sān​tǐ​wèn​tí

three-body problem

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)

Meaning (2 of 4 verified)

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

body Simplified

Simplified form of . The foundation () of a person () is their body ().

Components

Meaning component
rén person

is a component form of .

Meaning component
běn root

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangbɯːnʔ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

wèn, wen ask (about) Simplified

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
Sound component
mén, men door

Sources

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

topic Simplified

Original meaning: forehead

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. The character is based on the original meaning "forehead". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

Meaning component
page

Depicts a head.

Sound component
shì, shi is
Change in sound

Sources

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

body Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
gǔ, gú bone
Sound component
lǐ, fēng abundant
Change in sound

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartthejXr̥ˤijʔ body; limbs

說文解字

《說文》:“體,總十二屬也。从骨,豊聲。”

Sources

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

wèn, wen ask (about) Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
Sound component
mén, men door

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmjunHC.mu[n]-s ask

說文解字

《說文》:“問,訊也。从口,門聲。”

Sources

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

topic Traditional

Original meaning: forehead

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. The character is based on the original meaning "forehead". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

Meaning component
(head), page

Depicts a head.

Sound component
shì, shi is
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangdeː
deːs
Unicodedhei

說文解字

《說文》:“題,頟也。从頁,是聲。”

Sources

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