tián​shuì

sleep soundly

tián sweet

Depicts the tongue () tasting something sweet ().

Components

Meaning component
shé tongue
Meaning component
gān sweetness

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangl'iːm

說文解字

《說文》:“甛,美也。从甘,从舌。舌,知甘者。”

Sources

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

shuì sleep

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
eye
Sound component
chuí droop

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzyweH[d]o[j]-s doze off

說文解字

坐寐也。从目、垂。

Sources

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