Zhōng​guó Wén​xué Yì​shù​jiè Lián​hé​huì

CFLAC

zhōng, zhòng central

Depicts a flagpole. There is a circle in the middle marking the center of the flagpole. In older forms of the character, the flagpole has streamers at the top and bottom used to show the direction of the wind.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
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 Shang ~1100 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
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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (4 of 11 verified)

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttrjuwngtruŋ center
trjuwngHtruŋ-s hit the center

說文解字

《說文》:“中,內也。从口、丨,上下通。,古文中。,籀文中。”

Sources

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

guó nation Simplified

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

Components

Meaning component
wéi, guó surround
jade

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character .

Change in sound

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

wén writing

Pictograph of a man with writing (possibly a tattoo) on his chest. In later scripts the writing was abbreviated to a dot or omitted altogether.

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 Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 13 verified)

Meaning (2 of 8 verified)

Simplified (2)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartmjunmə[n] ornate

說文解字

《說文》:“文,錯畫也。象交文。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.706
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

xué learning Simplified

Simplified form of . Depicts two hands (𦥑) teaching a child () under a roof (). represents the sound.

Components

Simplified component
characterless component

Shorthand for the 𦥑 and components in the traditional character .

Iconic component
mián roof
Iconic component
zi, zǐ child

Component uses

Sound (1)

Remnant (1)

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

skill, art Simplified

Original meaning: to plant

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "to plant". The meaning later shifted to "skill" and "art". Simplified form of .

Components

Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

is a component form of .

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "to plant", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
second

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

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

shù art Simplified

Original meaning: city road

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. The traditional component was removed for simplification. Based on the original meaning "city road". The meaning later shifted to "way", "method", "technique", and "skill".

Components

Deleted component
xíng, háng walk

The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "city road", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
shù glutinous millet

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

說文解字

《說文》:“秫,稷之黏者。从禾、术,象形。术,秫或省禾。”

Sources

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

jiè boundary

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
tián field
Sound component
jiè to lie between

Character Evolution

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-SagartkeajHkˤr[e][t]-s boundary

說文解字

《說文》:“畍,境也。从田,介聲。”

Sources

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

lián connect Simplified

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

Components

Meaning component
ěr ear

Alludes to earrings connected to the ear.

Simplified component
guān to close

Shorthand for the phonetic 𢇇 component in the traditional character .

Sources

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

to join

Depicts two mouths talking to each other.

Components

Iconic component
(upside-down mouth), to assemble
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)

Meaning (2 of 5 verified)

Simplified (2)

Iconic (2)

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

huì, kuài to gather Simplified

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

Components

to join
𡆧
guó ironware
Change in sound

Component uses

Sound (1 of 12 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.442
Readings & variants
Unicode

guó nation Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
wéi, guó surround
Sound component
huò or

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkwok[C.q]ʷˤək state (n.)

說文解字

《說文》:“國,邦也。从囗,从或。”

Sources

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

xué learning Traditional

Depicts two hands (𦥑) teaching a child () under a roof (). represents the sound.

Components

𦥑
𦥑 Iconic component
jú, jǔ, póu two hands

Depicts two hands.

Sound component
yáo, xiào diagrams for divination
Change in sound
Iconic component
mián roof

Depicts a roof.

Iconic component
zi, zǐ child

Depicts a child.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
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 Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthaewkm-kˤruk study; imitate

說文解字

《說文》:“斆,覺悟也。从教,从冖,冖,尚矇也,臼聲。學,篆文斅省。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.247-248漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

skill, art Traditional

Original meaning: to plant

Originally written as . The component was added later, based on the original meaning "to plant". The meaning later shifted to "skill" and "art".

Components

Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

is a component form of .

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "to plant", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
SoundMeaning component
yì, shì art, skill
Unknown component
yún clouds

Corruption of the bottom part of the component in .

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngjiejHŋet-s (MC I!)cultivation, art, skill

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫李学勤《字源》p.218
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

art, skill Traditional

Original meaning: city road

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "city road". The meaning later shifted to "way", "method", "technique", and "skill".

Components

Meaning component
xíng, háng walk
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "city road", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
shù glutinous millet

Character Evolution

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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartzywitCə-lut technique

說文解字

《說文》:“術,邑中道也。从行,术聲。”

Sources

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

lián connect Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and 𢇇 represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
ěr ear

Alludes to earrings connected to the ear.

𢇇
𢇇 Sound component
guān to run threads through a web in weaving
Change in sound

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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

《說文》:“聯,連也。从耳,耳連於頰也;从絲,絲連不絕也。”

Sources

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

huì, kuài to gather Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and 𡆧 represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
to join
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
𡆧
𡆧 Sound component
guó ironware
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 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
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 11 verified)

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwajHm-kˤop-s meeting; have a meeting
hwajHɦʷˤajs (< *m-kˤop-s)阿會亘 ēhuìxuān: Skt. ābhāsvara ‘shining’ (E. Hàn)
kwajHkˤop-s calculate; calculation

說文解字

《說文》:“會,合也。从亼,从曾省。曾,益也。令,古文會如此。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.442
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica