kǎo​yàn HSK3

test

kǎo examine

Original meaning: old father

Depicts an old man () with a cane (). Originally the same character as . Based on the original meaning "old father". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

Iconic component
lǎo old

is a component form of .

SoundIconic component
kǎo, qiǎo, yú axe handle

Depicts a cane.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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 Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 5 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkhawXk-r̥ˤuʔ old; deceased father

說文解字

《說文》:“考,老也。从老省,丂聲。”

Sources

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

yàn test Simplified

Original meaning: type of horse

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "type of horse". The current meaning is a phonetic loan. Simplified form of .

Components

Meaning component
horse
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "type of horse", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
qiān together

Sources

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

yàn test Traditional

Original meaning: type of horse

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "type of horse". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

Meaning component
horse
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "type of horse", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
together

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngjemHm-qʰr[a]m-s verify

說文解字

《說文》:“驗,馬名。从馬,僉聲。”

Sources

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