哑巴吃黄莲
yǎ​ba​chī​huáng​lián

suffer in silence

哑 yǎ dumb Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 亚 represents the sound. Simplified form of 啞.

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
亚
亚 Sound component
yà Asia, sub-

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

巴 ba, bā to wish

Depicts a person grabbing something with their hand. Original form of 把. In modern Chinese this character is usually used only for its sound.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (4 of 18 verified)

把吧爸爬疤芭靶琶笆耙粑杷鲃钯岜鈀䰾皅

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpaepˤra snake
paepˤra [place name]

說文解字

《說文》：“巴，蟲也。或曰食象蛇。象形。”

Sources

Character origin
黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.1637
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

吃 chī eat

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 乞 represents the sound.

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
乞
乞 Sound component
qǐ, qì beg

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangkɯd

說文解字

《說文》：“吃，言蹇難也。从口，气聲。”

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)

黄 huáng yellow Simplified

Original meaning: physically disabled

Simplified form of 黃. Pictograph of a person with a large belly, representing someone deformed. The 口 component was added to imply sighing. Based on the original meaning "physically disabled", now written as 尪. Later meaning shifted to "yellow; sallow", a skin color associated with illness.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 7 verified)

横簧磺璜潢蟥癀

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

磺

Historical Pronunciations

Middle Chinese
Unicodehuɑng

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.918
Readings & variants
Unicode

莲 lián, liǎn lotus Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 连 represents the sound. Simplified form of 蓮.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

连
连 Sound component
lián connect, join, link

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

啞 yǎ dumb Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 亞 represents the sound.

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
亞
亞 Sound component
yà Asia, sub-

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartʔaeXʔˤraʔmute
Zhengzhangqraːʔ
qraːɡs
qraːɡ
qraːɡ
Unicodeqà

說文解字

笑也。从口亞聲。《易》曰：“笑言啞啞。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

黃 huáng yellow Traditional

Original meaning: physically disabled

Pictograph of a person with a large belly, representing someone deformed. The 口 component was added to imply sighing. Based on the original meaning "physically disabled", now written as 尪. Later meaning shifted to "yellow; sallow", a skin color associated with illness.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Xin 9-23 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

廣橫

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwangN-kʷˤaŋ yellow

說文解字

《說文》：“黃，地之色也。从田，从炗，炗亦聲。炗，古文光。，古文黃。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.918
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

蓮 lotus Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 連 represents the sound.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

連
連 Sound component
lián connect, join, link

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlenk.[r]ˤe[n] (cf. 蕑 jiān < kean < *kˤre[n] (dial. *k.rˤ- > kˤr-) ‘lotus fruit (Ode 145.2)’)lotus fruit
Zhengzhangrenʔ
reːn
Unicodelen

說文解字

芙蕖之實也。从艸連聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)