Original meaning: the sound of a cow
Depicts a cow (牛) with a stroke above to indicate the mooing of a cow. Based on the original meaning "the sound of a cow". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | mu |
說文解字
《說文》：“牟，牛鳴也。从牛，象其聲气从口出。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.93
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Depicts harvesting grain (禾) with a blade (刂). Harvest was the main source of profit in agricultural societies.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lijH | C.ri[t]-s | sharp; profit |
說文解字
《說文》：“利，銛也。从刀；和然後利，从和省。《易》曰：‘利者，義之和也。’”
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)