Learn one Chinese Character a day - 未

Today's new character looks very similar with what we just learnt 末. Both have an indicator at treetop. with 末 a longer dash, 未 a shorter dash.

It is believed that 未 used to contain the same meaning as 末. When time passed, 未 was then used to mean something else.

To know its meaning better, let us examine its evolution history first: (image get from http://www.vividict.com)

Learn one Chinese Character a day - 未

Oracle Script of 未 - is to add extra branches to a tree . It is to mean leafy. But comparing with trees with plenty of fruit - , the difference is that has not bear any fruit yet.

So or its modern writing 未 has the meaning of not yet or in the future.
And of course, 未 contains its original meaning for the season that trees are leafy but not fruitful yet. This original meaning is not frequently used any longer.

As usual, let us enjoy a Chinese calligraphy with 未 inside:

子建相逢恐未真，人言个是洛川神