Original meaning: escape
Originally a pictograph of two people escaping a flood. Based on the original meaning "escape", now written as 逃. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | drjewX | lr[a]wʔ | great number |
說文解字
《說文》：“，灼龜坼也。从卜、兆，象形。兆，古文兆省。”
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)
Pictograph of an object related to pottery.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ngwaeX | C.ŋʷˤra[j]ʔ | roof tile |
說文解字
《說文》：“瓦，土器已燒之總名。象形。”
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)
Original meaning: bull
Phonosemantic compound. 牛 represents the meaning and 寺 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bull". The meaning later shifted to "prominent" and "special".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dok | [d]ˤək | bull |
說文解字
《說文》：“特，朴特，牛父也。从牛，寺聲。”
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)