灵异
líng​yì

deity

灵 líng, ling spirit Simplified

Simplified form of 靈. Phonosemantic compound. 巫 represents the meaning and 霝 represents the sound.

Components

彐
彐 Simplified component
jì snout

Shorthand for the 霝 component in the traditional character 靈.

火
火 Simplified component
huǒ fire

Shorthand for the 巫 component in the traditional character 靈.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

棂

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangreːŋ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

异 yì different Simplified

Original meaning: carry on the head

Phonosemantic compound. 廾 represents the meaning and 已 represents the sound. Simplified form of 異. Based on the original meaning "carry on the head", now written as 戴. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

已
已 Sound component
yǐ already
廾
廾 Meaning component
gǒng two hands
Change in meaning
廾 hints at the original meaning of 异, "carry on the head", which is no longer the most common meaning of 异 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartyiHɢ(r)ək-s different

說文解字

《說文》：“异，舉也。从廾，聲。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.204-205
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

靈 líng, ling spirit Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 巫 represents the meaning and 霝 represents the sound.

Components

霝
霝 Sound component
líng drops of rain
巫
巫 Meaning component
wū wizard, shaman

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

欞

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartleng[r]ˤeŋ supernatural

說文解字

《說文》：“，靈巫，以玉事神。从玉，霝聲。靈，或从巫。”

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)

異 yì different Traditional

Original meaning: carry on the head

Depicts two hands putting something on top of the head. Based on the original meaning "carry on the head", now written as 戴. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 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
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
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 3 verified)

戴翼冀

Iconic (1)

戴

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartyiHɢ(r)ək-s different

說文解字

《說文》：“異，分也。从廾、从畀。畀，予也。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.204-205
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)