嫖妓
piáo​jì

visit a prostitute

嫖 piáo, piào, biāo patronize prostitutes

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 票 represents the sound.

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
票
票 Sound component
piào slip of paper or bamboo

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangpʰew
pʰews
Unicodepiɛu

說文解字

輕也。从女𤐫聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

妓 jì, jī prostitute

A working 支 woman 女; 支 also provides the pronunciation

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
支
支 SoundMeaning component
zhī support, hold up

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkre
ɡreʔ
Unicodeghyɛ̌

說文解字

婦人小物也。从女支聲。讀若跂行。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)