讷涩
nè​sè

inarticulate

讷 nè slow of speech Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 讠 represents the meaning and 内 represents the sound. Simplified form of 訥.

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

内
内 Sound component
nèi inside

Sources

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

涩 sè astringent Simplified

Original meaning: unsmooth

Simplified form of 澀. Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 歰 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "unsmooth". The meaning later shifted to "rough" and "astringent".

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

歰
歰 SoundMeaningSimplified component
sè, shà unsmooth

Sources

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

訥 slow of speech Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 内 represents the sound.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
内
内 Sound component
nèi inside

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartnwotnˤut slow of speech

說文解字

《說文》：“訥，言難也。从言，从內。”

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)

澀 astringent Traditional

Original meaning: unsmooth

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 歰 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "unsmooth". The meaning later shifted to "rough" and "astringent".

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

歰
歰 SoundMeaning component
sè, shà unsmooth

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangsrɯb
Unicodeshrip

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang