Pictograph of an old person with long hair bent over and leaning on a cane.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lawX | C.rˤuʔ | old |
說文解字
《說文》：“老，考也。七十曰老。从人、毛、匕。言須髮變白也。”
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)
Pictograph of a woman kneeling, with two dots representing the two nipples that mothers use to feed their young.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | muwX | məʔ (? or *mˤoʔ) | mother |
說文解字
《說文》：“母，牧也。从女，象褱子形。一曰象乳子也。”
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)
Traditional
Originally was a pictograph of a chicken. Later changed to a phonosemantic compound of 奚 and 隹 (bird).
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kej | kˤe | fowl, chicken |
說文解字
《說文》：“雞，知時畜也。从隹，奚聲。鷄，籀文雞从鳥。”
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)