满招损，谦受益
mǎn​zhāo​sǔn, qiān​shòu​yì

modesty

满 mǎn fill Simplified

Simplified form of 滿. Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 㒼 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

𬜯
𬜯 Simplified component
liǎng name of a variety of grass

Simplified from the traditional phonetic component 㒼.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

懑

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

懑

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

招 zhāo beckon

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 召 represents the sound.

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

召
召 SoundMeaning component
zhào summon

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 Chinese
Zhengzhangtjew
Unicodejiɛu

說文解字

《說文》：“招，手呼也。从手，召聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

损 sǔn diminish, lose Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 员 represents the sound. Simplified form of 損.

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

员
员 Sound component
yuán member

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

谦 qiān humble Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 讠 represents the meaning and 兼 represents the sound. Simplified form of 謙.

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

兼
兼 Sound component
jiān double

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

受 shòu receive

Depicts a boat (舟) being passed from one hand (爫) to another hand (又). 舟 also served as phonetic, but it was later abbreviated.

Components

爫
爫 Iconic component
zhǎo hand, claw

爫 is a component form of 爪.

舟
舟 SoundIconic component
zhōu boat
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 舟 than it was in ancient scripts.
又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 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 Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

授绶綬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzyuwX[d]uʔ receive

說文解字

《說文》：“受，相付也。从，舟省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫裘錫圭 "Chinese Writing" p.189
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

益 yì benefit

Original meaning: overflow

Depicts water (水) filling up a container (皿). Based on the original meaning "overflow", now written as 溢. The meaning later shifted to "increase" and "benefit".

Components

水
水 Iconic component
shuǐ water

Depicts water.

皿
皿 Iconic component
mǐn, mǐng dish

Depicts a vessel for holding food or drink.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 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
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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 8 verified)

溢隘谥缢镒嗌謚縊

Unknown (0 of 1 verified)

蠲

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'jiekq[i]k (dialect: *-ik > *-ek)increase

說文解字

《說文》：“益，饒也。从水、皿。皿，益之意也。”

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)

滿 mǎn fill Traditional

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

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

㒼
㒼 Sound component
mán equal

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

懣

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

懣

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmanXmˤ[o][n]ʔ full

說文解字

《說文》：“滿，盈溢也。从水，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)

損 sǔn diminish, lose Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 員 represents the sound.

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

員
員 Sound component
yuán member

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-SagartswonX[s-q]ʷˤə[n]ʔ diminish, damage

說文解字

《說文》：“損，減也。从手，員聲。”

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)

謙 qiān humble Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 兼 represents the sound.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
兼
兼 Sound component
jiān double

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhemk-r̥ˤem modest

說文解字

《說文》：“謙，敬也。从言，兼聲。”

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)