Pictograph of an axe head, used as a symbol of the king's military authority.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hjwang | ɢʷaŋ | king |
| hjwangH | ɢʷaŋ-s | be king |
說文解字
《說文》：“王，天下所歸往也。董仲舒曰：‘古之造文者，三畫而連其中謂之王。三者，天、地、人也；而參通之者，王也。’孔子曰：‘一貫三為王。’，古文王。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.52
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: overflow
Depicts water (水) filling up a container (皿). Based on the original meaning "overflow", now written as 溢. The meaning later shifted to "increase" and "benefit".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'jiek | q[i]k (dialect: *-ik > *-ek) | increase |
說文解字
《說文》：“益，饒也。从水、皿。皿，益之意也。”
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)
Simplified
Components
品 IconicSimplified component
Depicts a group of things.
Traditional
Depicts a group of things (品) in an enclosed area.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'uw | qˤ(r)o | (a measure) |
說文解字
《說文》：“區，踦區，藏匿也。从品在匸中。品，眾也。”
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)