虚与委蛇 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

xū void, false Simplified

Simplified form of 虛. Phonosemantic compound. 虍 represents the sound and 丘 represents the meaning.

Components

虍 Sound component

hū tiger

业 Simplified component

yè profession

Shorthand for the 丘 component in the traditional character 虛.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 6 verified)

墟嘘觑魖歔覷

Sources

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

yǔ, yù and Simplified

Simplified form of 與. Phonosemantic compound. 舁 represents the meaning and 牙 represents the sound. The traditional component 舁 was removed for simplification.

Components

舁 Deleted component

yú to lift

The traditional component 舁 was removed for simplification.

牙 Sound component

yá tooth

Change in sound

与 and 牙 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
与 *m-q(r)aʔ
牙 *m-ɢˤ<r>a

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 牙 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Clerical form — Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

屿欤

Simplified (1)

写

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	yoX	m-q(r)aʔ	give; for; and

說文解字

《說文》：“与，賜予也。一勺為与。此与與同。”

Sources

Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

wěi bent, winding

Depicts grain (禾) in a bent shape (𠃊).

Components

禾 Iconic component

hé grain stalk

𠃊 Iconic component

yǐn hidden area

Used here to depict a bent shape. Modern form looks like 女.

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 𠃊 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (1 of 8 verified)

魏矮萎倭诿痿逶諉

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	'jwe	q(r)oj	委蛇 compliant, complaisant
	'jweX	q(r)ojʔ	entrust to
	'jweX	q(r)ojʔ	collect; store
	'jweX	q(r)orʔ	bend; hang down

說文解字

《說文》：“委，委隨也。从女，从禾。”

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)

shé snake

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 它 represents the sound. Originally written as 它.

Components

虫 Meaning component

chóng bug, insect

它 Sound Iconic component

tā it

Pictograph of a snake.

Change in sound

蛇 and 它 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
蛇 *laj
它 *l̥ˤaj

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	zyae	Cə.lAj	snake
	ye	laj	委蛇 compliant, complacent

說文解字

《說文》：“它，虫也。从虫而長，象冤曲垂尾形。上古艸居患它，故相問無它乎。蛇，它或从虫。”

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)

xū void, false Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 虍 represents the sound and 丘 represents the meaning.

Components

虍 Sound component

hū tiger

丘 Meaning component

qiū hill

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 丘 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

噓

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	khjo	C.qʰ(r)a	hill, mound; abandoned city
	xjo	qʰ(r)a	empty

說文解字

《說文》：“虛，大丘也。崐崘丘謂之崐崘虛，古者九夫為井，四井為邑，四邑為丘，丘謂之虛。从丘，虍聲。”

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)

yǔ, yù together with Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 舁 represents the meaning and 牙 represents the sound.

Components

舁 Sound Meaning component

yú to lift

Depicts four hands working together.

牙 Sound component

yá tooth

Change in sound

與 and 牙 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
與 *m-q(r)aʔ
牙 *m-ɢˤ<r>a

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 牙 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

舉譽藇嶼

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	yoX	m-q(r)aʔ	give; for; and
	yoH	ɢ(r)aʔ-s	participate in

說文解字

《說文》：“與，黨與也。从舁，从与。，古文與。”

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)

虚 xū void, false Simplified

Components

Component uses

Sound (0 of 6 verified)

Sources

与 yǔ, yù and Simplified

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Simplified (1)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

委 wěi bent, winding

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (1 of 8 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

蛇 shé snake

Components

Character Evolution

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

虛 xū void, false Traditional

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

與 yǔ, yù together with Traditional

Components

Character Evolution

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

說文解字

Sources

xū void, false Simplified

yǔ, yù and Simplified

wěi bent, winding

shé snake

xū void, false Traditional

yǔ, yù together with Traditional