贺知章 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

Hè Zhīzhāng

He Zhizhang

hè congratulate Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 贝 represents the meaning and 加 represents the sound. Simplified form of 賀.

Components

加 Sound component

jiā add

Change in sound

贺 and 加 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
贺 *m-kˤaj-s
加 *kˤraj

贝 Meaning component

bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

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

zhī know

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 矢 represents the sound.

Components

口 Meaning component

kǒu, kou mouth

Transfer of knowledge is done through speech.

矢 Sound component

shǐ arrow

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC

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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (1 of 5 verified)

智痴蜘踟椥

Meaning (1)

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	trje	tre	know

說文解字

《說文》：“知，詞也。从口，从矢。”

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)

zhāng chapter, seal

Original meaning: jade ornament

Possibly depicts using a blade (䇂) to engrave a block of jade. Based on the original meaning "jade ornament", now written as 璋. Later the meaning shifted to "seal" and "chapter".

Components

䇂 Iconic component

qiān sickle, curved blade

◎ Iconic component

characterless component

Depicts a block of jade.

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (2 of 13 verified)

障彰璋漳樟蟑瘴嶂鄣獐幛嫜鱆

Iconic (2)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	tsyang	taŋ	brilliant; distinctive mark; to display

說文解字

《說文》：“章，樂竟為一章。从音，从十。十，數之終也。”

Sources

Character origin: 李学勤《字源》p.198
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

hè congratulate Traditional

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

Components

加 Sound component

jiā add

Change in sound

賀 and 加 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
賀 *m-kˤaj-s
加 *kˤraj

貝 Meaning component

bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	haH	m-kˤaj-s	congratulate

說文解字

《說文》：“賀，以禮相奉慶也。从貝，加聲。”

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)