A single vertical line, representing one set of ten. Analagous to the archaic characters 廿 (twenty) and 卅 (thirty). Possibly originally a picture of a needle, now written as 針.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyip | t.[g]əp | ten |
說文解字
《說文》：“十，數之具也。一為東西，丨為南北，則四方中央備矣。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.155
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Two horizontal strokes, representing the number two.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nyijH | ni[j]-s | two |
說文解字
《說文》：“二，地之數也。从偶一。弍，古文。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: to strike
Depicts using a staff (丂) for striking. Based on the original meaning "to strike", now written as 抨. The meaning later shifted to "level", "even", and "flat".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | bjien | [b]en | distinguish; punctiious |
| bjaeng | breŋ | even (adj.) | |
| bjaeng | m-breŋ | make even |
說文解字
《說文》：“平，語平舒也。从亏，从八。八，分也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 王森《甲骨文、金文所谓“乎”字当释为“平”字》
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kjwin | C.qʷi[n] | even, equal |
| hwinH | [m-qʷ]<r>i[n]-s (no pre-Qín exx.) | rhyme |
說文解字
《說文》：“均，平，徧也。从土，从勻，勻亦聲。”
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)
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lwit | [r]ut | law, rule (n.) |
| lwit | [r]ut | 不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn) |
說文解字
《說文》：“律，均布也。从彳，聿聲。”
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)