等 (děng) — to wait; noun — grade, rank; and so on

entries → 等

TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 · 字

等 character · TOCFL 1

等＝竹＋寺

ㄉㄥˇ · děng

verb — to wait; noun — grade, rank; and so on

字源 FORM — what the parts do

竹義bamboo slips — documents

寺義the court officethe office, not yet the temple — where the slips are sorted

Bamboo slips (竹) trimmed and stacked even at the court office (寺) — 說文: 齊簡也, evening up the documents. From even stacks: grades and ranks (等級), equal (相等), and the trailing 等等 — the rest of the stack. The everyday waiting (等一下) writes with the same character.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

官署（寺）裡，竹（竹）簡墩了又墩，齊了才捆。

In the office (寺), the bamboo slips (竹) are tapped square again and again — tied off only when even.

字源記憶法

意 · Meanings

(本義)齊簡— slips evened up

→等級、相等— rank; equal

→等待、等一下— to wait常用

⇒等等— and so on — the rest of the stack

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension