<p>友 is two hands 又 side by side. You can think of it as a handshake, which became the meaning for 'friend'.</p>
<p>犮 is a hand 又 holding onto a leash of a dog 犬. It could be a person pulling the leash or the dog is pulling the person. Back then, people traveled and explored unknown lands with a dog by their side for protection. 犮 is an obsolete character no longer used in modern writing. &quot;Pull&quot; is now clarified with an additional hand becoming 拔, while &quot;travel&quot; or &quot;explore&quot; is clarified with a leg becoming 跋.</p>

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2021-04-09T04:24:19.250Z
Clearcut and straight to the point answer. confusion disappeared. Thanks Fishuman.
user27485
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-09T02:13:17.740Z
2021-04-09T02:21:00.660Z
2021-04-09T02:21:00.660Z
Fishuman
<p>I am confused at these two characters some times. Could you please let me know etymology of these 2 characters? and advise any further analysis. Thanks</p>
<p>友  yǒu friend
犮 bá to pull up</p>

<etymology><glyph-origin>
etymology of 友, 犮
# etymology of 友, 犮

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-09)

I am confused at these two characters some times. Could you please let me know etymology of these 2 characters? and advise any further analysis. Thanks

友 yǒu friend
犮 bá to pull up

**Tags:** etymology, glyph-origin


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-09. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

友 is two hands 又 side by side. You can think of it as a handshake, which became the meaning for 'friend'.

犮 is a hand 又 holding onto a leash of a dog 犬. It could be a person pulling the leash or the dog is pulling the person. Back then, people traveled and explored unknown lands with a dog by their side for protection. 犮 is an obsolete character no longer used in modern writing. "Pull" is now clarified with an additional hand becoming 拔, while "travel" or "explore" is clarified with a leg becoming 跋.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Clearcut and straight to the point answer. confusion disappeared. Thanks username_1.  

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