Original meaning: back
Pictograph of two people standing back-to-back. Based on the original meaning "back", now written as 背. The current meaning "north" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pok | pˤək | north |
說文解字
《說文》：“北，也。从二人相背。”
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 a ladle or dipper. In simplified Chinese 斗 is also used to mean "fight, struggle", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 鬥.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tuwX | tˤoʔ | bushel; ladle |
| tsyuX | toʔ | ladle |
說文解字
《說文》：“斗，十升也。象形，有柄。”
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)