伪命题
wěi​mìng​tí

false premise

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

命 mìng life

Original meaning: command

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 令 represents the sound and meaning. Based on the original meaning "command". The meaning later shifted to "fate" and "life".

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
令
令 SoundMeaning component
lìng command

令 also serves as a meaning component.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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-SagartmjaengHm-riŋ-s (dialect: *m-r- > *mr-, *-iŋ> *-eŋ)command (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“命，使也。从口，从令。”

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)

题 tí topic Simplified

Original meaning: forehead

Simplified form of 題. Phonosemantic compound. 页 represents the meaning and 是 represents the sound. The character is based on the original meaning "forehead". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

页
页 Meaning component
yè page

Depicts a head.

是
是 Sound component
shì, shi is
Change in sound

Sources

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

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

題 tí topic Traditional

Original meaning: forehead

Phonosemantic compound. 頁 represents the meaning and 是 represents the sound. The character is based on the original meaning "forehead". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

頁
頁 Meaning component
yè (head), page

Depicts a head.

是
是 Sound component
shì, shi is
Change in sound

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangdeː
deːs
Unicodedhei

說文解字

《說文》：“題，頟也。从頁，是聲。”

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)