wēi​biǎo​qíng

microexpression

wēi small

Original meaning: go out and hide

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and 𢼸 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "go out and hide". The meaning later shifted to "conceal" and "tiny".

Components

Meaning component
chì, fú walk

is a component form of .

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "go out and hide", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
𢼸
𢼸 Sound component
wēi, wéi tiny, small

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartmj+jməj small

說文解字

《說文》:“微,隱行也。从彳,聲。《春秋傳》曰:‘白公其徒微之。’”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

biǎo exterior surface

Depicts clothes () made from fur (), typically the outermost layer of clothing. In simplified Chinese is also used to mean "wristwatch", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character .

Components

Meaning component
máo, mao hair
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Meaning component
clothes

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartpjewXp(r)awʔ exterior

說文解字

《說文》:“表,上衣也。从衣,从毛‧古者衣裘,以毛為表。,古文表从麃。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

qíng, qing feeling

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
xin, xīn heart

is a component form of .

Sound component
qīng green or blue

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzjeng[dz]eŋ affections; response to circumstances

說文解字

《說文》:“情,人之陰氣有欲者。从心,青聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica