宙, Time in KR

 TITLE: 

宙, Time in KR - Hypothesis -.

AUTHOR: 

SEOK WOO YANG, MD & PhD.

CONTACT: 
E.mail: soplab@outlook.kr
DATE: 
2026.03.16.

REFERENCE:

God's Hidden Code in Korean Words (C-2015-021846)

CONTENT:

The Hanja for ‘Universe’ (Cosmos) is 宇宙 (우주).

In Oriental philosophy, 宇 (우) describes 'Space (the vast horizontal expanse)', while 宙 (주) represents 'Time (the infinite vertical progression)'.

In this article, I analyze and interpret the concept of ‘Time in KR’ through the Hanja 宙.

The Hanja 宙 carries several meanings, including universe, time, space (as in 宇), and even ‘house’ or ‘roofed structure’. Among these, when depicting the universe (cosmos) in the compound 宇宙, 宙 specifically indicates time—infinite time, eternity, or endless duration.

宙 is composed of 宀 (the radical for "roof" or "home" in Korean/Chinese) and 由 (origin, to stem from, cause, or historical background). For the meaning of 宀 ("home" or "roof"), please refer to the reference link.

Regarding 由, there is no single universally agreed-upon origin, but the most widely accepted theories draw from oracle bone script (甲骨文), bronze inscriptions, and later scholarly analyses. These primarily interpret it as "to stem from," "origin," or sometimes "liquid/drop" (see Addendum for details).

In my own analysis, I view 由 as composed of 日 (sun, light, flame) and 丨 (a vertical wood stick or penetrating line).This brings to mind The Biblical account in Exodus 3 (at Mount Horeb), where Moses met God in the ‘Burning Bush’—a bush aflame with fire yet not consumed.

I thought of the word 由 as an infographic vividly describing this situation:

日 (sun/light/flame) represents the burning fire,
丨 (wood stick/penetrating line) represents the bush (a kind of tree or wooden plant).

In this pivotal historical encounter, God revealed His name as "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14 KJV) and commissioned Moses for his mission. Here, "AM" connotes existence, being, and presence. The concept of ‘Presence’ intrinsically includes the dimension of time.

In this interpretive context, 宙 can be translated or understood as "God’s Light (日) on the Tree (丨) within a Spiritual Home (宀)", symbolizing the concept of time in the universe (cosmos)—eternal, originating, and divinely sustained presence across infinite duration.

ADDENDUM

Grok AI summarized the etymologies of ‘由’ are as follows:

Sprout or young plant emerging from the ground / field (most common modern explanation):

Pictographically depicts a young shoot/sprout (the vertical stroke 丨 or middle line) emerging / growing out from the soil or a field boundary (the surrounding 田-like enclosure).
→ Core idea: "arising from", "coming out of", "originating from" a source.
This directly leads to the primary meanings: from, by way of, due to / because of, cause / reason (something stems or proceeds from a point of origin).

Liquid (oil / drop) pouring or dripping from a container (a strong ancient / alternative theory):

In some oracle bone forms, it shows a drop or liquid (top or middle stroke) flowing out from a vessel or nearly enclosed container (the 田-like part representing a jar or pot with a small opening).
→ Especially linked to 油 (oil / yóu), where 由 is the phonetic component + 氵 (water radical) added later.
Original meaning tied to "flowing from" or "pouring out from" → extended to "from", "source", "cause".
Some scholars (e.g., interpretations from 油's etymology) see 由 as originally the pictograph for pouring oil / liquid from a vessel.


REFERENCE
日
宀

丨