The characters 史 (history), 吏 (government official), 使 (cause; use; instruct), and 事 (matter; work; affair) are all etymologically related and all derive from the same ancient character, depicting a hand (又) holding a container for writing utensils. 事 and 史 were originally written the same, but later an extra mark was added to distinguish them.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzriH | [m-s-]rəʔ-s | serve; service, affair |
說文解字
《說文》：“事，職也。从史，之省聲。，古文事。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.214
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Simplified form of 與. Phonosemantic compound. 舁 represents the meaning and 牙 represents the sound. The traditional component 舁 was removed for simplification.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yoX | m-q(r)aʔ | give; for; and |
說文解字
《說文》：“与，賜予也。一勺為与。此与與同。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 原 represents the sound. In simplified Chinese 愿 is also used to mean "hope; wish", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 願.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | ŋʷans | |
| Unicode | ngiuæn |
說文解字
《說文》：“愿，謹也。从心，原聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- 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 | yoX | m-q(r)aʔ | give; for; and |
| yoH | ɢ(r)aʔ-s | participate in |
說文解字
《說文》：“與，黨與也。从舁，从与。，古文與。”
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 | ngjwonH | [ŋ]o[n]-s (< nasal + uvular?) | to wish |
說文解字
《說文》：“願，大頭也。从頁，原聲。”
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 | hjwɨj | [ɢ]ʷə[j] | go against |
| Zhengzhang | ɢʷɯl | ||
| Unicode | hiuəi |
說文解字
離也。从辵韋聲。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)