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)
Addition of a horizontal line toward the bottom of 木 (tree) to represent the roots of the tree.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pwonX | C.pˤə[n]ʔ | tree trunk |
說文解字
《說文》：“本，木下曰本。从木，一在其下。楍，古文。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.484-485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)