequency #9
Pinyin
- yǒu (third tone, dipping)
to have, to possess; there is, there are; to exist
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿸𠂇月The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 𠂇meaning partno entry yetA right hand, the same 又 flattened out so that something can sit under it.
- 月meaning partNot the moon: here 月 is the flattened meat radical 肉, a cut of meat held in the hand.
Mnemonic
A hand closing over a piece of meat: holding meat is having something worth having. The hand is 又 with its strokes flattened, and the meat is 肉 written in the reduced shape that looks exactly like the moon — which is why dictionaries file 有 under the moon radical although no moon is involved. One rule goes with the character: 有 is negated by 没, never by 不 — 我没有钱, and never 我不有钱.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.