毐
ǎi

person of reprehensible morals

Refers to someone who is not (毋) honorable (士). Name of an infamous person in Chinese history named Lao Ai (嫪毐).

Components

士
士 Meaning component
shì, shi scholar, soldier
毋
毋 Meaning component
wú, móu do not

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Meaning (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangʔmɯː
ʔmɯːʔ

說文解字

《說文》:“毐,人無行也。从士,从母。賈侍中說。秦始皇母與嫪毐淫,坐誅,故世罵淫曰嫪毐。讀若娭。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica