héng​qíng​zhuó​lǐ

deliberate

héng measure

Depicts a person () with a horn () on their head, indicating an unbalanced single horn as opposed to a balanced pair of horns. represents the sound. The meaning later shifted to "to weigh" and "measure".

Components

Sound component
xíng, háng walk
Iconic component
jiǎo, jué horn
Iconic component
dà, dài big

Depicts a person.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthaeng[g]ˤraŋ beam of a steelyard

說文解字

《說文》:“衡,牛觸,橫大木其角。从角,从大,行聲。《詩》曰:‘設其楅衡。’,古文衡如此。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.366漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

qíng, qing feeling

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
xin, xīn heart

is a component form of .

Sound component
qīng green or blue

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzjeng[dz]eŋ affections; response to circumstances

說文解字

《說文》:“情,人之陰氣有欲者。从心,青聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

zhuó serve wine

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
yǒu wine
Sound component
sháo, shuò, zhuó spoon

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsyaktewkpour; deliberate (v.)
Zhengzhangpljewɢ
Unicodejiɑk

說文解字

盛酒行觴也。从酉勺聲。

Sources

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

lǐ, li reason

Original meaning: cut jade

Phonosemantic compound. 𤣩 represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

𤣩
𤣩 Meaning component
jade

𤣩 is a component form of .

Change in meaning
𤣩 hints at the original meaning of , "cut jade", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
lǐ, li village

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartliXm(ə).rəʔ cut jade; regulate
liXm(ə).rəʔ reason; principle

說文解字

《說文》:“理,治玉也。从玉,里聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica