圣歌 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

shènggē

hymn

shèng sage, holy Simplified

Simplified form of 聖. Depicts listening (耳) to what is spoken (口). 𡈼 represents the sound.

Components

又 Simplified component

yòu again

Shorthand for the 耳 component in the traditional character 聖.

土 Simplified component

tǔ earth

Shorthand for the 𡈼 component in the traditional character 聖.

Character Evolution

Oracle form — Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC

Seal form — Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Seal form — Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

《說文》：“圣，汝潁之閒，謂致力於地曰圣。从土，从又。”

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫Zhengzhang Shangfang
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

gē, ge song

Originally depicted a person carrying an axe while singing. Now a phonosemantic compound. 欠 (pictograph of a person opening their mouth) represents the meaning and 哥 represents the sound.

Components

哥 Sound component

gē, ge elder brother

Originally depicted an axe being carried. Later reanalyzed into phonetic component 哥.

欠 Iconic component

qiàn, qian yawn, deficient

Depicts a person opening their mouth.

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	ka	[k]ˤaj	sing, song

說文解字

《說文》：“歌，詠也。从欠，哥聲。謌，謌（歌）或从言。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.696
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

shèng sage, holy Traditional

Depicts listening (耳) to what is spoken (口). 𡈼 represents the sound.

Components

耳 Iconic component

ěr ear

口 Iconic component

kǒu, kou mouth

𡈼 Sound component

tǐng, tíng, zhēng stand upright

Character Evolution

Oracle form — Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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 Spring and Autumn ~500 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 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 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

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	syengH	l̥eŋ-s	sage (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“聖，通也。从耳，呈聲。”

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)