Original meaning: jade ornament
Possibly depicts using a blade (䇂) to engrave a block of jade. Based on the original meaning "jade ornament", now written as 璋. Later the meaning shifted to "seal" and "chapter".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyang | taŋ | brilliant; distinctive mark; to display |
說文解字
《說文》：“章，樂竟為一章。从音，从十。十，數之終也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 李学勤《字源》p.198
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of the head of an axe. Used to represent a soldier.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzriX | [m-s-]rəʔ | officer; gentleman |
說文解字
《說文》：“士，事也。數始於一，終於十。从一，从十。孔子曰：‘推十合一為士。’”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.59-60
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | kljew |
| kleːw |
說文解字
刓也。从刀从金。周康王名。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)