概数 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

gài approximately

Original meaning: rod used to level off a heaped measure

Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 既 represents the sound.

Components

mù tree

Change in meaning

木 hints at the original meaning of 概, "rod used to level off a heaped measure", which is no longer the most common meaning of 概 in modern Mandarin.

既 Sound component

jì already

Change in sound

概 and 既 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
概 *[k]ˤə[t]-s
既 *[k]ə[t]-s

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	kojH	[k]ˤə[t]-s	to strickle

說文解字

《說文》：“，斗斛。从木，既聲。邵瑛羣經正字：“今經典多作概。”

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)

shù, shǔ, shu number Simplified

Simplified form of 數. Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 婁 represents the sound.

Components

攵 Meaning component

pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

娄 Sound component

lóu, lǚ, lǘ surname

Change in sound

数 and 娄 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
数 srjuX
娄 lju

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

擞薮

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Readings & variants: Unicode

shù, shǔ, shu number Traditional

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

Components

攵 Meaning component

pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

婁 Sound component

surname

Change in sound

數 and 婁 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
數 srjuX
婁 lju

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

擻藪

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	srjuX	s-roʔ	count (v.)
	srjuH	s-roʔ-s	number (n.)
	sraewk	s-rok	frequently

說文解字

《說文》：“數，計也。从攴，婁聲。”

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)

概 gài approximately

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

数 shù, shǔ, shu number Simplified

Components

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

數 shù, shǔ, shu number Traditional

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

gài approximately

shù, shǔ, shu number Simplified

shù, shǔ, shu number Traditional