乱弹琴 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

luàn confusion, mess Simplified

Original meaning: untangle threads

Simplified form of 亂. Originally written as 𤔔, which depicts two hands (𠬪) untangling threads (幺) on a silk frame. 乚 was later added as a distinguishing mark. The meaning later shifted to "mess" and "confusion".

Components

舌 Simplified component

shé tongue

Shorthand for the 𤔔 component in the traditional character 亂.

乚 Distinguishing component

yǐn, yà turning stroke

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.960漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants: Unicode

dàn, tán, tan bullet, pellet Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 弓 represents the meaning and 单 represents the sound. Simplified form of 彈.

Components

弓 Meaning component

gōng bow

单 Sound component

dān single

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants: Unicode

qín Chinese lute or guitar

The top component is a pictograph of a zither-like stringed musical instrument. 今 is a sound component.

Components

◎ Iconic component

characterless component

Pictograph of a stringed musical instrument similar to a zither.

今 Sound component

jīn now

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	gim	[C.ɢ](r)[ə]m	lute

說文解字

《說文》：“琴，禁也。神農所作。洞越，練朱五弦，周加二弦。象形。”

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)

luàn confusion, mess Traditional

Original meaning: untangle threads

Originally written as 𤔔, which depicts two hands (𠬪) untangling threads (幺) on a silk frame. 乚 was later added as a distinguishing mark. The meaning later shifted to "mess" and "confusion".