Original meaning: quiver, arrow case
Pictograph of an arrow inside a quiver. Based on the original meaning "quiver, arrow case". The meaning later shifted to "case", "box", "envelop" and "letter".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hom | Cə-m-kˤ[ə]m | envelop, contain |
說文解字
《說文》：“圅，舌也。象形，舌體。从，亦聲。肣，俗圅从肉、今。”
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)
Depicts an opening (口) between two mountain streams.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kuwk | C.qˤok | valley |
說文解字
《說文》：“谷，泉出通川為谷。从水半見，出於口。”
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
Phonosemantic compound. 門 represents the meaning and 𢇇 represents the sound. The simplified character 关 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 關. The traditional component 門 was removed for simplification.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwaen | [k]ˤro[n] | barrier |
| kwaen | [k]ˤro[n] | 關關 kwaen.kwaen [bird’s cry] | |
| kwaen | kˤro[n] | 間關 sound of a chariot's linchpin (Ode 218.1) |
說文解字
《說文》：“關，以木橫持門戶也。从門，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)