Simplified
Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 余 represents the sound. 口 (mouth) indicates that the character is only "mouthed", i.e. only used for its phonetic value.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syaeX | l̥Aʔ | set aside, give up |
| syaeH | [l̥]Ak-s (W dialect: *l̥- > *x-, palatalizing) | lodging-house |
說文解字
《說文》：“舍，市居曰舍。从亼、屮，象屋也。口象築也。”
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)
Depicts a hand (寸) grabbing a shell (貝), used as currency in ancient China, to convey the meaning "get". Originally written as 㝵. The 彳 (movement) component was added later.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tok | tˤək | obtain |
說文解字
《說文》：“得，行有所得也。从彳，聲。，古文省彳。”
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)
A single horizontal stroke, representing the number one.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'jit | ʔi[t] | one |
說文解字
《說文》：“一，惟初太始，道立於一，造分天地，化成萬物。弌，古文一。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of a person with a protruding midsection.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syin | n̥i[ŋ] | body; self |
說文解字
《說文》：“身，躳也。象人之身。从人，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)
Original meaning: to hunt; to pursue
Depicts a hand holding a hunting weapon (攵) catching a wild boar (豕). 甘 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "to hunt; to pursue". The meaning later shifted to "brave" and "to dare".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kamX | [k]ˤamʔ | dare |
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | paeX | pˤraʔ | grasp (v.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“把，握也。从手，把聲。”
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)
Depicts a decorative crown above 王 (king).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hwang | [ɢ]ʷˤaŋ | yellow and white spotted |
| hwang | [ɢ]ʷˤaŋ | sovereign |
說文解字
《說文》：“皇，大也。从自，自，始也，始皇者，三皇大君也。自，讀若鼻，今俗以始生子為鼻子。”
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)
Original meaning: firewood used as sacrifice
Pictograph of firewood bundled together for a sacrifice. Based on the original meaning "firewood used as sacrifice", now written as 禘. Later the meaning changed to "emperor".
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tejH | tˤek-s | God |
說文解字
《說文》：“帝，諦也。王天下之號也。从丄，朿聲。，古文帝。古文諸丄字皆从一，篆文皆从，，古文上字。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.46
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (1)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lop | [r]ˤəp | break |
說文解字
《說文》：“拉，摧也。从手，立聲。”
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)
Originally a small line or dot below a longer line, indicating "down". The vertical line was added to distinguish the character from 二 (two). Opposite of 上.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | haeX | gˤraʔ | down |
| haeH | m-gˤraʔ-s | descend |
說文解字
《說文》：“丅，底也。指事。下，篆文丅。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.47
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syæX | l̥ Aʔ | set aside, give up |
| Zhengzhang | hljaːʔ | ||
| Unicode | shiǎ |
說文解字
釋也。从手舍聲。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Pictograph of a horse.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | maeX | mˤraʔ | horse |
說文解字
《說文》：“馬，怒也；武也。象馬頭髦尾四足之形。，古文。，籀文馬與同，有髦。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.741-742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)