The top component is a pictograph of a zither-like stringed musical instrument. 今 is a sound component.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gim | [C.ɢ](r)[ə]m | lute |
說文解字
《說文》：“琴，禁也。神農所作。洞越，練朱五弦，周加二弦。象形。”
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)
Traditional
Original meaning: servant
Phonosemantic compound. 臤 represents the meaning and 豆 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "servant". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyuX | [d]oʔ | palace attendant; young man |
說文解字
《說文》：“豎，豎立也。从臤，豆聲。豎，籀文豎从殳。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)