醍醐灌顶
tí​hú​guàn​dǐng

anoint

醍 tí, tǐ essential oil of butter

Phonosemantic compound. 酉 represents the meaning and 是 represents the sound.

Components

酉
酉 Meaning component
yǒu wine
是
是 Sound component
shì, shi is

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangtʰeːʔ
deː

說文解字

清酒也。从酉是聲。

Sources

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

醐 hú purest cream

Phonosemantic compound. 酉 represents the meaning and 胡 represents the sound.

Components

酉
酉 Meaning component
yǒu wine
胡
胡 Sound component
hú beard

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangɡaː

說文解字

醍醐，酪之精者也。从酉胡聲。

Sources

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

灌 guàn pour

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 雚 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

雚
雚 Sound component
guàn, huán heron

Character Evolution

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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkwanH[C.qʷ]ˤar-spour, drip
Zhengzhangkoːns
Unicodeguɑ̀n

說文解字

水。出廬江雩婁，北入淮。从水雚聲。

Sources

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

顶 dǐng top Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 页 represents the meaning and 丁 represents the sound. Simplified form of 頂.

Components

丁
丁 Sound component
dīng cubes
页
页 Meaning component
yè page

Depicts a head.

Sources

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

頂 dǐng top Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 頁 represents the meaning and 丁 represents the sound.

Components

丁
丁 Sound component
dīng cubes
頁
頁 Meaning component
yè (head), page

Depicts a head.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttengXtˤeŋʔ top of the head

說文解字

《說文》：“頂，顛也。从頁，丁聲。，或从作。，籀文从鼎。”

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)