消灾避邪
xiāo​zāi​bì​xié

ward off evil

消 xiāo vanish

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 肖 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

肖
肖 Sound component
xiào look like

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsjew[s]ew dissolve; disappear

說文解字

《說文》：“消，盡也。从水，肖聲。”

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)

灾 zāi calamity Simplified

Depicts a fire (火) burning a building (宀).

Components

宀
宀 Iconic component
mián roof
火
火 Iconic component
huǒ fire

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagarttsoj[ts]ˤə calamity

說文解字

《說文》：“烖，天火曰烖。从火，聲。灾，或从宀、火；，古文从才；災，籀文从。”

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)

避 bì avoid

Phonosemantic compound. 辶 represents the meaning and 辟 represents the sound.

Components

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

辟
辟 Sound component
pì, bì law

Character Evolution

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartbjieH[b]ek-s avoid

說文解字

《說文》：“避，回也。从辵，辟聲。”

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)

邪 xié evil

Original meaning: place name

Phonosemantic compound. 牙 represents the sound and ⻏ represents the meaning. Based on the original use as a place name. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

牙
牙 Sound component
yá tooth
Change in sound
⻏
⻏ Meaning component
yì city
Change in meaning
⻏ hints at the original meaning of 邪, "place name", which is no longer the most common meaning of 邪 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

琊铘

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

铘

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartzjaesə.ɢA awry
zjosə.la walk slowly
yaeɢ(r)A 琅邪 (name of a mountain in Shāndōng)
yae[ɢ](r)A (interrogative particle)

說文解字

《說文》：“邪，琅邪郡。从邑，牙聲。”

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)

災 zāi calamity Traditional

Depicts a fire (火) and a flood (𡿧).

Components

𡿧
𡿧 SoundIconic component
zāi flood
火
火 Iconic component
huǒ fire

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagarttsoj[ts]ˤə calamity

說文解字

《說文》：“烖，天火曰烖。从火，聲。灾，或从宀、火；，古文从才；災，籀文从。”

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)