迂回曲折
yū​huí​qū​zhé

tortuous

迂 yū doctrinaire

Phonosemantic compound. 辶 represents the meaning and 于 represents the sound.

Components

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

于
于 Sound component
yú at

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartʔjuqʷ(r)aastray; far
hju[ɢ]ʷ(r)abend, deflect; far away
Zhengzhangqʷa
qʷaʔ
ɢʷa

說文解字

避也。从辵于聲。

Sources

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

回 huí return

Depicts water rotating around in a circle.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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

Component uses

Sound (2 of 6 verified)

徊蛔洄茴迴逥

Meaning (2 of 4 verified)

徊洄迴逥

Iconic (3)

没亘沒

Simplified (1)

没

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthwoj[ɢ]ʷˤəj go around

說文解字

《說文》：“回，轉也。从囗，中象回轉形。囘，古文。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.515-516
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

曲 qū, qǔ bent, crooked

Pictograph of a bent ruler or L-shaped tool.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

蛐麯

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhjowkkʰ(r)ok to bend

說文解字

《說文》：“曲，象器曲受物之形。或說，曲，蠶薄也。曲說文古文，古文曲。”

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)

折 zhé, zhē, shé break off

Depicts a hand (扌) using an axe (斤) to chop something. Older forms of this character depicted an axe chopping a tree into two pieces.

Components

扌
扌 Iconic component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

斤
斤 Iconic component
jīn axe

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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

Component uses

Sound (2 of 7 verified)

哲誓逝浙蜇踅哳

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdejH[d]ˤet-s solitary standing (sc. tree)
dzyetN-tet bend (v.i.)
tsyettet bend; break (v.t.)

說文解字

《說文》：“折，斷也。从斤斷艸，譚長說。，籀文折，从艸在仌中，仌寒，故折。𣂚，篆文折，从手。”

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)