huí return

Depicts water rotating around in a circle.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 6 verified)

Meaning (2 of 4 verified)

Iconic (3)

Simplified (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthwoj[ɢ]ʷˤəj go around

說文解字

《說文》:“回,轉也。从囗,中象回轉形。囘,古文。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.515-516
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

sǎo, sào sweep Simplified

Simplified form of . Depicts using a hand () sweeping with a broom ().

Components

Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

is a component form of .

Simplified component
snout

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character .

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

sǎo, sào sweep Traditional

Depicts using a hand () sweeping with a broom ().

Components

Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

is a component form of .

SoundMeaning component
zhou broom

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangsuːʔ
suːs
Unicodesɑ̌u
sɑ̀u

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica