特设
tè​shè

ad hoc

特 tè special

Original meaning: bull

Phonosemantic compound. 牛 represents the meaning and 寺 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bull". The meaning later shifted to "prominent" and "special".

Components

牛
牛 Meaning component
niú cow
寺
寺 Sound component
sì, shì temple
Change in sound

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-Sagartdok[d]ˤək bull

說文解字

《說文》：“特，朴特，牛父也。从牛，寺聲。”

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)

设 shè build Simplified

Depicts the process of setting something up using speech (讠) and a tool (殳).

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

殳
殳 Meaning component
shū weapon or tool

Depicts a hand holding a tool.

Sources

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

設 shè build, set up Traditional

Depicts the process of setting something up using speech (言) and a tool (殳).

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
殳
殳 Meaning component
shū weapon or tool

Depicts a hand holding a tool.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsyetŋ̊et set up

說文解字

《說文》：“設，施陳也。从言，从殳。殳，使人也。”

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)