戴克里先
Dài​kè​lǐ​xiān

Diocletian

戴 dài wear on the head

Depicts two hands putting something on top of the head (異). The 𢦏 and 異 components both represent the sound.

Components

𢦏
𢦏 Sound component
zāi to cut
異
異 SoundIconic component
yì different

Depicts two hands putting something on top of the head.

Change in sound

Character Evolution

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttojHCə.tˤək-s carry on the head

說文解字

《說文》：“戴，分物得增益曰戴。从異，聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫李学勤《字源》p.217
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

克 kè subdue

Pictograph of a person (人) carrying a heavy weight on their back.

Components

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a heavy load being carried on the back.

人
人 Iconic component
rén, ren person

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
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 Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

氪剋

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhokkʰˤək carry; able; dominate

說文解字

《說文》：“克，肩也。象屋下刻木之形。，古文克。，亦古文克。”

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)

里 lǐ, li village

A village (里) is an area of land (土) where people have fields (田). In simplified Chinese 里 is also used to mean "inside", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 裡.

Components

田
田 Meaning component
tián field
土
土 Meaning component
tǔ earth

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (5 of 17 verified)

理埋哩厘狸鲤俚锂娌裡悝釐陧裏貍鋰鯉

Iconic (0 of 1 verified)

廛

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

㢆

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartliX(mə.)rəʔ li (measure of distance); village

說文解字

《說文》：“里，居也。从田，从土。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.913
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

先 xiān first

Depicts a person (人) stepping forward (止) leading the way.

Components

止
止 Iconic component
zhǐ (foot), stop

Depicts a foot stepping forward.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 止 than it was in ancient scripts.
人
人 Iconic component
rén, ren person
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 人 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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 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 (4 of 11 verified)

选洗宪酰诜铣跣冼筅銑兟

Meaning (1)

兟

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsensˤər first
senHsˤər-s go first

說文解字

《說文》：“先，前進也。从儿，从之。”

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)