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)
Original meaning: garden, orchard
Pictograph of something sprouting (屮) from a field (田), depicting a garden or orchard, now written as 圃. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjuX | p(r)aʔ | begin |
| pjuX | praʔ | great |
說文解字
《說文》：“甫，男子美稱也。从用、父，父亦聲。”
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)
Simplified
Original meaning: pasture, straw mat
Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 存 represents the sound. Simplified form of 薦. Based on the original meaning "pasture, straw mat". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzenH | N-tsˤə[n]-s | grass, herb |
| dzenH | [N-ts]ˤə[n]-s | twice; a second time |
說文解字
《說文》：“荐，薦蓆也。从艸，存聲。”
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)
Depicts a person (頁) using their foot (夂) to tread. 眉 was later added to embellish the character and to represent the sound while a component that depicts a shoe was also later added to 夂 (foot) to emphasize another meaning "shoes". The component that depicts a shoe was later reanalyzed as meaning component 彳 (walk).
Components
Depicts an eyebrow.
Change in sound
Change in form
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lijX | [r]ijʔ | tread on; sandal |
說文解字
《說文》：“履，足所依也。从尸，从彳，从攵，舟象履形。一曰尸聲。，古文履从頁，从足。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫zi.tools季旭昇《說文新證》p.681-682Wiktionary
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Original meaning: pasture, straw mat
Depicts an animal (廌) eating grass (艹) in a pasture. Based on the original meaning "pasture, straw mat". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsenH | Cə.tsˤə[r]-s | grass, fodder |
說文解字
《說文》：“薦，獸之所食艸。从廌，从艸。古者神人以廌遺黃帝，帝曰：‘何食？何處？’曰：‘食薦；夏處水澤，冬處松柏。’”
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)