Original meaning: wooden post
Originally a pictograph of a wooden post, similar to 弋. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzoj | [dz]ˤə | talent, ability |
說文解字
《說文》：“才，艸木之初也。从丨上貫一，將生枝葉。一，地也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.495-496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)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | maewH | mˤrawk-s | appearance, manner |
說文解字
《說文》：“皃，頌儀也。从人，白象人面形。，皃或从頁，豹省聲。貌，籀文皃，从豹省。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 李学勤《字源》p.759-760
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: pure jade
Depicts jade (玉) that is entirely pure and flawless. Based on the original meaning "pure jade". The meaning later shifted to "complete" and "entire".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzjwen | [dz]o[n] | complete (adj.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“，完也。从入，从工。全，篆文从玉。純玉曰全。，古文仝。”
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)
Traditional
Depicts a pair of birds in the hand.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sraewng | [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)