崖沙燕
yá​shā​yàn

sand martin

崖 yá cliff

A mountain 山 precipice 厓; 厓 also provides the pronunciation

Components

山
山 Meaning component
shān mountain
厓
厓 SoundMeaning component
yá, ái precipice

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartngɛŋˤrarriver bank; limit
Zhengzhangŋreː
ŋre
Unicodengɛi

說文解字

高邊也。从屵圭聲。

Sources

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

沙 shā sand

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 少 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

少
少 SoundIconic component
shǎo, shao, shào few

少 depicts four small grains of sand.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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 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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 8 verified)

莎鲨娑裟挲痧桫鯊

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsraesˤraj sand

說文解字

《說文》：“沙，水石也。从水，从少，水少沙見。楚東有沙水。譚長說，沙，或从尐。”

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)

燕 yàn swallow (bird)

Pictograph of a swallow.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

讌嚥

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'enHʔˤe[n]-s swallow (n.)
'enHʔˤe[n]-s feast

說文解字

《說文》：“燕，玄鳥也。籋口，布翄，枝尾，象形。”

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)