Original meaning: fight
Phonosemantic compound. 盾 represents the meaning and 尃 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "fight", which later shifted to "win", "plentiful", and "gamble".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pak | pˤak | broad |
說文解字
《說文》：“博，大，通也。从十，从尃。尃，布也。”
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)
Simplified
Simplified form of 爾. Pictograph of a weapon with a sharp head and tail decorations on the end. Similar in origin to 朿. Original meaning unclear.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nyeX | n[ə][r]ʔ | you(r) |
說文解字
《說文》：“尒，詞之必然也。从入、丨、八，八象气之分散。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.259董蓮池《說文解字考正》p.129
- 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | tʰuːb | |
| Unicode | tɑp |
說文解字
《說文新附》：“塔，西域浮屠也。从土，答聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (1)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lop | [r]ˤəp | break |
說文解字
《說文》：“拉，摧也。从手，立聲。”
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)
Original meaning: a parasitic vine
Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 冡 represents the sound. Originally the name of a plant, later meanings coincide with the original meaning of 冡 (to cover).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | muwng | mˤoŋ | cover (v.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“蒙，王女也。从艸，冡聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 李學勤 《字源》 p.58
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: firm, solid
Depicts a shield. Based on the original meaning "firm, solid", which is now written as 固. The current meaning "old" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kuX | kˤaʔ | ancient |
說文解字
《說文》：“古，故也。从十口。識前言者也。，古文古。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.154
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: nose
Pictograph of a nose. Original form of 鼻 (nose). In China, when people point to themselves, they typically point to their nose.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzijH | s.[b]i[t]-s | self (adv.) |
| dzijH | s.[b]i[t]-s | to follow; from |
說文解字
《說文》：“自，鼻也。象鼻形。，古文自。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.272
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: river in Shandong
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 台 represents the sound. Originally referred to a river in Shandong province. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dri | C.lrə | regulate, arrange |
| driH | lrə-s | regulate, arrange |
說文解字
《說文》：“治，水。出東萊曲城陽丘山，南入海。从水，台聲。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Depicts an area of dry land in the middle of a river.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyuw | tu | islet in stream; province |
說文解字
《說文》：“州，水中可居曰州。周遶其旁，从重川。昔堯遭洪水，民居水中高土，或曰九州。《詩》曰：‘在河之州’。一曰：州，疇也。各疇其土而生之。，古文州。”
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)
Traditional
Pictograph of a weapon with a sharp head and tail decorations on the end. Similar in origin to 朿. Original meaning unclear.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nejX | nˤ[ə][r]ʔ | numerous |
| nyeX | n[ə][r]ʔ | (adv. suffix) | |
| nyeX | n[ə][r]ʔ | you(r) |
說文解字
《說文》：“爾，麗爾，猶靡麗也。从冂，从，其孔；尒聲。此與爽同意。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.259董蓮池《說文解字考正》p.129
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)