Origin

The character 射 combines two components that together express the idea of shooting or projecting outward. The left side, 身, represents the body or a person, while the right side, 寸, originally meant a small unit of distance or measurement. By putting these together, the character suggests a person extending force or motion outward over a measured distance—the core idea behind shooting an arrow or shining light onto something. This visual logic of "body plus distance" captures how archery and projection work: you direct force from your body toward a target away from you.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).