xián​yǎ

elegant

xián elegant Simplified

Components

Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman

woman

Sound component
xián fence

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

yǎ, yā, yá elegant

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
zhuī, cuī, wéi bird
Sound component
tooth

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngæXN-ɢˤraʔproper, refined
ngæX[N-ɢ]ˤraʔkind of musical instrument
Zhengzhangŋraːʔ
Unicodengǎ

說文解字

楚烏也。一名鸒,一名卑居。秦謂之雅。从隹牙聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

elegant Traditional

Components

Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman

woman

Sound component
xián fence

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangɡreːn

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang