Original meaning: to cut into two parts
刂 (knife) added between two 辛 (chisel) components or 辡 conveying the original meaning "to cut into two parts". The meaning has shifted over time and now means "distinguish". 辡 also provides the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | bjenX | [b]renʔ | distinguish |
說文解字
《說文》：“辦，判也。从刀，辡聲。”
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
Components
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | pred |
| bred |
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | bjet | N-pret | be separated (intr.) |
| pjet | pret | separate (tr.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“，分解也。从冎，从刀。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.336
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)