<p>They are not related.</p>

<p>In Oracle bone script, they are completely different shapes.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-01T03:16:37.230Z
2017-06-01T03:16:37.230Z
OmniBus
<blockquote>
  <p>The origin of 田 was a pictograph of a rice field</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/1e/zy/7530.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.zdic.net/z/1e/zy/7530.htm</a> <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/jTpoM.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jTpoM.gif" alt="rice field"></a></p>
  
  <p>The primary meaning of 田 is 'rice <strong>field</strong>'</p>
</blockquote>

<p>~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The origin of 由 was a pictograph of a sprout </p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7531.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7531.htm</a> <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0Ao3q.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0Ao3q.gif" alt="oil lamp"></a></p>
  
  <p>The primary meaning of 由 is '<strong>from</strong>; begin with'</p>
</blockquote>

<p>~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The origin of 甲 was a pictograph of the intersection of a <a href="http://battle-ready.com/home/wp-content/uploads/armour_short_plateD_1.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">planted armor</a></p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7532.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7532.htm</a> <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/YVjz4.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/YVjz4.gif" alt="planted armor"></a></p>
  
  <p>The primary meaning of 甲 is '<strong>armor</strong>; top class' </p>
</blockquote>

<p>~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The origin of 申 was a pictograph of a man kneeing with pleading hands (to plead to gods)</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7533.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7533.htm</a> <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/IfMth.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/IfMth.gif" alt="man kneeing with pleading hands"></a></p>
  
  <p>The primary meaning of 申 is '<strong>plead</strong>'</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-01T03:27:51.427Z
2017-06-01T03:33:58.253Z
2017-06-01T03:33:58.253Z
Tang Ho
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Is there any relationship between 田, 由, 甲, and 申?</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">田</a> (tián) = field; it seems rarely used</li>
<li><a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">由</a> (yóu) = ???; I've only seen it as a radical for <a href="http://dict.cn/%E6%B2%B9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">油</a> (yóu) = oil</li>
<li><a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">甲</a> (jiǎ) = nails, as in fingernails <a href="http://dict.cn/%E6%89%8B%E6%8C%87%E7%94%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">手指甲</a> (shǒuzhǐjiǎ); it's also a radical in 鸭子 (yāzi) = duck</li>
<li><a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">申</a> (shēn) = ???; I've seen it used in 申请 (shēnqǐng) = application</li>
</ul>

<p>The characters appear similar, so I tend to get them confused often.  It might be there's a reason these characters are similar which might help me remember them better (or there might be no meaningful relationship).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-01T03:15:34.240Z
cf。日加一笔可以变成什么字？https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/177588211.html
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-07T04:28:19.690Z
don't see modern glyph, we should see original glyph instead. enter your characters at   http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7531.htm  to check the most ancient glyph.
Daniel Yang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-15T17:43:18.410Z
No meaningful relationship. 由 is contentious in its meaning. The upper surrounding box in 甲 was a Shang king royalty mark (the character 甲 was almost identical in shape to the ancient 七 and modern 十 without the box), and without this box it was a picture of *marks on split bark/outer seed coatings* > *hard outer coating* > *nail, armour*. 申 is the original character for 电 (**/\*lˤi[n]-s/**), and depicts *forked lightning*; the meaning *extend* (**/\*l̥i[n]/**) is a semantic extension.
dROOOze
<characters>
Is there any relationship between 田 (tián), 由 (yóu), 甲 (jiǎ), and 申 (shēn)?
# Is there any relationship between 田 (tián), 由 (yóu), 甲 (jiǎ), and 申 (shēn)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-01)

**Question**: Is there any relationship between 田, 由, 甲, and 申?

* [田](http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B0) (tián) = field; it seems rarely used
* [由](http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B1) (yóu) = ???; I've only seen it as a radical for [油](http://dict.cn/%E6%B2%B9) (yóu) = oil
* [甲](http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B2) (jiǎ) = nails, as in fingernails [手指甲](http://dict.cn/%E6%89%8B%E6%8C%87%E7%94%B2) (shǒuzhǐjiǎ); it's also a radical in 鸭子 (yāzi) = duck
* [申](http://dict.cn/%E7%94%B3) (shēn) = ???; I've seen it used in 申请 (shēnqǐng) = application

The characters appear similar, so I tend to get them confused often. It might be there's a reason these characters are similar which might help me remember them better (or there might be no meaningful relationship).

**Tags:** characters

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: cf。日加一笔可以变成什么字？https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/177588211.html  
> **username_2**: don't see modern glyph, we should see original glyph instead. enter your characters at   http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7531.htm  to check the most ancient glyph.  
> **username_3**: No meaningful relationship. 由 is contentious in its meaning. The upper surrounding box in 甲 was a Shang king royalty mark (the character 甲 was almost identical in shape to the ancient 七 and modern 十 without the box), and without this box it was a picture of *marks on split bark/outer seed coatings* > *hard outer coating* > *nail, armour*. 申 is the original character for 电 (**/\*lˤi[n]-s/**), and depicts *forked lightning*; the meaning *extend* (**/\*l̥i[n]/**) is a semantic extension.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-06-01. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

> The origin of 田 was a pictograph of a rice field
>
> <http://www.zdic.net/z/1e/zy/7530.htm> [![rice field](https://i.sstatic.net/jTpoM.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/jTpoM.gif)
>
> The primary meaning of 田 is 'rice **field**'

~

> The origin of 由 was a pictograph of a sprout
>
> <http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7531.htm> [![oil lamp](https://i.sstatic.net/0Ao3q.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/0Ao3q.gif)
>
> The primary meaning of 由 is '**from**; begin with'

~

> The origin of 甲 was a pictograph of the intersection of a [planted armor](http://battle-ready.com/home/wp-content/uploads/armour_short_plateD_1.jpg)
>
> <http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7532.htm> [![planted armor](https://i.sstatic.net/YVjz4.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/YVjz4.gif)
>
> The primary meaning of 甲 is '**armor**; top class'

~

> The origin of 申 was a pictograph of a man kneeing with pleading hands (to plead to gods)
>
> <http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7533.htm> [![man kneeing with pleading hands](https://i.sstatic.net/IfMth.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/IfMth.gif)
>
> The primary meaning of 申 is '**plead**'


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### Answer by username_4 on 2017-06-01. Score: 0

They are not related.

In Oracle bone script, they are completely different shapes.


---

