等差级数 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

děng rank

Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 寺 represents the sound.

Components

⺮ Meaning component

zhú bamboo

⺮ is a component form of 竹. Alludes to an orderly arrangement of writings on bamboo strips.

寺 Sound component

sì, shì temple

Change in sound

等 and 寺 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
等 *tˤəŋʔ
寺 *s-[d]əʔ-s

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	tongX	tˤəŋʔ	step, grade

說文解字

《說文》：“等，齊簡也。从竹，从寺。寺，官曹之等平也。”

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫 Wiktionary
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

chà, chā, chāi to differ

Original meaning: rub between fingers

Depicts grain (來) being rolled between the fingers in the left hand (左). Based on the original meaning "rub between fingers", now written as 搓. The meaning later shifted to "uneven" and "error".

Components

來 Iconic component

lái come

Depicts grain.

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 來 than it was in ancient scripts.

左 Sound Iconic component

zuǒ left

Change in sound

差 and 左 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
差 tsrhae
左 tsaX

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (1 of 8 verified)

搓磋嗟槎蹉鹾嵯瘥

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

蹉

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	tsrhae	tsʰraj	distinction; to select
	tsrhea	[tsʰ]raj	distinction; to select
	tsrheaj	[tsʰ](ˤ)raj	distinction; to select
	tsrhje	tsʰraj	參差 uneven
	tsha	[tsʰ]ˤaj	rub, polish, file (v.)

說文解字

貳也。差不相值也。从左从𠂹。

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)

jí level Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 纟 represents the meaning and 及 represents the sound. Simplified form of 級.

Components

纟 Meaning component

mì silk

纟 is a component form of 糸.

及 Sound component

jí extend

Sources

Character origin: 漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants: Unicode

shù, shǔ, shu number Simplified

Simplified form of 數. Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 婁 represents the sound.

Components

攵 Meaning component

pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

娄 Sound component

lóu, lǚ, lǘ surname

Change in sound

数 and 娄 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
数 srjuX
娄 lju

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

擞薮

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Readings & variants: Unicode

jí level Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 及 represents the sound.

Components

糹 Meaning component

mì silk

糹 is a component form of 糸.

及 Sound component

jí extend

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	kip	k(r)əp	degree, grade

說文解字

絲次弟也。从糸及聲。

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)

shù, shǔ, shu number Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 婁 represents the sound.

Components

攵 Meaning component

pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

婁 Sound component

surname

Change in sound

數 and 婁 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Middle Chinese.
數 srjuX
婁 lju

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

擻藪

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	srjuX	s-roʔ	count (v.)
	srjuH	s-roʔ-s	number (n.)
	sraewk	s-rok	frequently

說文解字

《說文》：“數，計也。从攴，婁聲。”

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)

等 děng rank

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

差 chà, chā, chāi to differ

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (1 of 8 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

级 jí level Simplified

Components

Sources

数 shù, shǔ, shu number Simplified

Components

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

級 jí level Traditional

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

數 shù, shǔ, shu number Traditional

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

děng rank

chà, chā, chāi to differ

jí level Simplified

shù, shǔ, shu number Simplified

jí level Traditional

shù, shǔ, shu number Traditional