Three horizontal strokes, representing the number three.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sam | s.rum (*s.r- > s-; infl. by 四 *s-?) | three |
| samH | s.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)
Simplified
Origin unclear. In simplified Chinese, in addition to the meaning "only", 只 is also used as a measure word. In traditional Chinese this meaning is written as 隻.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | klje | |
| kljeʔ | ||
| Unicode | jǐɛ |
說文解字
《說文》：“只，語已詞也。从口，象氣下引之形。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.149-150
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of a hand.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syuwX | n̥uʔ | hand |
說文解字
《說文》：“手，拳也。象形。，古文手。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.844
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Depicts a hand (又) holding a bird (隹). 隻 is used as a measure word for birds, as well as some other animals and objects.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyek | tek | single |
說文解字
鳥一枚也。从又持隹。持一隹曰隻，二隹曰雙。
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)