显要
xiǎn​yào

dignitary

显 xiǎn evident, make visible, clear Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 日 represents the meaning and 𢇁 represents the sound. Simplified form of 顯.

Components

日
日 Meaning component
rì sun
业
业 Simplified component
yè profession

Shorthand for the phonetic 𢇁 component in the traditional character 㬎.

Component uses

Sound (1)

湿

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.783-784漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

要 yào, yāo want

Original meaning: waist

Pictograph of two hands grabbing a woman's (女) waist. The current meaning "want" is a phonetic loan. The original meaning "waist" is now written as 腰.

Components

◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts two hands grabbing a waist.

Change in meaning
◎ hints at the original meaning of 要, "waist", which is no longer the most common meaning of 要 in modern Mandarin.
女
女 Iconic component
nǚ, nü woman

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 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 (2 of 3 verified)

票腰崾

Remnant (1)

票

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'jiewH[q]ew(k)-s important

說文解字

《說文》：“要，身中也，象人要自之形。从，交省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.183
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

顯 xiǎn make visible, clear Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 㬎 represents the sound and 頁 represents the meaning.

Components

㬎
㬎 SoundMeaning component
xiǎn visible, bright
頁
頁 Meaning component
yè (head), page

Depicts a person whose head is emphasized.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 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 Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartxenXqʰˤenʔ display, manifest

說文解字

《說文》：“顯，頭明飾也。从頁，聲。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.783-784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)