怎么搞的 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

zěnmegǎode

what's wrong

zěn what? why? how?

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 乍 represents the sound.

Components

心 Meaning component

xīn, xin heart

乍 Sound component

zhà, zuò suddenly

Change in sound

怎 and 乍 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.

Sources

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

me [question particle] Simplified

Variant form of 幺, which is a pictograph of a twisted thread.

Component uses

Meaning (1)

麽

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

仫

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese
Unicode	qeu

Sources

Character origin: 黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.416
Readings & variants: Unicode

gǎo to do, take care of

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 高 represents the sound.

Components

扌 Meaning component

shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

高 Sound component

gāo high

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Old Chinese
Zhengzhang	kruːʔ

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images: Academia Sinica

de, dì, dí [possessive]

Original meaning: bright

Phonosemantic compound. 白 represents the meaning and 勺 represents the sound. The character is based on the original meaning "bright".

Components

白 Meaning component

bái, bai white

Change in meaning

白 hints at the original meaning of 的, "bright", which is no longer the most common meaning of 的 in modern Mandarin.

勺 Sound component

sháo, shuò, zhuó spoon

Change in sound

的 and 勺 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
的 *[t-l]ˤewk
勺 *m-tewk

Character Evolution

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	tek	[t-l]ˤewk	bright; mark in a target

說文解字

《說文》：“旳，明也。从日，勺聲。《易》曰：‘為的顙。’”

Sources

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

me interrogative particle Traditional

Original meaning: thin

Phonosemantic compound. 幺 represents the meaning and 麻 represents the sound.

Components

幺 Meaning component

yāo tiny

麻 Sound component

má, ma hemp

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Old Chinese
Zhengzhang	maːlʔ

說文解字

《說文》：“麼，細也，从幺麻聲。”

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

怎 zěn what? why? how?

Components

Sources

么 me [question particle] Simplified

Component uses

Meaning (1)

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

搞 gǎo to do, take care of

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

的 de, dì, dí [possessive]

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

麼 me interrogative particle Traditional

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

zěn what? why? how?

me [question particle] Simplified

gǎo to do, take care of

de, dì, dí [possessive]

me interrogative particle Traditional