Pictograph of an elephant.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | zjangX | s.[d]aŋʔ | elephant |
說文解字
《說文》：“象，長鼻牙，南越大獸，三年一乳。象耳牙四足之形。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.740
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Originally written as 正. Phonosemantic compound. 彳 represents the meaning and 正 represents the sound. In simplified Chinese 征 is also used to mean "invade", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 徵.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyeng | teŋ | to correct; to go on a punitive expedition |
說文解字
《說文》：“，正行也。从辵，正聲。征，或从彳。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.121
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: deity
Pictograph of a memorial tablet used for spiritual rituals, similar to 示.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyuX | toʔ | master; host |
說文解字
《說文》：“主，鐙中火主也。从凵土，象形；从丶，丶亦聲。”
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)
Simplified
Adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 義. Phonosemantic compound. 羊 represents the meaning and 我 represents the sound. In ancient China sheep (羊) were associated with goodness and beauty, which is why 羊 is a component in characters like 美 (beautiful), 善 (benevolent), and 義 (justice).
Components
Traditional
Original meaning: to punish
Originally written as 𱖔, which depicts a knife with tooth-shaped decorations on the back. The components 彳 (walk) and 攵 (tap) were added later to indicate movement and action. Based on the original meaning "to punish". The meaning later shifted to "invade", "to summon" and "to recruit" while its other meaning used as a musical note is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tring | trəŋ | examine |
說文解字
《說文》：“徵，召也。从微省，壬為徵，行於微而文達者即徵之。，古文徵。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫The Outlier Linguistics Dictionary of Chinese Characters
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Phonosemantic compound. 羊 represents the meaning and 我 represents the sound. In ancient China sheep (羊) were associated with goodness and beauty, which is why 羊 is a component in characters like 美 (beautiful), 善 (benevolent), and 義 (justice).
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ngjeH | ŋ(r)aj-s | duty; justice |
說文解字
《說文》：“義，己之威儀也。从我羊。羛，《墨翟書》義从弗。魏郡有羛陽鄉，讀若錡。今屬鄴，本內黃北二十里。”
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)