拖油瓶
tuō​yóu​píng

stepchildren

拖 tuō drag

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

hand

亻
亻 Unknown component
rén person
也
也 Unknown component
yě also

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartthal̥ ˤajdraw, pull
Zhengzhangl̥ʰaːl
l̥ʰaːls

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang

油 yóu oil

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 由 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

由
由 Sound component
yóu cause

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartyuw[l][u] flow(ing)

說文解字

《說文》：“油，水。出武陵孱陵西，東南〔北〕入江。从水，由聲。”

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)

瓶 píng bottle

Phonosemantic compound. 瓦 represents the meaning and 并 represents the sound. Simplified form of 缾.

Components

并
并 Sound component
bìng combine
瓦
瓦 Meaning component
wǎ earthenware

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartbeng[b]ˤeŋ bottle

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica