Tài​hé​diàn

Hall of Supreme Harmony

tài, tai very

Addition of a dot to (dà; big) to mean "very" or "extremely".

Components

SoundMeaning component
dà, dài big
Change in sound
zhǔ dot

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 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 (1 of 7 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartthajHl̥ˤa[t]-s great

說文解字

《說文》:“泰,滑也。从廾,从水,大聲。夳,古文泰。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.800漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

hé, huo, he harmony

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
Sound component
grain stalk

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 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-Sagarthwa[ɢ]ˤoj harmonious
hwaH[ɢ]ˤoj-s tune (instruments); respond in singing

說文解字

《說文》:“咊,相譍也。从口,禾聲。”

Sources

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

殿 diàn hall

Original meaning: to smack the buttocks

Depicts a weapon () smacking a person's buttocks (𡱒). In ancient China, having one's buttocks smacked with a huge stick was one of the punishments criminals could have. Based on the original meaning, "to smack the buttocks". The meaning later shifted to "palace" and "hall", because buildings have an elevated appearance that stick out like buttocks.

Components

𡱒
𡱒 SoundIconic component
tún buttocks

Depicts a person () with their buttocks (𠂤) emphasized. 𡱒 also represents the sound.

Change in sound
Iconic component
shū weapon or tool

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

Meaning (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdenH[N-t]ˤə[n]-s palace
tenHtˤə[n]-s rear (building, army unit)
tenHtˤə[n]-s palace, hall

說文解字

《說文》:“殿,擊聲也。从殳,聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新說》p.227-228ChinaKnowledge.deWiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica