诏狱
zhào​yù

imperial prison

诏 zhào, zhāo decree Simplified

To issue 讠 a decree 召; 召 also provides the pronunciation

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech
召
召 SoundMeaning component
zhào summon

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

狱 yù prison Simplified

Simplified form of 獄. Picture of two fighting dogs (犭, 犬) facing each other and barking (讠), depicting a legal dispute related to a crime.

Components

犭
犭 Iconic component
quǎn dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

犬
犬 Iconic component
quǎn dog

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫李学勤《字源》p.884
Readings & variants
Unicode

詔 decree Traditional

To issue 言 a decree 召; 召 also provides the pronunciation

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
召
召 SoundMeaning component
zhào summon

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-SagarttsyewHtaw-stell, announce
Zhengzhangtjews
Unicodejiɛ̀u

說文解字

告也。从言从召，召亦聲。

Sources

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

獄 yù prison Traditional

Picture of two fighting dogs (犭, 犬) facing each other and barking (言), depicting a legal dispute related to a crime.

Components

犭
犭 Iconic component
quǎn dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
犬
犬 Iconic component
quǎn dog

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

嶽

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartngjowk[ŋ]rok lawsuit; prison

說文解字

《說文》：“獄，确也。从，从言。二犬，所以守也。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.884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)