道不同不相为谋 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

dào, dao path

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

Components

辶 Meaning component

chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

首 Sound component

shǒu head

Change in sound

道 and 首 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
道 *lˤuʔ-s
首 *l̥uʔ-s

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (1)

導

Meaning (1)

導

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	dawH	lˤuʔ-s	show the way
	dawX	[kə.l]ˤuʔ	way

說文解字

所行道也。从辵从𩠐。一達謂之道。

Sources

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

bù, bu no

Original meaning: sepals

Pictograph of sepals of a flower. The modern meaning "no" is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	pjuw	pə	not
	pjuw	pə	不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn)

說文解字

《說文》：“不，鳥飛上翔不下來也。从一，一猶天也。象形。”

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)

tóng, tong, tòng together

Depicts a large object (凡) like a shoulder carriage that requires the cooperation of multiple people working together to carry.

Components

凡 Iconic component

fán all

Depicts a large object like a shoulder carriage.

口 Meaning component

kǒu, kou mouth

Alludes to people speaking together to communicate.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (2 of 14 verified)

洞铜筒桐酮恫侗峒胴硐茼衕垌銅

Iconic (2)

兴興

Simplified (1)

兴

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	duwng	lˤoŋ	together, join

說文解字

《說文》：“同，合會也。从，从口。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.614
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

xiāng, xiàng mutual

Original meaning: look at

Depicts an eye (目) looking at a tree (木). Based on the original meaning "look at". The meaning of this character has shifted over time to "compare" and "each other".

Components

木 Iconic component

mù tree

目 Iconic component

mù eye

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

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Component uses

Sound (3 of 8 verified)

想箱湘厢霜缃葙廂

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	sjang	[s]aŋ	mutually
	sjangH	[s]aŋ-s	appearance, quality

說文解字

《說文》：“相，省視也。从目，从木。《易》曰：‘地可觀者莫可觀於木。’《詩》曰：‘相鼠有皮。’”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.267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)

wèi, wéi do Simplified

Simplified form of 為. Pictograph of a hand (又) guiding an elephant (象) to do work (in ancient China elephants were tamed to do work). Based on the meaning "to work; to do".

Components

又 Iconic component

yòu hand

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 又 than it was in ancient scripts.

象 Iconic Simplified component

xiàng elephant

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

伪沩

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.194
Readings & variants: Unicode

móu, mou plan Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 讠 represents the meaning and 某 represents the sound. Simplified form of 謀.

Components

讠 Meaning component

yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

某 Sound component

mǒu certain thing or person

Sources

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

wèi, wéi do Traditional

Originally written as 爲, which depicts a hand (又) guiding an elephant (象) to do work (in ancient China elephants were tamed to do work). Based on the meaning "to work; to do".