口
gu
Why "exit" and "population" share one character
The picture A round hole in a wall that people, ships, or food pass in and out of. 口 is the opening itself; 門 is the door panel that swings across it.
Where the picture shows up in 口
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the hole you leave by
출구는 저쪽입니다.
chul-gu-neun jeo-jjo-gim-ni-da
The way out is over there.
People filing out through a glass door with green lettering above it
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the hole kept for emergencies
비상구 앞에 물건을 쌓지 마세요.
bi-sang-gu a-pe mul-geo-neul ssa-chi ma-se-yo
Don't stack things in front of the fire exit.
Boxes piled in front of a door that is normally shut, plugging the opening
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mouths counted one by one
이 동네는 인구가 많이 줄었어요.
i dong-ne-neun in-gu-ga ma-ni ju-reo-sseo-yo
The number of people living in this neighborhood has dropped a lot.
Small dots on a town map being erased one at a time
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mouths at one table
식구가 모두 몇 명이에요?
sik-gu-ga mo-du myeon myeong-i-e-yo
How many people are there in your household?
Fingers counting the mouths picking up spoons around a single low table
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the mouth ships enter by
항구에 큰 배가 들어왔어요.
hang-gu-e keun bae-ga deu-reo-wa-sseo-yo
A big ship came into the harbor.
A large ship sliding slowly in through a gap where the land opens
All of it in one picture
口 is one opening things pass through. The hole bodies leave a building by is an exit; the hole used only in emergencies is a fire exit. Count the holes that food goes into and you get population; tie together the holes eating at one table and you get household. When ships pass through a gap in the land, that gap is a harbor.