三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮
sān​gè​chòu​pí​jiang, hé​chéng​yī​gè Zhū​gě Liàng

collective wisdom

三 sān three

Three horizontal strokes, representing the number three.

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 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

Sound (2 of 4 verified)

参仨闫參

Meaning (2 of 4 verified)

参叁仨參

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsams.rum (*s.r- > s-; infl. by 四 *s-?)three
samHs.r[u]m-s (*s.r- > *s-, infl. by 四 *s-?)three times

說文解字

《說文》：“三，天地人之道也。从三數。弎，古文三从弋。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.51
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

个 gè, ge, gě [measure word] Simplified

Pictograph of one stalk of bamboo. Same as one half of the character for bamboo (竹).

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Iconic (1)

支

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkaHkˤa[r]-s tally, piece, item

Sources

Character origin
Wiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

臭 chòu smell

Components

自
自 Meaning component
zì (nose), self
犬
犬 Meaning component
quǎn dog

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 Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

嗅溴糗

Meaning (0 of 3 verified)

嗅溴糗

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsyhuwHt-qʰu(ʔ)-s odor, to stink (intransitive)?
xjuwHqʰu(ʔ)-s odor, to stink (intransitive)?

說文解字

《說文》：“臭，禽走臭而知其迹者，犬也。从犬，从自。”

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)

皮 pí skin

Pictograph of a hand (又) peeling off the skin from an animal.

Components

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts an animal with its skin being peeled off.

又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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
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 (5 of 15 verified)

被破波彼坡颇玻疲披簸跛陂铍帔頗

Meaning (0 of 7 verified)

皱披皴皲皰皺皻

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartbjem-[p](r)aj skin

說文解字

《說文》：“皮，剝取獸革者謂之皮。从又，為省聲。，古文皮。，籀文皮。”

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)

匠 jiang, jiàng craftsman

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzjangHs.baŋ-scraftsman
Zhengzhangsbaŋs
Unicodedzhiɑ̀ng

說文解字

木工也。从匚从斤。斤，所以作器也。

Sources

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

合 hé to join

Depicts two mouths talking to each other.

Components

亼
亼 Iconic component
jí (upside-down mouth), to assemble
口
口 Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth

Character Evolution

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 Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 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 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

Sound (7 of 22 verified)

给答哈恰拾盒鸽颌蛤龛袷給饸铪閤荅鴿頜龕峇餄耠

Meaning (2 of 5 verified)

会洽翕搿會

Simplified (2)

会仓

Iconic (2)

仓倉

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkopkˤop together; put together; combined
hopm-kˤop come together; bring together

說文解字

《說文》：“合，合口也。从亼，从口。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.438
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

成 chéng, cheng completed

Original meaning: city

Depicts defending city walls (丁) with an axe (戌). 丁 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "city", now written as 城. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

戌
戌 Iconic component
xū, qu 11th terrestrial branch

Depicts an axe.

丁
丁 SoundIconic component
dīng cubes

Depicts city walls.

Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 丁 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (4 of 6 verified)

城盛诚晟铖誠

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzyeng[d]eŋ to become (v.i.)
dzyengm-[d]eŋ to complete (tr. v)

說文解字

《說文》：“成，就也。从戊，丁聲。，古文成从午。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.963-964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)

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)

诸 zhū several Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 讠 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Simplified form of 諸.

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

者
者 Sound component
zhě one who...

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

储槠

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

葛 gé, gě edible bean

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 曷 represents the sound.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

曷
曷 Sound component
hé, è, hè why? what? where?

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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

噶

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkat[k]ˤatDolichos; kudzu
Zhengzhangkaːd
Unicodegɑt

說文解字

絺綌艸也。从艸曷聲。

Sources

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

亮 liàng, liang bright

Phonosemantic compound. 人 represents the meaning and 京 represents the sound. Depicts a person (人) in a high place (京).

Components

人
人 MeaningIconic component
rén, ren person
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 人 than it was in ancient scripts.
京
京 SoundIconic component
jīng capital city
Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 京 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal 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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

喨

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartljangH[r]aŋ-s brightness

Sources

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

個 gè, ge, gě [measure word] Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 固 represents the sound.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

固
固 Sound component
gù to become solid

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkaHkˤa[r]-s piece, item

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart

諸 zhū several Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
者
者 Sound component
zhě one who...

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

儲

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsyotamany
Zhengzhangtjaː
tja
Unicodejiu

說文解字

辯也。从言者聲。

Sources

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