chéng​shì​guī​huà

urban planning

chéng city

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
earth
Sound component
chéng, cheng completed

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 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
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzyeng[d]eŋ city wall

說文解字

《說文》:“城,以盛民也。从土,从成,成亦聲。,籀文城从。”

Sources

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

shì market

Origin unclear. represents the sound.

Components

Sound component
zhǐ (foot), stop
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Unknown component
exclamatory particle

The original purpose of this component is unclear.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.

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 Late Western Zhou ~800 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Meaning (2)

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzyiXC.[d]əʔ market (n.)

說文解字

《說文》:“市,買賣所之也。市有垣,从冂,从乁。乁,古文及,象物相及也。之省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.499-450
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

guī rules Simplified

Original meaning: compass; a kind of drawing tool

Simplified form of . Depicts a kind of drawing tool for drawing circles with. The (see) component was later added to suggest watching something being drawn. Based on the original meaning "compass; a kind of drawing tool", now written as . The meaning has shifted over time and now means "rules".

Components

Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a compass or a kind of drawing tool. Modern form looks like unrelated .

Meaning component
jiàn, xiàn, jian see

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

huà, huá row, paddle Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. In simplified Chinese is also used to mean "cut, delimit, draw", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character .

Components

Sound component
spear
Change in sound
Meaning component
dāo knife

is a component form of .

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwaeC.[g]ʷˤraj (?)row (v.)

Sources

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

guī rules Traditional

Original meaning: compass; a kind of drawing tool

Depicts a kind of drawing tool for drawing circles with. The (see) component was later added to suggest watching something being drawn. Based on the original meaning "compass; a kind of drawing tool", now written as . The meaning has shifted over time and now means "rules".

Components

Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a compass or a kind of drawing tool. Modern form looks like unrelated .

Meaning component
jiàn, xiàn, jian see

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkjwiekʷe compass, circle

說文解字

《說文》:“規,有法度也。从夫,从見。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

cut, delimit, draw Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

SoundMeaning component
huà a painting
Meaning component
dāo knife

is a component form of .

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthweakgʷˤrek draw (v.)

說文解字

《說文》:“劃,錐刀曰劃。从刀,从畫,畫亦聲。”

Sources

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