子
zǐ
One swaddled baby that also means seed, dumpling and chair
The picture A big-headed baby with open arms, wrapped in cloth, hardened into a character. 子 is still small and wrapped up; 大 is grown, arms and legs thrown wide.
Where the picture shows up in 子
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the child in your arms
我儿子今年三岁。
wǒ érzi jīnnián sān suì
My son is three this year.
A baby wriggling inside two arms folded around him
儿子 is son, 女儿 is daughter.
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a kid as one bundle
孩子睡着了,小声点儿。
háizi shuìzháo le, xiǎoshēng diǎnr
The kid is asleep — keep it down.
A child rolled up in a blanket, adults walking on tiptoe past
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the seed that will grow
这些种子春天再种。
zhèxiē zhǒngzi chūntiān zài zhòng
We'll plant these seeds in spring.
Small grains in an open palm, going into the soil when spring comes
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one mouthful, wrapped shut
晚上我们包饺子吧。
wǎnshang wǒmen bāo jiǎozi ba
Let's make dumplings tonight.
Filling dropped on a thin wrapper, fingers pinching it into one parcel
包饺子 is literally to wrap dumplings — you can see the wrapping hand.
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the tag on a hand-sized thing
请把椅子搬过来。
qǐng bǎ yǐzi bān guòlái
Please move the chair over here.
Two hands lifting a chair by its back and setting it down elsewhere
In 桌子, 椅子, 杯子 the 子 carries no meaning — it is just the tail of the name.
All of it in one picture
子 is one baby bundled in cloth. Put that bundle in a household and it is a son; put it before soil and it is the seed you plant in spring; close your hand around it and it is dough wrapped into a dumpling. Hang it on the end of a thing you sit on, and it is a chair light enough to carry. So a word with 子 in it always brings along the feel of one bundle that fits in your hands.