练习
liàn​xí HSK2

practice

练 liàn practice Simplified

Original meaning: boil and scour raw silk

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 柬 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "boil and scour raw silk" to make it softer and whiter. The meaning later shifted to "to make perfect" and "to practice". Simplified form of 練.

Components

纟
纟 Meaning component
mì silk

纟 is a component form of 糸.

Change in meaning
纟 hints at the original meaning of 练, " boil and scour raw silk", which is no longer the most common meaning of 练 in modern Mandarin.
柬
柬 SoundSimplified component
jiǎn letter

Derived from the cursive form of the traditional 柬 component.

Sources

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

习 xí practice Simplified

Original meaning: scorch

Simplified form of 習. Phonosemantic compound. 彗 represents the sound and 日 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "to scorch". The current meaning is a phonetic loan. The traditional component 日 was removed for simplification.

Components

彗
彗 SoundSimplified component
huì, suì broom
Change in sound
習
日 MeaningDeleted component
rì sun

The traditional component 日 was removed for simplification.

Change in meaning
日 hints at the original meaning of 习, "scorch", which is no longer the most common meaning of 习 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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 Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

《說文》：“羽，鳥長毛也。象形。”

Sources

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

練 liàn practice Traditional

Original meaning: boil and scour raw silk

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 柬 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "boil and scour raw silk" to make it softer and whiter. The meaning later shifted to "to make perfect" and "to practice".

Components

糹
糹 Meaning component
mì silk

糹 is a component form of 糸.

Change in meaning
糹 hints at the original meaning of 練, "boil and scour raw silk", which is no longer the most common meaning of 練 in modern Mandarin.
柬
柬 Sound component
jiǎn letter

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlenH[r]ˤen-s sized white silk

說文解字

《說文》：“練，湅繒也。从糸，柬聲。”

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)

習 xí to practice Traditional

Original meaning: scorch

Phonosemantic compound. 彗 represents the sound and 日 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "to scorch". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

彗
彗 Sound component
huì, suì broom
Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 彗 than it was in ancient scripts.
日
日 Meaning component
rì sun
Change in meaning
日 hints at the original meaning of 習, "scorch", which is no longer the most common meaning of 習 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

褶熠摺

Meaning (1)

翫

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartzips-ɢʷəp (with root *ɢʷəp ‘wing’?)repeat; practice

說文解字

《說文》：“習，數飛也。从羽，从白。”

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)