补偏救弊
bǔ​piān​jiù​bì

rectify

补 bǔ mend, patch Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 衤 represents the meaning and 卜 represents the sound. Simplified form of 補.

Components

衤
衤 Meaning component
yī clothes

衤 is a component form of 衣.

卜
卜 Sound component
bo fortune telling

Sources

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

偏 piān inclined one side

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 扁 represents the sound.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

扁
扁 Sound component
biǎn flat

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagartphjienpʰe[n]oblique; subordinate
Zhengzhangpʰen
pʰens
Unicodepiɛn

說文解字

頗也。从人扁聲。

Sources

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

救 jiù save

Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 求 represents the sound.

Components

求
求 Sound component
qiú seek
攵
攵 Meaning component
pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 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
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkjuwHs.k(r)u-s help, save

說文解字

《說文》：“救，止也。从攴，求聲。”

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)

弊 bì evil

Two hands 廾 breaking something 敝; 敝 also provides the pronunciation

Components

敝
敝 SoundMeaning component
bì worn out
廾
廾 Meaning component
gǒng two hands

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangbeds
Unicodebhiɛ̀i

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

補 bǔ mend, patch Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 衤 represents the meaning and 甫 represents the sound.

Components

衤
衤 Meaning component
yī clothes

衤 is a component form of 衣.

甫
甫 Sound component
fu begin

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
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-SagartpuX[Cə]-pˤaʔ to patch

說文解字

《說文》：“補，完衣也。从衣，甫聲。”

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)