戒奢崇俭
jiè​shē​chóng​jiǎn

frugality over luxury

戒 jiè warn

Depicts two hands (廾) holding a weapon (戈) guarding against danger.

Components

戈
戈 Meaning component
gē spear
廾
廾 Meaning component
gǒng two hands

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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 3 verified)

械诫誡

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

诫誡

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkeajHkˤrək-s
(~ kˤrək)		be on guard

說文解字

《說文》：“戒，警也。从廾持戈，以戒不虞。”

Sources

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

奢 shē extravagant

Phonosemantic compound. 大 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound.

Components

大
大 Meaning component
dà, dài big
者
者 Sound component
zhě one who...

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsyæs.tʰAextravagant
Zhengzhanghljaː
Unicodeshia

說文解字

張也。从大者聲。凡奢之屬皆从奢。

Sources

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

崇 chóng esteem

Phonosemantic compound. 山 represents the meaning and 宗 represents the sound.

Components

山
山 Meaning component
shān mountain
宗
宗 Sound component
zōng, zong ancestor, sect

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Xin 9-23 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzrjuwng[dz]<r>uŋexalt, honor
Zhengzhangzruŋ
Unicodejhriung

說文解字

嵬高也。从山宗聲。

Sources

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

俭 jiǎn temperate Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 佥 represents the sound. Simplified form of 儉.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

佥
佥 Sound component
qiān together

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

儉 jiǎn temperate Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 僉 represents the sound.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

僉
僉 Sound component
together

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartgjemX[ɡ]r[a]mʔrestrict, frugal
Zhengzhangɡramʔ
Unicodeghyɛ̌m

說文解字

約也。从人僉聲。

Sources

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