Original meaning: sepals
Pictograph of sepals of a flower. The modern meaning "no" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjuw | pə | not |
| pjuw | pə | 不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn) |
說文解字
《說文》：“不，鳥飛上翔不下來也。从一，一猶天也。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)
Original meaning: to cut into two parts
刂 (knife) added between two 辛 (chisel) components or 辡 conveying the original meaning "to cut into two parts". The meaning has shifted over time and now means "distinguish". 辡 also provides the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | bjenX | [b]renʔ | distinguish |
說文解字
《說文》：“辦，判也。从刀，辡聲。”
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)
Components
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syuwk | s-t(ʰ)uk | pulse, beans |
| Zhengzhang | hljɯwɢ |
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Simplified
Simplified form of 麥. The top component 來 depicts a stalk of wheat. The bottom component depicts roots.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
說文解字
《說文》：“麥，芒穀。秋穜厚薶，故謂之麥。麥，金也。金王而生，火王而死。从來，有穗者。从夕。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.465
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
The top component 來 depicts a stalk of wheat. The bottom component depicts roots.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | meak | m-rˤək (dialect: *m-rˤ > *mˤr-) | wheat |
說文解字
《說文》：“麥，芒穀。秋穜厚薶，故謂之麥。麥，金也。金王而生，火王而死。从來，有穗者。从夕。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.465
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)