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
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | trjuwng | truŋ | center |
| trjuwngH | truŋ-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
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of a person (大) with a cangue (torture device for punishing criminals) around his neck. People wearing such devices were not able to reach their mouth with their own hands, and were forced to beg for food.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'jang | ʔaŋ | end (v.) |
| 'jang | ʔaŋ | center (n.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“央，中央也。从大在冂之內。大，人也。央、旁同意。一曰久也。”
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)
Simplified
Original meaning: turn
Depicts a hand (寸) spinning a wheel (叀). Based on the original meaning "turn", now written as 轉. The current meaning is a phonetic loan. The simplified character 专 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 專.
Components
Depicts a hand.
Original meaning: break
Depicts cutting down a tree (未) with a knife (刂). Based on the original meaning "break". The meaning later shifted to "control".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyejH | tet-s | cut out, prepare |
說文解字
《說文》：“制，裁也。从刀，从未。未，物成，有滋味，可裁斷。一曰止也。，古文制如此。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.357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
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzip | [dz][u]p | gather, collect |
說文解字
《說文》：“雧，羣鳥在木上也。从雥，从木。集，雧或省。”
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)
Simplified
Components
Character Evolution
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Traditional
Original meaning: turn
Depicts a hand (寸) spinning a wheel (叀). Based on the original meaning "turn", now written as 轉. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsywen | ton | exclusively |
說文解字
《說文》：“專，六寸簿也。从寸，叀聲。一曰專，紡專。”
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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gjwen | [g]ʷrar | weight of a steelyard |
說文解字
《說文》：“權，黃華木。从木，雚聲。一曰反常。”
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)