Original meaning: to strike
Depicts using a staff (丂) for striking. Based on the original meaning "to strike", now written as 抨. The meaning later shifted to "level", "even", and "flat".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | bjien | [b]en | distinguish; punctiious |
| bjaeng | breŋ | even (adj.) | |
| bjaeng | m-breŋ | make even |
說文解字
《說文》：“平，語平舒也。从亏，从八。八，分也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 王森《甲骨文、金文所谓“乎”字当释为“平”字》
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Components
艹 MeaningSimplified component
盍 SoundSimplified component
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | kaːbs |
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Traditional
Depicts an assortment of valuable things, including jade (玉) and shells (貝), being stored safely under a roof (宀). The 缶 component represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pawX | pˤuʔ | precious thing |
說文解字
《說文》：“寶，珍也。从宀，从王，从貝，缶聲。寚，古文寶省貝。”
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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kajH | [k]ˤap-s | cover (v.); cover (n.) |
| hap | m-[k]ˤap | thatch, cover (v.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“葢，苫也。从艸，盇聲。”
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)