bāo​pí​huán​qiē​shù

circumcision

bāo wrap

Original meaning: to embrace

Depicts a person () hugging a child (). Based on the original meaning "to embrace", now written as . The meaning later shifted to "cover" and "wrap".

Components

SoundIconic component
bāo wrap

Depicts a person hugging. also represents the sound.

Iconic component
zi, zǐ child

Depicts a child. Modern form looks like .

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.

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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (6 of 24 verified)

Meaning (0 of 3 verified)

Iconic (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpaewpˤ<r>u wrap, bundle

說文解字

《說文》:“包,象人褢妊,巳在中,象子未成形也。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

skin

Pictograph of a hand () peeling off the skin from an animal.

Components

Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts an animal with its skin being peeled off.

Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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
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

Component uses

Meaning (0 of 7 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartbjem-[p](r)aj skin

說文解字

《說文》:“皮,剝取獸革者謂之皮。从又,為省聲。,古文皮。,籀文皮。”

Sources

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

huán jade ring or bracelet Simplified

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

𤣩
𤣩 Meaning component
jade
Simplified component
bù, bu no

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character .

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

qiè, qiē cut

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Sound component
seven
Meaning component
dāo knife

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 4 verified)

Meaning (1 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttshet[tsʰ]ˤi[t] cut; urgent

說文解字

《說文》:“切,刌也。从刀,七聲。”

Sources

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

shù art Simplified

Original meaning: city road

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. The traditional component was removed for simplification. Based on the original meaning "city road". The meaning later shifted to "way", "method", "technique", and "skill".

Components

Deleted component
xíng, háng walk

The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "city road", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
shù glutinous millet

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

說文解字

《說文》:“秫,稷之黏者。从禾、术,象形。术,秫或省禾。”

Sources

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

huán jade ring or bracelet Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

𤣩
𤣩 Meaning component
jade
Sound component
qióng round
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwaenC.ɢʷˤ<r>en ring (n.)

說文解字

《說文》:“環,璧也。肉好若一謂之環。从玉,睘聲。”

Sources

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

art, skill Traditional

Original meaning: city road

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "city road". The meaning later shifted to "way", "method", "technique", and "skill".

Components

Meaning component
xíng, háng walk
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "city road", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
shù glutinous millet

Character Evolution

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartzywitCə-lut technique

說文解字

《說文》:“術,邑中道也。从行,术聲。”

Sources

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