义之所在 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

yì justice Simplified

Adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 義. Phonosemantic compound. 羊 represents the meaning and 我 represents the sound. In ancient China sheep (羊) were associated with goodness and beauty, which is why 羊 is a component in characters like 美 (beautiful), 善 (benevolent), and 義 (justice).

Components

羊 Meaning Simplified component

yáng sheep

我 Sound Simplified component

wǒ I; me

Change in sound

义 and 我 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
义 *ŋ(r)aj-s
我 *ŋˤajʔ

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

议仪蚁舣

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Readings & variants: Unicode

zhī [attributive particle]

Original meaning: go forwards

Pictograph of a foot (止) going out of an area. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

止 Sound Iconic component

zhǐ (foot), stop

Depicts a foot.

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 止 than it was in ancient scripts.

一 Iconic component

yī one

Used here to depict an area.

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC

Seal form — Seal Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (2 of 3 verified)

志寺芝

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	tsyi	tə	go to
	tsyi	tə	(3p object pronoun; attributive particle)

說文解字

《說文》：“之，出也。象艸過屮，枝莖益大有所之。一者，地也。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.498-499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)

suǒ place

Origin unclear. 戶 represents the sound.

Components

戶 Sound component

hù, hu door

Change in sound

所 and 戶 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
所 xuX
戶 huX

斤 Meaning component

jīn axe

The original purpose of this component is unclear.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	srjoX	s-qʰ<r>aʔ	place (n.); that which
	xuX	qʰaʔ	所所 = 許許 = 滸滸 sound of hewing wood

說文解字

《說文》：“所，伐木聲也。从斤，戶聲。”

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)

zài be at

Composed of 才 and 士, which both represent the sound.

Components

才 Sound component

cái, cai talent

士 Sound component

shì, shi scholar, soldier

Modern form looks like 土, but is unrelated.

Change in sound

在 and 士 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
在 dzojX
士 dzriX

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

茬

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	dzojX	[dz]ˤəʔ	be at, be present

說文解字

《說文》：“在，存也。从土，才聲。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.908
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

yì right conduct Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 羊 represents the meaning and 我 represents the sound. In ancient China sheep (羊) were associated with goodness and beauty, which is why 羊 is a component in characters like 美 (beautiful), 善 (benevolent), and 義 (justice).