Original meaning: call loudly
Originally composed of 口 (mouth) and 日 (sun), representing a call in the morning to wake people up at sunrise to start working. Based on the original meaning "call loudly", now written as 唱. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | tʰjaŋ | |
| Unicode | chiɑng |
說文解字
《說文》：“昌，美言也。从日，从曰。一曰日光也。《詩》曰：‘東方昌矣。’，籀文昌。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.536
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kaewng | kˤroŋ | (Yangzi) river |
說文解字
《說文》：“江，水。出蜀湔氐徼外崏山，入海。从水，工聲。”
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)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lej | [r]ˤij (Cf. 耆 0552l gij < *[g]rij ‘old’) | old |
| lej | [r]ˤij | black |
說文解字
《說文》：“，履黏也。从黍，省聲。，古文利。作履黏以黍米。”
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)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzuwk | [dz]ˤok | clan |
說文解字
《說文》：“族，矢鋒也，束之族族也。从，从矢。”
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)
Original meaning: nose
Pictograph of a nose. Original form of 鼻 (nose). In China, when people point to themselves, they typically point to their nose.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzijH | s.[b]i[t]-s | self (adv.) |
| dzijH | s.[b]i[t]-s | to follow; from |
說文解字
《說文》：“自，鼻也。象鼻形。，古文自。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.272
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: river in Shandong
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 台 represents the sound. Originally referred to a river in Shandong province. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dri | C.lrə | regulate, arrange |
| driH | lrə-s | regulate, arrange |
說文解字
《說文》：“治，水。出東萊曲城陽丘山，南入海。从水，台聲。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Traditional
Original meaning: suspend, hang
Pictograph of a severed head (首) hanging on a rope (系) from a tree (木). Based on the original meaning "hang" or "suspend", now written as 懸. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hwenH | Cə.[g]ʷˤe[n]-s | district |
| hwen | [g]ʷˤe[n] | suspend |
說文解字
《說文》：“縣，繫也。从系持。”
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)