The inconsistency of the 又 simplification
We have seen some inconsistencies in the simplification process in previous posts. Today we are going to look at characters whose parts were simplified to 又. 又(you4) is a character that already exists in the traditional script. In addition to this, 又 is already used as a character component, e.g., 友.
Here is an incomplete list of such simplifications.
堇 was simplified to 又.
雚 was simplified to 又.
壴 was simplified to 又.
堇 was simplified to 又.
䖒 was simplified to 又.
睪 was simplified to 又.
奚 was simplified to 又.
登 was simplified to 又.
鳳 was simplified to 凤.
攴 (often looks like 攵 when on the right) was simplified to 又.
對 was simplified to 对.
Some characters with repeated parts had the bottom half converted to 又.
Some characters had entire sections changed to 又.
As you can see, there is a lot of inconsistency here. Again, this is not a complete list, these are just some of the ones that I know of and was able to find. With all of these variations, I believe it makes it more difficult to remember a character’s etymology and how it should be pronounced.
Happy learning!