贴锡箔
tiē​xī​bó

foil-decorate

贴 tiē paste to Simplified

Original meaning: to compensate, subsidize

Phonosemantic compound. 贝 represents the meaning and 占 represents the sound. Simplified form of 貼.

Components

贝
贝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Change in meaning
贝 hints at the original meaning of 贴, "to compensate, subsidize", which is no longer the most common meaning of 贴 in modern Mandarin.
占
占 Sound component
zhàn divine
Change in sound

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

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

锡 xī tin Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 钅 represents the meaning and 易 represents the sound. Simplified form of 錫.

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

易
易 Sound component
yì easy

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

箔 bó reed screen

Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 泊 represents the sound.

Components

⺮
⺮ Meaning component
zhú bamboo

⺮ is a component form of 竹.

泊
泊 Sound component
pō, bó anchor vessel

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangbaːɡ
Unicodebhɑk

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

貼 tiē to paste Traditional

Original meaning: to compensate, subsidize

Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 占 represents the sound.

Components

貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Change in meaning
貝 hints at the original meaning of 貼, "to compensate, subsidize", which is no longer the most common meaning of 貼 in modern Mandarin.
占
占 Sound component
zhàn divine
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartthep[tʰ]ˤ[e]p paste (v.) [not in GSR]

說文解字

《說文新附》：“貼，以物為質也。从貝，占聲。”

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)

錫 xī tin Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 釒 represents the meaning and 易 represents the sound.

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal

釒 is a component form of 金.

易
易 Sound component
yì easy

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 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-Sagartseks-lˤekgive
seks.lˤektin
Zhengzhangsleːɡ
Unicodesek

說文解字

銀鉛之閒也。从金易聲。

Sources

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