电源供应器 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

diànyuángōngyìngqì

power supply

diàn electricity Simplified

Original meaning: lightning

Simplified form of 電, which depicts lightning (申) during a rainstorm (雨). The 雨 component was deleted for simplification.

Components

雨 Deleted component

yǔ rain

申 Sound Iconic component

shēn to extend

Depicts lightning.

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.981-982
Readings & variants: Unicode

yuán spring

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 原 represents the sound.

Components

氵 Meaning component

shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

原 Sound Meaning component

yuán source

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	ngjwon	N-ɢʷar	spring, source

Sources

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

gōng, gòng supply, provide

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 共 represents the sound.

Components

亻 Meaning component

rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

共 Sound component

gòng together with

Character Evolution

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

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	kjowng	k<r>oŋ	furnish; serve, offer

說文解字

《說文》：“供，設也。从人，共聲。一曰供給。”

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)

yīng, yìng, ying should Simplified

Simplified form of 應. Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 䧹 represents the sound.

Components

心 Meaning Simplified component

xīn, xin heart

䧹 Sound Simplified component

yīng eagle

Sources

Readings & variants: Unicode

qì receptacle

Origin unclear.

Components

㗊 Unknown component

jí, léi clamour, noise

犬 Unknown component

quǎn dog

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 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 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	khijH	[kʰ]r[ə][t]-s	vessel; instrument

說文解字

《說文》：“器，皿也。象器之口，犬所以守之。”

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)

diàn electricity Traditional

Original meaning: lightning

Depicts lightning (申) during a rainstorm (雨).

Components

雨 Meaning component

yǔ rain

申 Sound Iconic component

shēn to extend

Depicts lightning.

Change in sound

電 and 申 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
電 *lˤi[n]-s
申 *l̥i[n]

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Seal form — Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Seal form — Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Seal form — Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	denH	lˤi[n]-s	lightning

說文解字

《說文》：“電，陰陽激燿也。从雨，从申。，古文電。”

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.981-982
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

yīng, yìng, ying should Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 䧹 represents the sound.

Components

心 Meaning component

xīn, xin heart

䧹 Sound component

yīng eagle

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	'ing	[q](r)əŋ	ought

說文解字

《說文》：“應，當也。从心，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)