xiá​jì

visit prostitutes

xiá be familiar with

Components

Meaning component
quǎn dog

dog

Sound component
jiǎ, jia 1st heavenly stem, fingernail

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthæp[ɡ]ˤr[a]pdisrespectful
Zhengzhangɡraːb

說文解字

犬可習也。从犬甲聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

jì, jī prostitute

A working  woman  also provides the pronunciation

Components

Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
SoundMeaning component
zhī support, hold up

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkre
ɡreʔ
Unicodeghyɛ̌

說文解字

婦人小物也。从女支聲。讀若跂行。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica