Traditional
Original meaning: measure of length
Pictograph of two outstretched arms measuring length using a ruler. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | zim | sə-l[ə]m (< *-um ?) | warm up |
| zim | sə-l[ə]m | measure of 8 chǐ 尺 |
說文解字
《說文》：“尋，繹理也。从工，从口，从又，从寸。工、口，亂也；又、寸，分理之。彡聲。此與同意。度人之兩臂為尋，八尺也。”
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)
Traditional
Depicts an assortment of valuable things, including jade (玉) and shells (貝), being stored safely under a roof (宀). The 缶 component represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pawX | pˤuʔ | precious thing |
說文解字
《說文》：“寶，珍也。从宀，从王，从貝，缶聲。寚，古文寶省貝。”
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)