Original meaning: tip of a blade
Depicts the tip of a knife blade (刀). Similar in origin to 方. Based on the original meaning "tip of a blade", now written as 芒. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | mjang | maŋ | flee; disappear; die |
說文解字
《說文》：“亡，逃也。从入，从。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.871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)
Pictograph of the head of a sheep with horns.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yang | ɢaŋ | sheep |
說文解字
《說文》：“羊，祥也。从，象頭角足尾之形。孔子曰：牛羊之字，以形舉也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.298
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: pen; fence
Depicts an animal, such as a cow (牛), trapped around an animal's fence (宀).
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | ruː | |
| Unicode | lɑu |
說文解字
《說文》：“牢，閑，養牛馬圈也。从牛，冬省，取其四周帀也。”
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
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | puX | [Cə]-pˤaʔ | to patch |
說文解字
《說文》：“補，完衣也。从衣，甫聲。”
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)