第一产业
dì​yī​chǎn​yè

primary industry

第 dì sequence

Originally a variant of 弟 (younger brother), which originally meant "order".

Components

⺮
⺮ Unknown component
zhú bamboo

Corruption of the top part of 弟.

弟
弟 SoundMeaning component
dì, di younger brother

Based on the original meaning of 弟 "order".

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdejH[l]ˤəjʔ-s sequence

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.478
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

一 yī one

A single horizontal stroke, representing the number one.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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
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 Three Kingdoms (Wu) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Iconic (9)

生之方或万旦曰巿丏

Meaning (2 of 7 verified)

百千兹闩戛晉閂

Unknown (2)

昼晝

Distinguishing (1)

夫

Simplified (1)

丛

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'jitʔi[t] one

說文解字

《說文》：“一，惟初太始，道立於一，造分天地，化成萬物。弌，古文一。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

产 chǎn give birth Simplified

Simplified form of 產. Phonosemantic compound. 生 represents the meaning and 彥 represents the sound. The traditional component 生 was removed for simplification.

Components

彦
彦 SoundRemnant component
yàn, pán elegant
Change in sound
產
生 Deleted component
shēng, sheng life

The traditional component 生 was removed for simplification.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

铲浐

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

业 yè profession Simplified

Original meaning: attack

Simplified character from the top 5 strokes of the traditional 業. Depicts a person (大) carrying a weapon (丵). Based on the original meaning "attack". The meaning later shifted to "expand territory" and "develop business".

Components

丵
丵 SimplifiedRemnant component
zhuó chisel

Shorthand for the 丵 component. Depicts a chisel-shaped weapon.

業
大 Deleted component
dà, dài big

Depicts a person.

Component uses

Simplified (2)

显虚

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

邺

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.168-169Chinese Language Stack Exchange
Readings & variants
Unicode

產 chǎn give birth Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 生 represents the meaning and 彥 represents the sound.

Components

彥
彥 SoundRemnant component
elegant
Change in sound
生
生 Meaning component
shēng, sheng life

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2)

隡剷

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsreanXs-ŋrarʔ bear (v.), produce

說文解字

《說文》：“產，生也。从生，彥省聲。”

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)

業 yè profession Traditional

Original meaning: attack

Depicts a person (大) carrying a weapon (丵). Based on the original meaning "attack". The meaning later shifted to "expand territory" and "develop business".

Components

丵
丵 Iconic component
zhuó chisel

Depicts a chisel-shaped weapon.

大
大 Iconic component
dà, dài big

Depicts a person.


Character Evolution

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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

鄴嶪

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartngjaep[m-qʰ](r)[a]p work (n.)
ngjaep[m-qʰ](r)[a]p horizontal board of a bell stand or frame
ngjaep[ŋ](r)[a]p strong, sturdy

說文解字

《說文》：“業，大版也，所以飾縣鍾鼓，捷業如鋸齒，以白畫之，象其鉏鋙相承也。从丵，从巾，巾象版。《詩》曰：‘巨業維樅。’，古文業。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.168-169Chinese Stack Exchange
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)