Simplified
Original meaning: to look down
Simplified form of 臨. Depicts a person (人) looking (臣) down at a pile of objects (品). 品 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning, "to look down". The meaning has shifted over time and now means "draw near".
Components
Depicts an eye.
Change in form
Here used to depict a pile of objects.
Original meaning: flow out
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 寅 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "flow out". The meaning later shifted to "spread", "develop", and "perform".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yenX | N-q(r)anʔ | flow out, extend |
說文解字
《說文》：“演，長流也。一曰水名。从水，寅聲。”
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)
Simplified
Traditional
Original meaning: to look down
Depicts a person (人) looking (臣) down at a pile of objects (品). 品 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning, "to look down". The meaning has shifted over time and now means "draw near".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lim | (p.)rum | look down at |
說文解字
《說文》：“臨，監臨也。从臥，品聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫李学勤《字源》p.728-729
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyi | [d]ə (~ *[d]əʔ) | time |
說文解字
《說文》：“時，四時也。从日，寺聲。旹，古文時，从之、日。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Original meaning: round
Depicts the round opening (口) of a cooking pot (鼎). Based on the original meaning "round", now written as 圓. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hjwen | ɢʷ<r>en | circle; round |
| hjun | [ɢ]ʷə[n] | (a particle) |
說文解字
《說文》：“員，物數也。从貝，口聲。鼎，籀文从鼎。”
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)