Pictograph of a hand holding a tool used by servants.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjie | pe | low, humble |
| pjie | pe | 鮮卑 *s[a]r.pe Xiānbēi |
說文解字
《說文》：“卑，賤也，執事也。从、甲。”
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)
Original meaning: musical instrument
Depicts a bell-shaped musical instrument. The current meaning of 南 is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nom | nˤ[ə]m | south |
說文解字
《說文》：“南，艸木至南方有枝任也。从，聲。，古文。”
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)