突触
tū​chù

synapse

突 tū suddenly

Depicts a dog (犬) suddenly running out of a cave (穴).

Components

穴
穴 Iconic component
xué, jué cave
犬
犬 Iconic component
quǎn dog

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdwotm-tʰˤut burst through
thwottʰˤut break through; suddenly

說文解字

《說文》：“突，犬从穴中暫出也。从犬在穴中。一曰滑也。”

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)

触 chù knock against, touch, to butt with the horns Simplified

Simplified form of 觸. Phonosemantic compound. 角 represents the meaning and 蜀 represents the sound.

Components

角
角 Meaning component
jiǎo, jué horn
虫
虫 Simplified component
chóng bug, insect

Shorthand for the phonetic 蜀 component in the traditional character 觸.

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

觸 chù knock against, touch, to butt with the horns Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 角 represents the meaning and 蜀 represents the sound.

Components

角
角 Meaning component
jiǎo, jué horn
蜀
蜀 Sound component
shǔ short name for Sichuan

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsyhowktʰok knock against

說文解字

《說文》：“觸，抵也。从角，蜀聲。”

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)