珍珠奶茶
zhēn​zhū​nǎi​chá

bubble tea

珍 zhēn precious

Phonosemantic compound. 玉 represents the meaning and 㐱 represents the sound.

Components

𤣩
𤣩 Meaning component
yù jade

jade

㐱
㐱 Sound component
zhěn thick hair

Character Evolution

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 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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttrintrə[n] precious thing

說文解字

《說文》：“珍，寶也。从玉，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)

珠 zhū precious stone

Phonosemantic compound. 王 represents the meaning and 朱 represents the sound.

Components

王
王 Meaning component
wáng king
朱
朱 Sound component
zhū, shū red pigment

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Wu) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangtjo
Unicodejio

說文解字

蚌之陰精。从玉朱聲。《春秋國語》曰：“珠以禦火灾”是也。

Sources

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

奶 nǎi, nai milk

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 乃 represents the sound.

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
乃
乃 SoundIconic component
nǎi then

Depicts a woman standing sideways with her breasts protruding.

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangrneːlʔ

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

茶 chá tea

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 余 represents the sound.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

余
余 Sound component
yú I
Change in sound

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

搽

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdraelˤra(name of a plant)

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart