Origin

This character combines "mouth" on the left with a component meaning "cause" or "bind" on the right. The idea is that something restricts or binds the mouth and throat, creating the sensation of choking or being unable to breathe freely. The character pictures the physical experience of the throat being constricted or blocked—whether by food, emotion, or stuffiness in the air. Over time, it came to mean the throat itself and the various choking or smothered sensations associated with it.