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)
Original meaning: to attack (an enemy)
Depicts a foot (止) going out towards city walls (丁). 丁 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "to attack (an enemy)", now written as 征. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "correct".
Components
Depicts city walls.
Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 丁 than it was in ancient scripts.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyeng | C.teŋ | 1st (month) |
| tsyengH | teŋ-s | correct (adj., v.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“正，是也。从止，一以止。，古文正，从二，二，古上字。，古文正，从一、足，足者，亦止也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.120
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Pictograph of one person following another.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | zloŋ |
說文解字
《說文》：“从，相聽也。从二人。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: place name
Phonosemantic compound. 牙 represents the sound and ⻏ represents the meaning. Based on the original use as a place name. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | zjae | sə.ɢA | awry |
| zjo | sə.la | walk slowly | |
| yae | ɢ(r)A | 琅邪 (name of a mountain in Shāndōng) | |
| yae | [ɢ](r)A | (interrogative particle) |
說文解字
《說文》：“邪，琅邪郡。从邑，牙聲。”
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)
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
Originally written as 从, which depicts one person following another. Later 辵 was added to indicate movement.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzjowng | [dz]oŋ | to follow |
| tsjowng | tsoŋ | longitudinal | |
| dzjowngH | [dz]oŋ-s | follower |
說文解字
《說文》：“從，隨行也。从辵，从从，从亦聲。”
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)