递质
dì​zhì

neurotransmitter

递 dì hand over Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 辶 represents the meaning and 弟 represents the sound. Simplified form of 遞.

Components

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

弟
弟 Sound component
dì, di younger brother

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Regular Modern

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

质 zhì nature, substance Simplified

Original meaning: pledge, pawn

Simplified form of 質. Phonosemantic compound. 斦 represents the sound and 贝 represents the meaning.

Components

斤
斤 Simplified component
jīn axe

Shorthand for the phonetic 斦 component in the traditional character 質.

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 质, "pledge, pawn", which is no longer the most common meaning of 质 in modern Mandarin.

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

踬𬃊

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p. 522
Readings & variants
Unicode

遞 dì hand over Traditional

Components

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

walk

虒
虒 Sound component
sī, xī, tí an amphibious beast resembling a tiger with one horn

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdejXlˤeʔalternate
Zhengzhangl'eːʔ
l'eːs
Unicodedhěi
dhèi

說文解字

更易也。从辵虒聲。

Sources

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

質 zhì nature, substance Traditional

Original meaning: pledge, pawn

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

Components

斦
斦 Sound component
zhì, yín chopping block
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 質, "pledge, pawn", which is no longer the most common meaning of 質 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

櫍躓

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttrijH[t]<r>ip-s hostage; gift
tsyitt-lit substance, solid part

說文解字

《說文》：“質，以物相贅，从貝，从斦。闕。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p. 522
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)