第四权
dì​sì​quán

fourth estate

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

四 sì four

In ancient texts the character 亖 (four horizontal strokes) was used. The current form 四 depicts breathing through the nose and is the original form of 呬. The use of 四 as a number is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

泗驷呬駟

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

驷駟

Iconic (1)

呬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsijHs.li[j]-s four

說文解字

《說文》：“四，陰數也。象四分之形。，古文四。亖，籀文四。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.948
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

权 quán power Simplified

Simplified form of 權. Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 雚 represents the sound.

Components

木
木 Meaning component
mù tree
又
又 Simplified component
yòu again

Shorthand for the 雚 component in the traditional character 權.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Regular Modern

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

權 quán power, right Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 雚 represents the sound.

Components

木
木 Meaning component
mù tree
雚
雚 Sound component
guàn, huán heron

Character Evolution

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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartgjwen[g]ʷrar weight of a steelyard

說文解字

《說文》：“權，黃華木。从木，雚聲。一曰反常。”

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)