正六边形
zhèng​liù​biān​xíng

regular hexagon

正 zhèng, zheng, zhēng correct

Original meaning: to attack (an enemy)

Depicts a foot (止) going out towards city walls (丁). 丁 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "to attack (an enemy)", now written as 征. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "correct".

Components

丁
丁 SoundIconic component
dīng cubes

Depicts city walls.

Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 丁 than it was in ancient scripts.
止
止 Iconic component
zhǐ (foot), stop

Depicts a foot.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 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 Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (9 of 12 verified)

定政证整征延症怔焉罡钲鉦

Iconic (1)

征

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

歪

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsyengC.teŋ 1st (month)
tsyengHteŋ-s correct (adj., v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“正，是也。从止，一以止。，古文正，从二，二，古上字。，古文正，从一、足，足者，亦止也。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.120
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

六 liù six

Origin unclear. Various explainations include (1) possibly derives from 入 (enter), with two strokes on the bottom to distinguish it from 入 (enter) or (2) a pictograph of a hut, which is thought to be the original form of 廬. Either way, the current meaning is a phoentic loan.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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 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-Sagartljuwkk.ruk six

說文解字

《說文》：“六，《易》之數，陰變於六，正於八。从入，从八。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.635-637Wiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

边 biān, bian edge Simplified

Simplified form of 邊. Phonosemantic compound. 辶 and 方 represent the meaning, while 自 and 丙 represent the sound. The traditional components 自 and 丙 were removed for simplification.

Components

力
力 Simplified component
lì, li power

Shorthand for the 方 component in the traditional character 邊.

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

笾

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

形 xíng, xing form, shape

Phonosemantic compound. 彡 represents the meaning and 井 represents the sound.

Components

井
井 Sound component
jǐng well
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 井 than it was in ancient scripts.
彡
彡 Meaning component
shān, xiǎn hair

Three lines depicting a shape

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartheng[ɢ]ˤeŋ form, shape

說文解字

《說文》：“形，象形也。从彡，幵聲。”

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)

邊 biān, bian edge Traditional

Phonosemantic compound with two sound components and two meaning components. 辶 and 方 represent the meaning, while 自 and 丙 represent the sound.

Components

自
自 Sound component
zì (nose), self

自 was the original form of 鼻 (bí; nose).

丙
丙 Sound component
bǐng third
方
方 Meaning component
fāng, fang square
辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpenpˤe[n] side

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica