狐朋狗友
hú​péng​gǒu​yǒu

disreputable associates

狐 hú species of fox

Phonosemantic compound. 犭 represents the meaning and 瓜 represents the sound.

Components

犭
犭 Meaning component
quǎn dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

瓜
瓜 Sound component
guā melon

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthu[ɡ]ʷˤafox
Zhengzhangɡʷaː
Unicodeho

說文解字

䄏獸也。鬼所乘之。有三徳：其色中和，小前大後，死則丘首。从犬瓜聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

朋 péng friend

Original meaning: pair of strings of jade

Depicts a pair of strings of jade mounted together. The meaning later shifted to "friend". Not related to 月 (moon), despite the visual similarity.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 8 verified)

鹏崩棚绷硼堋鵬萠

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartbong[b]ˤəŋ set of cowries; friend

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.306漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

狗 gǒu dog

Phonosemantic compound. 犭 represents the meaning and 句 represents the sound.

Components

犭
犭 Meaning component
quǎn dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

句
句 Sound component
jù sentence
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkuwXCə.kˤroʔ dog

說文解字

《說文》：“狗，孔子曰：‘狗，叩也，叩气吠以守。’从犬，句聲。”

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)

友 you, yǒu friend

Pictograph of two hands together to convey the meaning "friend". 又 also represents the sound.

Components

又
又 SoundIconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.

又
又 SoundIconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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
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 Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthjuwX[ɢ]ʷəʔ friend

說文解字

《說文》：“友，同志為友。从二又，相交友也。，古文友。。亦古文友。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.211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)