寡 · Cai Yong
Guǎ (3rd tone). The Shuowen reads 寡 as 「少也。从宀从颁」 — ‘few; from 宀 and 颁.’ It is scarcity under a roof — the lone, the lacking. The Odes pity it: 《诗经·小雅·鸿雁》 「哀此鳏寡」 — ‘pity the widower and the widow.’ Yet the same 寡 is the humble royal ‘I’ (寡人, $9.00 – Purchase Checkout Added to cart