伪劣
wěi​liè

counterfeit

伪 wěi false Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 为 represents the sound. Simplified form of 偽.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

为
为 Sound component
wèi, wéi do

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

劣 liè bad

Phonosemantic compound. 少 represents the meaning and 力 represents the sound.

Components

少
少 Meaning component
shǎo, shao, shào few
力
力 Sound component
lì, li power

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangrod
Unicodeliuɛt

說文解字

弱也。从力少聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

偽 wěi false Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 為 represents the sound.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

為
為 Sound component
wèi, wéi do

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngjweHN-ɢʷ(r)aj-sFALSE
ngjweHm-ɢʷ(r)aj-sfalsify; deceive
Zhengzhangŋʷrals

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica