使 calligraphy

使

to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger

Closest English meanings

make·send·envoy·cause

The Calligrapher — Wú Shuō 吴说

Song calligrapher famed for thread-cursive (yousi) script; his small regular script led the age.

Song calligrapher (), master of running script/游丝书 — known for 创游丝书. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

使 is the envoy and the cause. The 史记 sends 使者 along the Silk Road; a king's 使命 is to bear a message of war or peace. The 论语 says rites 使 people orderly. To 使得 a thing happen is to move it from will to fact. A 大使 still represents a state abroad.

Common words & phrases

  • 使用 use · employ
  • 使者 envoy · messenger
  • 使命 mission
  • 迫使 force · compel
  • 使得 cause · make
  • 大使 ambassador

Read the story behind the character

In the modern world

The app 使用 a fingerprint to unlock; an 大使 meets the press. A deadline 迫使 the team to work late, and a note 使得 the plan change. At the desk a 使者 delivers a package. Causing, employing, and representing all pass through this busy official word.

Own this character

Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Wú Shuō 吴说, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.