Analyzing radical positions and semantic relationships

This study analyzed 10 pairs of characters (a total of 20 characters) from the Shuowen Jiezi constructed with the same radicals. The analysis demonstrated that even when characters were composed of the same radicals, variations in their structural composition resulted in significantly different meanings. This discrepancy arose from whether the radical played the semantic role or phonetic role in character formation. The analysis showed clearly that among characters with the same radical structure, there were instances where extended semantic relationships could be inferred. Chinese characters, being predominantly ideographic, often have multiple meanings, and some meanings may evolve to lead to the development of new characters, enhancing semantic differentiation. It could be argued that this process gave rise to new characters through simple adjustments in the positions of the same radicals.