梦溪笔谈
Mèng Xī Bǐ​tán

Dream Pool Essays

梦 mèng dream Simplified

Simplified form of 夢. Depicts a person with an emphasized eye (𦰋) sleeping on a bed (爿), conveying the meaning "dream". 𦰋 also represents the sound. The 爿 (bed) component was later reanalyzed as meaning component 夕 (evening).

Components

林
林 Simplified component
lín forest

Shorthand for the 𦰋 component in the traditional character 夢.

夕
夕 Meaning component
xī evening

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.608-609劉志基《中國漢字文物大系》Vol. 7, p.558林志強《《文源》評注》p.229-230漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

溪 xī mountain stream

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 奚 represents the sound. Simplified form of 谿.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

奚
奚 Sound component
xī where? what? how? why?

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhejkʰˤevalley with stream in it
Zhengzhangkʰeː
Unicodekei

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

笔 bǐ writing utensil Simplified

Simplified form of 筆. Depicts a utensil for writing (聿) made from bamboo (⺮).

Components

⺮
⺮ Meaning component
zhú bamboo

⺮ is a component form of 竹.

毛
毛 MeaningSimplified component
máo, mao hair

Shorthand for the 聿 component in the traditional character 筆.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

滗

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

谈 tán talk Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 讠 represents the meaning and 炎 represents the sound. Simplified form of 談.

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

炎
炎 Sound component
yán flame

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

夢 mèng dream Traditional

Depicts a person with an emphasized eye (𦰋) sleeping on a bed (爿), conveying the meaning "dream". 𦰋 also represents the sound. The 爿 (bed) component was later reanalyzed as meaning component 夕 (evening).

Components

𦰋
𦰋 SoundIconic component
méng eyesight obscured

Depicts a person (人) with an emphasized eye (𥄕).

夕
夕 Meaning component
xī evening

Originally 爿, which depicted a bed. Later reanalyzed as meaning component 夕 (evening).

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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 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
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmjuwngHC.məŋ-s dream

說文解字

《說文》：“夢，不明也。从夕，瞢省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.608-609劉志基《中國漢字文物大系》Vol. 7, p.558林志強《《文源》評注》p.229-230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)

筆 bǐ writing utensil Traditional

Depicts a utensil for writing (聿) made from bamboo (⺮).

Components

⺮
⺮ Meaning component
zhú bamboo

⺮ is a component form of 竹.

聿
聿 Meaning component
yù writing brush

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpitp.[r]ut (borrowed as *prut from Qín dialect)writing brush

說文解字

《說文》：“筆，秦謂之筆。从聿，从竹。”

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)

談 tán talk Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 炎 represents the sound.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
炎
炎 Sound component
yán flame

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdamlˤ[o]m speak

說文解字

《說文》：“談，語也。从言，炎聲。”

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)