Lú​gōu Qiáo

Marco Polo Bridge

lú, lǘ, léi rice vessel Simplified

Original meaning: stove

Simplified form of . Originally a pictograph of a stove, based on the original meaning "stove", now written as . The and components were added later. In modern Mandarin this character is usually only used for its sound in foreign loan words.

Components

tiger
Change in sound
characterless component

Depicts a stove.

Deleted component
mǐn, mǐng dish

The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 9 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

gōu ditch, ravine Simplified

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

Components

Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

is a component form of .

Sound component
gōu hook

is a component form of .

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

qiáo bridge Simplified

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

Components

Meaning component
tree
Sound component
qiáo, jiǎo tall

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

rice vessel Traditional

Original meaning: stove

Originally a pictograph of a stove, based on the original meaning "stove", now written as . The and components were added later. In modern Mandarin this character is usually only used for its sound in foreign loan words.

Components

Sound component
tiger
Change in sound
Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a stove. Unrelated to .

Meaning component
mǐn, mǐng dish
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "stove", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 12 verified)

Remnant (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangb·raː
Unicodelo

說文解字

《說文》:“盧,飲器也。从皿,聲。,籀文盧。”

Sources

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

gōu ditch, ravine Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

is a component form of .

Sound component
gòu, gōu a secluded place

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkuw[k]ˤ(r)o irrigation canal

說文解字

《說文》:“溝,水瀆,廣四尺,深四尺。从水,冓聲。”

Sources

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

qiáo bridge Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
tree
Sound component
tall

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartgjew[g](r)aw bridge

說文解字

《說文》:“橋,水梁也。从木,喬聲。”

Sources

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