tián​jú​táng​gān

stevioside

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

chrysanthemum

Components

Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

flower

Sound component
handful

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkuɡ
Unicodegiuk

說文解字

大菊,蘧麥。从艸匊聲。

Sources

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

táng sugar

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
rice
Sound component
táng exaggerate

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdangC.lˤaŋ (no pre-Qín exx)sugar

說文解字

《說文新附》:“糖,飴也。从米,唐聲。”

Sources

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

gān licorice

A sweet  plant  also provides the pronunciation

Components

Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass
SoundMeaning component
gān sweetness

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangkaːm

說文解字

甘艸也。从艸从甘。

Sources

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