Pictograph of a left hand. The 工 (work) component was added later to represent the meaning "help; assist", now written as 佐.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsaX | tsˤa[j]ʔ | left (side) |
| tsaX | tsˤa[j]ʔ | assist | |
| tsaH | tsˤarʔ-s | assist |
說文解字
《說文》：“左，手相左助也。从、工。”
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)
Pictograph of two hills.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | khjuw | [k]ʷʰə | hill, mound |
說文解字
《說文》：“丘，土之高也，非人所為也。从北，从一。一，地也。人居在丘南，故从北。中邦之居在崐崘東南。一曰四方高中央下為丘。象形。，古文从土。”
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)
The character was originally depicted moonlight (月) shining through a window (囧). The 囧 component was later reanalyzed as 日 (sun).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | mjaeng | mraŋ | bright |
說文解字
《說文》：“朙，照也。从月，从囧。明，古文朙，从日。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.551-552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)