Depicts a person carrying a child on their back.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pawX | pˤuʔ | protect |
說文解字
《說文》：“保，養也。从人，从省。，古文孚。，古文保。，古文保不省。”
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)
Simplified
Original meaning: hunting tool
Simplified form of 單. Pictograph of a hunting tool or weapon constructed from rocks tied to a tree branch. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Traditional
Original meaning: hunting tool
Pictograph of a hunting tool or weapon constructed from rocks tied to a tree branch. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyen | dar (< *[d]ar) | 單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn) |
| tan | Cə.tˤar | single, simple |
說文解字
《說文》：“單，大也。从吅、，吅亦聲。闕。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)