穆圣
Mù​shèng

the Prophet Muhammad

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)

圣 shèng sage, holy Simplified

Simplified form of 聖. Depicts listening (耳) to what is spoken (口). 𡈼 represents the sound.

Components

又
又 Simplified component
yòu again

Shorthand for the 耳 component in the traditional character 聖.

土
土 Simplified component
tǔ earth

Shorthand for the 𡈼 component in the traditional character 聖.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

怪蛏柽

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

《說文》：“圣，汝潁之閒，謂致力於地曰圣。从土，从又。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫Zhengzhang Shangfang
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

聖 shèng sage, holy Traditional

Depicts listening (耳) to what is spoken (口). 𡈼 represents the sound.

Components

耳
耳 Iconic component
ěr ear
口
口 Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth
𡈼
𡈼 Sound component
tǐng, tíng, zhēng stand upright

Character Evolution

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 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 Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 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 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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyengHl̥eŋ-s sage (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“聖，通也。从耳，呈聲。”

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)