敬老尊贤
jìng​lǎo​zūn​xián

respect the elderly and wise

敬 jìng respect

Phonosemantic compound. 茍 represents the sound and 攵 represents the meaning.

Components

茍
茍 SoundMeaning component
jì, jí to be circumspect
攵
攵 Meaning component
pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 5 verified)

警擎儆檠驚

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkjaengHkreŋ(ʔ)-s respectful

說文解字

《說文》：“敬，肅也。从攴、茍。”

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)

老 lǎo old

Pictograph of an old person with long hair bent over and leaning on a cane.

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
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 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 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 5 verified)

姥佬铑栳咾

Meaning (1 of 5 verified)

姥佬耆耄耋

Iconic (1)

孝

Remnant (1)

孝

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlawXC.rˤuʔ old

說文解字

《說文》：“老，考也。七十曰老。从人、毛、匕。言須髮變白也。”

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)

尊 zūn respect

Depicts a hand (寸) offering a container of wine (酋).

Components

酋
酋 Iconic component
qiú chief of tribe

Depicts a container of wine.

寸
寸 SoundIconic component
cùn, cun (hand), inch

Character Evolution

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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 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
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 (1 of 6 verified)

遵蹲樽鳟撙鱒

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

遵

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttswon[ts]ˤu[n] honor (v.)
tswon[ts]ˤu[n] wine-cup

說文解字

《說文》：“，酒器也。从酋，廾以奉之。《周禮》六尊：犧尊、象尊、著尊、壺尊、太尊、山尊，以待祭祀賓客之禮。尊，或从寸。”

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)

贤 xián, xiàn virtuous Simplified

Components

又
又 Unknown component
yòu again
贝
贝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

money

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

賢 virtuous Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 臤 represents the sound.

Components

貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell
臤
臤 Sound component
to gouge out an eye

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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
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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthen[g]ˤi[n]worthy
Zhengzhangɡiːn
Unicodehen

說文解字

多才也。从貝臤聲。

Sources

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