层岩
céng​yán

flagstone

层 céng floor (of a building) Simplified

Simplified form of 層. Phonosemantic compound. 户 represents the meaning and 曾 represents the sound.

Components

户
户 Meaning component
hù, hu door
云
云 Simplified component
yún clouds

Shorthand for the 曾 component in the traditional character 層.

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

岩 yán cliff Simplified

The rocks 石 that make up a mountain 山

Components

山
山 Meaning component
shān mountain
石
石 Meaning component
shí stone

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartngæm[ŋ]ˤr[a]m (< uvular?)rocky, lofty
Zhengzhangŋraːm
Unicodengam

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang

層 céng floor (of a building) Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 户 represents the meaning and 曾 represents the sound.

Components

户
户 Meaning component
hù, hu door
曾
曾 Sound component
céng already

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzongN-s-tˤəŋ in two storeys, double
dzongm-s-tˤəŋ additional floor, field

說文解字

《說文》：“層，重屋也。从尸，曾聲。”

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)

巖 cliff Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 山 represents the meaning and 嚴 represents the sound.

Components

山
山 Meaning component
shān mountain
嚴
嚴 Sound component
yán strict

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagartngæm[ŋ]ˤr[a]m (< uvular?)rocky, lofty
Zhengzhangŋraːm
Unicodengam

說文解字

岸也。从山嚴聲。

Sources

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