局部麻醉剂
jú​bù​má​zuì​jì

local anesthetic

局 jú bureau

Original meaning: bent, curved

Phonosemantic compound. 尸 represents the meaning and 句 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bent, curved". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

尸
尸 Meaning component
shī sitting person

Depicts a person bending over.

Change in meaning
尸 hints at the original meaning of 局, "bent, curved", which is no longer the most common meaning of 局 in modern Mandarin.
句
句 Sound component
jù sentence

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

锔焗侷鋦

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartgjowkN-kʰ(r)ok bent, curved
gjowk[g](r)ok department

說文解字

《說文》：“局，促也。从口在尺下，復局之。一曰博所以行棊。象形。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.101
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

部 bù part

Original meaning: place in Gansu province

Phonosemantic compound. ⻏ represents the meaning and 咅 represents the sound.

Components

⻏
⻏ Meaning component
yì city

⻏ is a component form of 邑.

Change in meaning
⻏ hints at the original meaning of 部, "place in Gansu province", which is no longer the most common meaning of 部 in modern Mandarin.
咅
咅 Sound component
pǒu to spit out

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartbuwX[b]ˤ(r)oʔ lead (v.), govern

說文解字

天水狄部。从邑咅聲。

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)

麻 má, ma hemp

Depicts hemp leaves (𣏟) growing under a cliff (厂). The cliff (厂) component was later written as 广.

Components

厂
厂 Iconic component
chǎng cliff, (roof)

Depicts a cliff.

𣏟
𣏟 Iconic component
pài hemp

Depicts hemp leaves.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Xin 9-23 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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

Component uses

Sound (5 of 8 verified)

摩魔磨嘛麽靡糜麼

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

縻

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmaeC.mˤraj hemp

說文解字

《說文》：“麻，與同。人所治，在屋下。从广，从。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.585-586
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

醉 zuì intoxicated

Phonosemantic compound. 酉 represents the meaning and 卒 represents the sound.

Components

酉
酉 Meaning component
yǒu wine
卒
卒 Sound component
zú, cù, cuì soldier, to finish

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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-SagarttswijHCə.tsu[t]-sdrunk (adj.)
Zhengzhangʔsuds
Unicodetzuì

說文解字

卒也。卒其度量，不至於亂也。一曰潰也。从酉从卒。

Sources

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

剂 jì medicinal preparation Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 齐 represents the sound. Simplified form of 劑.

Components

刂
刂 Meaning component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

齐
齐 Sound component
qí even

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

劑 jì medicinal preparation Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 齊 represents the sound.

Components

刂
刂 Meaning component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

齊
齊 Sound component
qí even, uniform

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangzliːls
ʔslel

說文解字

齊也。从刀从齊，齊亦聲。

Sources

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