Simplified
Original meaning: basket
Pictograph of a basket, now written as 箕. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gi | gə | modal particle |
| gi | gə | (3p possessive) |
說文解字
《說文》：“箕，簸也。从竹；，象形；下其丌也。，古文箕省。，亦古文箕。，亦古文箕。廿从一八，籀文箕。，籀文箕。”
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)
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kuwng | kˤoŋ | work, effort |
說文解字
《說文》：“功，以勞定國也。从力，从工，工亦聲。”
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)
Simplified
Original meaning: wind instrument
Pictograph of a musical wind instrument with a reed, which is now written as 竽. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hju | ɢʷ(r)a | go; at |
| hju | ɦʷa (< *ɢʷ(r)a) | 單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn) |
說文解字
《說文》：“于，於也。象气之舒于。从丂，从一。一者，其气平之也。”
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)
A single horizontal stroke, representing the number one.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'jit | ʔi[t] | one |
說文解字
《說文》：“一，惟初太始，道立於一，造分天地，化成萬物。弌，古文一。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: to command
Originally written as 伇, which depicts a person (亻) being controlled by a weapon (殳). Based on the original meaning "to command". The meaning later shifted to "servant" and "service".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ywek | ɢʷek | war expedition; service |
說文解字
《說文》：“役，戍邊也。从殳，从彳。，古文役从人。”
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: hunting net
Depicts a of hunting net (𠦒) used in a field (田) to catch birds or rabbits. Based on the original meaning "hunting net". The meaning later shifted to "finish".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjit | pi[t] | wooden fork |
| pjit | pi[t] | bird-net | |
| pjit | pi[t] | finish (v.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“畢，田罔也。从，象畢形微也。或曰甶聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.313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
Originally a variant form of 烏, which is a pictograph of a crow. The current use as a function word is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'u | [ʔ]ˤa | oh! |
| 'jo | [ʔ]a | at (locative preposition) |
說文解字
《說文》：“烏，孝鳥也。象形。孔子曰：‘烏，呼也。’取其助气，故以為烏呼。，古文烏，象形。於，象古文烏省。”
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)