基本词汇
jī​běn​cí​huì

basic vocabulary

基 jī foundation

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 其 represents the sound.

Components

其
其 Sound component
qí its, his, (3p possessive)
土
土 Meaning component
tǔ earth

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkik(r)ə base (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“基，牆始也。从土，其聲。”

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)

本 běn root

Addition of a horizontal line toward the bottom of 木 (tree) to represent the roots of the tree.

Components

木
木 Iconic component
mù tree
◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts roots.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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 Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

笨钵苯缽

Meaning (1)

体

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartpwonXC.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)

词 cí words Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 讠 represents the meaning and 司 represents the sound. Simplified form of 詞.

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

司
司 Sound component
sī take charge of

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

汇 huì confluence of rivers, exchange Simplified

Depicts water (氵) gathered together (匚). Simplified form of 匯.

Components

氵
氵 MeaningSimplified component
shui, shuǐ water

Shorthand for the 淮 component in the traditional character 匯.

匚
匚 Meaning component
fāng, fàng box

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

詞 cí words Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 司 represents the sound.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
司
司 Sound component
sī take charge of

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartzisə.lə utterance

說文解字

《說文》：“詞，意內而言外也。从司，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)

彙 collect Traditional

Original meaning: hedgehog

Phonosemantic compound. 㣇 represents the meaning and 胃 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "hedgehog". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

㣇
㣇 Meaning component
yì a kind of beast with long hair
Change in meaning
㣇 hints at the original meaning of 彙, "hedgehog", which is no longer the most common meaning of 彙 in modern Mandarin.
胃
胃 SoundRemnant component
wèi stomach

Character Evolution

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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangɢruds

說文解字

《說文》：“，蟲似豪豬者。从，省聲。蝟，或从虫。”

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)