德 (Dé)

Germany; German; abbr. for 德國|德国[De2 guo2]

HSK 3.1 level 7
15 strokes

Etymology

Originally written as 惪, depicting a straight (直) heart (心). The 彳 (walk) component was added later.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》：“德，升也。从彳，聲。”

Components

彳 (meaning) — 彳 is a component form of 行.
惪 (sound, meaning) — Original form of 德.