zì​yì

hang oneself

(nose), self

Original meaning: nose

Pictograph of a nose. Original form of (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)

Sound (1 of 5 verified)

Meaning (3 of 4 verified)

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

hang Simplified

Components

Meaning component
silk

thread

Sound component
benefit

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

hang Traditional

Components

Meaning component
silk

thread

Sound component
benefit

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartʔejHqˤ[i]k-sstrangle
ʔjieHq[i]k-sstrangle
Zhengzhangqleːɡs
qleɡs

說文解字

經也。从糸益聲。《春秋傳》曰:“夷姜縊。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica