穆勒鞋
mù​lè​xié

mules

穆 mù majestic

Original meaning: ears of a grain plant

Depicts the ripe drooping ears of a grain stalk (禾). 彡 was later added as a decorative mark. Based on the original meaning "ears of a grain plant". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "majestic".

Components

禾
禾 Iconic component
hé grain stalk
Change in meaning
禾 hints at the original meaning of 穆, "ears of a grain plant", which is no longer the most common meaning of 穆 in modern Mandarin.
◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts the ripe drooping ear of a grain stalk.

彡
彡 Distinguishing component
shān, xiǎn hair

Used here as a decorative mark.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartmjuwkm(r)iwk harmonious

說文解字

《說文》：“穆，禾也。从禾，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)

勒 lēi bridle, rein in, strangle

Phonosemantic compound. 革 represents the meaning and 力 represents the sound.

Components

革
革 Meaning component
gé leather
力
力 Sound component
lì, li power

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

嘞鳓

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlok[r]ˤək engrave
lok[r]ˤək bridle

說文解字

《說文》：“勒，馬頭絡銜也。从革，力聲。”

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)

鞋 xié shoes

Phonosemantic compound. 革 represents the meaning and 圭 represents the sound.

Components

革
革 Meaning component
gé leather
圭
圭 Sound component
guī jade pointed at top
Change in sound

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthea[g]ˤre (no pre-Qín exx.)shoe

Sources

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