Depicts three small dots, representing the meaning "small". Originally the same character as 少. The small dots possibly represent grains of sand (沙).
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sjewX | [s]ewʔ | small |
說文解字
《說文》：“小，物之微也。从八，丨見而分之。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.79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)
Original meaning: tattoo the face for a crime committed
Pictograph of a person whose face has been tattooed, now written as 墨. In ancient China criminals were punished by having their faces permanently marked. Later writers reanalyzed the character as a chimney being blackened by fire, so the bottom component was written to look like 炎 (flame).
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | xok | m̥ˤək (dialect *m̥ˤ- > xˤ-) | black |
說文解字
《說文》：“黑，火所熏之色也。从炎上出囦。囦古字。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.760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)
Components
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sawH | C.sˤaw-s | shout |
| Zhengzhang | saːws | ||
| Unicode | sɑ̀u |
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (1)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ljengX | [r]eŋʔ | neck |
說文解字
《說文》：“領，項也。从頁，令聲。”
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)
鶥 Traditional
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | mril |
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang