【析形】形声字。古文字形从车,袁声。 【释义】《说文》:“辀也。”本义是车前驾牲口用的直木,压在车轴上,伸出车舆的前端。商周两代的车都是独辕,汉以后多双辕。分开来讲,独辕也称“辀”。辕则指大车前边左右侧的直木,中间驾牲口。[南辕北辙]想往南而车子却向北行,比喻行动和目的正好相反。 【shape analysis】It is the pictophonetic character. In ancient character it is related to车(jū,cart)in meaning and sounds like 袁(yuán )in pronunciation. 【original meaning】 It is the upright wood put in front of cart for driving cattle, usually pinned on axle and extended over the front part of the cart. There was usually only one shaft on carts in Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty, but there were mostly double shafts on carts after Han Dynasty.