Pictograph of bamboo stalks.
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | trjuwk | truk | bamboo |
說文解字
《說文》：“竹，冬生艸也。象形。下垂者，箁箬也。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: musical tube made of bamboo
Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 官 represents the sound. Originally a musical tube made of bamboo. The meaning "to manage" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwanX | [k]ˤo[n]ʔ | tube; flute |
| kwanX | kʷˤa[n]ʔ | exhausted, helpless | |
| kwanX | kʷˤa[n]ʔ | helpless |
說文解字
《說文》：“管，如箎，六孔，十二月之音，物開地牙，故謂之管。从竹，官聲。琯，古者玉琯以玉。舜之時，西王母來獻其白琯。前零陵文學姓奚，於伶道舜祠下得笙玉琯。夫以玉作音，故神人以和，鳳皇來儀也。从玉，官聲。”
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
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hen | [ɢ]ˤi[n] | string of bow or instrument |
| Zhengzhang | ɡeːn | ||
| Unicode | hen |
說文解字
弓弦也。从弓，象絲軫之形。凡弦之屬皆从弦。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Duplication of 糸 (silk).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Meaning (1)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | si | [s]ə | silk |
說文解字
《說文》：“絲，蠶所吐也。从二糸。”
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)