Original meaning: musical tube made of bamboo
Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 官 represents the sound. Originally a musical tube made of bamboo. The meaning "to manage" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwanX | [k]ˤo[n]ʔ | tube; flute |
| kwanX | kʷˤa[n]ʔ | exhausted, helpless | |
| kwanX | kʷˤa[n]ʔ | helpless |
說文解字
《說文》:“管,如箎,六孔,十二月之音,物開地牙,故謂之管。从竹,官聲。琯,古者玉琯以玉。舜之時,西王母來獻其白琯。前零陵文學姓奚,於伶道舜祠下得笙玉琯。夫以玉作音,故神人以和,鳳皇來儀也。从玉,官聲。”
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)
Depicts a boat (舟) being passed from one hand (爫) to another hand (又). 舟 also served as phonetic, but it was later abbreviated.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyuwX | [d]uʔ | receive |
說文解字
《說文》:“受,相付也。从,舟省聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫裘錫圭 "Chinese Writing" p.189
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yingH | l[i]ŋ-s | pregnant |
說文解字
《說文》:“孕,褢子也。从子,从几。”
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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syiH | l̥ək-s | test, try |
說文解字
《說文》:“試,用也。从言,式聲。《虞書》曰:‘明試以功。’”
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)