自然条件
zì​rán​tiáo​jiàn

natural conditions

自 zì (nose), self

Original meaning: nose

Pictograph of a nose. Original form of 鼻 (nose). In China, when people point to themselves, they typically point to their nose.

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 Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Iconic (5)

息鼻牵牽𰄩

Sound (1 of 5 verified)

瘪憩洎邊癟

Meaning (3 of 4 verified)

咱臭戛辠

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzijHs.[b]i[t]-s self (adv.)
dzijHs.[b]i[t]-s to follow; from

說文解字

《說文》：“自，鼻也。象鼻形。，古文自。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.272
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

然 rán, ran yes

Original meaning: burn

Phonosemantic compound. 灬 represents the meaning and 肰 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "burn", now written as 燃. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

灬
灬 Meaning component
biāo, huǒ fire

灬 is a component form of 火.

肰
肰 Sound component
rán dog meat

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 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)

燃

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartnyen[n]a[n] so, thus; (adv suffix)

說文解字

《說文》：“然，燒也。从火，肰聲。，或从艸、難。”

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)

条 tiáo clause Simplified

Simplified form of 條. Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 攸 represents the sound.

Components

夂
夂 Simplified component
zhǐ, zhōng go

Shorthand for the 攸 component in the traditional character 條.

木
木 Meaning component
mù tree

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

涤绦鲦

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

件 jiàn piece

Depicts a person (亻) cutting a cow (牛) into pieces.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

牛
牛 Meaning component
niú cow

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartgjenX[g]r[a][n]ʔ (no pre-Qín exx?)item

說文解字

《說文》：“件，分也。从人，从牛。牛，大物，故可分。”

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)

條 tiáo long strip Traditional

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

Components

攸
攸 Sound component
yōu distant
Change in sound
木
木 Meaning component
mù tree

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

縧滌

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdew[l]ˤiw arrange
dewlˤiw branch (n.), shoot (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“條，小枝也。从木，攸聲。”

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)