Pictograph of two hands together to convey the meaning "friend". 又 also represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hjuwX | [ɢ]ʷəʔ | friend |
說文解字
《說文》：“友，同志為友。从二又，相交友也。，古文友。。亦古文友。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.211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)
Composed of two 言 (speech) components and 羊 (sheep). In ancient China sheep (羊) were associated with goodness and beauty, which is why 羊 is a component in characters like 美 (beautiful), 善 (benevolent), and 義 (justice).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyenX | [g]e[n]ʔ | good |
說文解字
《說文》：“譱，吉也。从誩，从羊。此與義、美同意。，篆文从言。”
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)