Origin

This character combines a hand radical on the left, which indicates the character relates to grasping or holding with your hands, with the component 巴 on the right, which serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The hand radical naturally connects to the meaning of grasping or holding things, while 巴 provides a clue to how the character sounds. Over time, the character came to mean not just the act of grasping, but also bundles or bunches of things you'd hold together in your hand, as well as a counter word for counting such grouped items.