滋芽
zī​yá

sprout

滋 zī grow

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

water

兹
兹 Sound component
zī, cí now

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsi[ts]əabundant
Zhengzhangʔsɯ
Unicodetziə

說文解字

益也。从水兹聲。一曰滋水，出牛飲山白陘谷，東入呼沱。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

芽 yá bud

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 牙 represents the sound.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

牙
牙 Sound component
yá tooth

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartngæm-ɢˤ<r>ashoot, sprout
Zhengzhangŋraː
Unicodenga

說文解字

萌芽也。从艸牙聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)