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
臣 IconicSimplified component
Depicts an eye.
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 臣 than it was in ancient scripts.
品 SoundIconicSimplified component
Here used to depict a pile of objects.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | kʷeːs | |
| Unicode | guèi |
說文解字
江南木，百藥之長。从木圭聲。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Components
品 IconicSimplified component
Depicts a group of things.
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
Depicts a group of things (品) in an enclosed area.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'uw | qˤ(r)o | (a measure) |
說文解字
《說文》：“區，踦區，藏匿也。从品在匸中。品，眾也。”
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)