德艺双馨
dé​yì​shuāng​xīn

virtuous and talented

德 dé virtue

Originally written as 惪, depicting a straight (直) heart (心). The 彳 (walk) component was added later.

Components

彳
彳 Meaning component
chì, fú walk

彳 is a component form of 行.

惪
惪 SoundMeaning component
dé virtue

Original form of 德.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 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 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-Sagarttoktˤək virtue

說文解字

《說文》：“德，升也。从彳，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)

艺 yì skill, art Simplified

Original meaning: to plant

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 乙 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "to plant". The meaning later shifted to "skill" and "art". Simplified form of 藝.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

Change in meaning
艹 hints at the original meaning of 艺, "to plant", which is no longer the most common meaning of 艺 in modern Mandarin.
乙
乙 Sound component
yǐ second

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

呓

Sources

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

双 shuāng set of two Simplified

Simplified form of 雙. Depicts a pair of hands.

Components

又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.

又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.

Sources

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

馨 xīn fragrant

Phonosemantic compound. 香 represents the meaning and 殸 represents the sound.

Components

香
香 Meaning component
xiāng fragrant
殸
殸 Sound component
qìng, kēng, shēng stone chimes

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
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-Sagartxengqʰˤeŋfragrance
Zhengzhangqʰeːŋ
Unicodexeng

說文解字

香之遠聞者。从香殸聲。殸，籒文磬。

Sources

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

藝 yì skill, art Traditional

Original meaning: to plant

Originally written as 埶. The 艹 component was added later, based on the original meaning "to plant". The meaning later shifted to "skill" and "art".

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

Change in meaning
艹 hints at the original meaning of 藝, "to plant", which is no longer the most common meaning of 藝 in modern Mandarin.
埶
埶 SoundMeaning component
yì, shì art, skill
云
云 Unknown component
yún clouds

Corruption of the bottom part of the 丮 component in 埶.

Character Evolution

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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

囈

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngjiejHŋet-s (MC I!)cultivation, art, skill

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫李学勤《字源》p.218
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

雙 shuāng set of two Traditional

Depicts a pair of birds in the hand.

Components

雔
雔 Iconic component
chóu match, collate

Depicts a pair of birds.

又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.


Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsraewng[s]roŋ a pair

說文解字

《說文》：“雙，隹二枚也。从雔，又持之。”

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)