刘备
Liú Bèi

Liu Bei

刘 liú surname Simplified

Original meaning: type of battle axe

Simplified form of 劉. Phonosemantic compound. 卯 represents the sound and 金 and 刂 represent the meaning. Based on the original meaning "battle-axe". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

文
文 Simplified component
wén writing

Shorthand for the left side of the traditional character 劉.

刂
刂 Meaning component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

Change in meaning
刂 hints at the original meaning of 刘, "type of battle axe", which is no longer the most common meaning of 刘 in modern Mandarin.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

浏

Sources

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

备 bèi prepare Simplified

Simplified form of 備. Depicts preparing a container for arrows to equip oneself for battle.

Components

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts two arrows.

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a container for holding arrows.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

惫

Simplified (0 of 1 verified)

惫

Sources

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

劉 surname Traditional

Original meaning: type of battle axe

Phonosemantic compound. 卯 represents the sound and 金 and 刂 represent the meaning. Based on the original meaning "battle-axe". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

卯
卯 Sound component
mǎo 4th terrestrial branch
Change in sound
金
金 Meaning component
jīn metal
Change in meaning
金 hints at the original meaning of 劉, "type of battle axe", which is no longer the most common meaning of 劉 in modern Mandarin.
刂
刂 Meaning component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

Change in meaning
刂 hints at the original meaning of 劉, "type of battle axe", which is no longer the most common meaning of 劉 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

瀏

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartljuwmə-ru kill; surname

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

備 bèi prepare Traditional

Depicts a person (亻) preparing a container for arrows to equip himself for battle.

Components

亻
亻 Iconic component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts two arrows.

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a container for holding arrows.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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
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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

憊

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartbijH[b]rək-s complete (adj.)

說文解字

《說文》：“備，慎也。从人，聲。，古文備。”

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)