Originally a pictograph of a cricket, since cricket chirps indicate the beginning of autumn. Later the character was reanalyzed as 禾 (grain) + 火 (fire).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tshjuw | tsʰiw | autumn; crop |
說文解字
《說文》：“秋，禾穀孰也。从禾，省聲。，籀文不省。”
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)
Original meaning: youngest, small grains
禾 represents short stalks of grain, 子 represents a young child. Based on the original meaning "youngest, small grains". The meaning later shifted to "crops", and "season".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kjwijH | kʷi[t]-s | youngest |
說文解字
《說文》：“季，少偁也。从子，从稚省，稚亦聲。”
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)