Original meaning: deity
Pictograph of a memorial tablet used for spiritual rituals, similar to 示.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyuX | toʔ | master; host |
說文解字
《說文》：“主，鐙中火主也。从凵土，象形；从丶，丶亦聲。”
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)
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)
Simplified
Components
几 SoundSimplified component
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kijX | krəjʔ | small table, stool |
說文解字
《說文》：“机，木也。从木，几聲。”
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
Phonosemantic compound. 門 represents the meaning and 𢇇 represents the sound. The simplified character 关 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 關. The traditional component 門 was removed for simplification.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kj+j | kəj | mechanism |
說文解字
《說文》：“機，主發謂之機。从木，幾聲。”
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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwaen | [k]ˤro[n] | barrier |
| kwaen | [k]ˤro[n] | 關關 kwaen.kwaen [bird’s cry] | |
| kwaen | kˤro[n] | 間關 sound of a chariot's linchpin (Ode 218.1) |
說文解字
《說文》：“關，以木橫持門戶也。从門，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)