Simplified
Original meaning: solid, difficult to break
Depicts a hook-shaped weapon made out of copper. Based on the original meaning "solid, difficult to break". The meaning later shifted to "good" and "lucky".
Components
口 Distinguishing component
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kjit | C.qi[t] (*C.q- > *k-, escaping palatalization) | auspicious |
說文解字
《說文》：“吉，善也。从士、口。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.98-99漢語多功能字庫林志強《《文源》評注》p.93-94
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Depicts the leaves of a mulberry tree (木). The leaves from a mulberry tree were the food silkworms would eat.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sang | [s]ˤaŋ | mulberry tree |
說文解字
《說文》：“桑，蠶所食葉木。从叒、木。”
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)
Traditional
Original meaning: vomit
Phonosemantic compound. 欠 represents the meaning and 區 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "vomit". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | qoː | |
| qoːʔ | ||
| Unicode | qǒu |
說文解字
《說文》：“歐，吐也。从欠，區聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)