一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤
yī​kē​lǎo​shǔ​shǐ​huài​le​yī​guō​tāng

bad apple

一 yī one

A single horizontal stroke, representing the number one.

Character Evolution

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 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Wu) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Iconic (9)

生之方或万旦曰巿丏

Meaning (2 of 7 verified)

百千兹闩戛晉閂

Unknown (2)

昼晝

Distinguishing (1)

夫

Simplified (1)

丛

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'jitʔi[t] one

說文解字

《說文》：“一，惟初太始，道立於一，造分天地，化成萬物。弌，古文一。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

颗 kē grain Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 果 represents the meaning and 页 represents the sound. Simplified form of 顆.

Components

果
果 Meaning component
guǒ fruit
页
页 Sound component
yè page

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

老 lǎo old

Pictograph of an old person with long hair bent over and leaning on a cane.

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
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 5 verified)

姥佬铑栳咾

Meaning (1 of 5 verified)

姥佬耆耄耋

Iconic (1)

孝

Remnant (1)

孝

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlawXC.rˤuʔ old

說文解字

《說文》：“老，考也。七十曰老。从人、毛、匕。言須髮變白也。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

鼠 shǔ rat

Pictograph of a rat.

Character Evolution

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

Component uses

Meaning (1 of 9 verified)

鼹鼬鼩鼯鼷鼱鼢竄鼴

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyoX[l̥]aʔ rat

說文解字

《說文》：“鼠，穴蟲之總名也，象形。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

屎 shǐ excrement

Depicts a person (尸) defecating feces.

Components

尸
尸 Iconic component
shī sitting person
◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts feces. Unrelated to 米.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyijX[qʰ]ijʔ excrement
xjij[qʰ]ij (dialect: *qʰ- > *x-, no palatalization)moan

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

坏 huài rotten Simplified

Simplified form of 壞. Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 褱 represents the sound.

Components

土
土 Meaning component
tǔ earth
不
不 Simplified component
bù, bu no

Shorthand for the phonetic 褱 (huái) component in the traditional character 壞.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

說文解字

《說文》：“坏，丘再成者也。一曰瓦未燒。从土，不聲。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

了 le, liǎo, liào finish

Original meaning: armless child

Pictograph of a young child, similar to 子, but without arms. Compare to 孑 (child only with right arm) and 孓 (child only with left arm). The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

子
子 IconicRemnant component
zi, zǐ child

A child (子) without arms.


Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

疗辽钌

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangreːwʔ
Unicodeleǔ
leǔ

說文解字

《說文》：“了，尦也。从子無臂，象形。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.972
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

锅 guō cooking-pot Simplified

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

metal

呙
呙 Sound component
guō, wāi, hé chat

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

汤 tāng, tang hot water Simplified

Simplified form of 湯. Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 𠃓 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

𠃓
𠃓 Sound component
yáng bright

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

荡烫铴

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

荡

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

顆 kē grain Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 果 represents the meaning and 頁 represents the sound.

Components

果
果 Meaning component
guǒ fruit
頁
頁 Sound component
yè (head), page

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkʰloːlʔ
Unicodekuɑ̌

說文解字

小頭也。从頁果聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

壞 huài destroy Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 褱 represents the sound.

Components

土
土 Meaning component
tǔ earth
褱
褱 Sound component
huái to carry in the bosom or the sleeve

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthweajHN-[k]ˤ<r>uj-s be destroyed
hweajHm-[k]ˤ<r>uj-s destroy
hwojXN-[k]ˤujʔ be destroyed
hwojXm-[k]ˤujʔ destroy
kweajH[k]ʷˤ<r>ujʔ-s destroy

說文解字

《說文》：“壞，敗也。从土，褱聲。，古文壞省。，籀文壞。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

鍋 guō cooking-pot Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 釒 represents the meaning and 咼 represents the sound.

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal

釒 is a component form of 金.

咼
咼 Sound component
chat

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangkloːl

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

湯 tāng, tang hot water Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 昜 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

昜
昜 Sound component
yáng bright

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

盪蕩

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

燙蕩

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsyangl̥aŋ amply-flowing
thangl̥ˤaŋ hot liquid
thangr̥ˤaŋ (proper name:) founder of Shāng dynasty

說文解字

《說文》：“湯，熱水也。从水，昜聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)