金銮殿
jīn​luán​diàn

throne room

金 jīn metal

Phonosemantic compound. 王 and 吕 represent the meaning and 今 represents the sound. 王 depicts a metal axe and 吕 depicts two metal plates.

Components

今
今 SoundRemnant component
jīn now

Remnant from the top part of 今.

王
王 Iconic component
wáng king

Depicts a metal axe.

吕
吕 Iconic component
lǚ pitchpipe

Depicts two metal plates.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~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 Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 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 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
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

Meaning (3 of 19 verified)

鉴釜鑫銮鋈鍪鏖錾鎏鏊鐾銎蓥鑾銜鑿鑒鎣劉

Deleted (2)

录凿

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

淦唫

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkimk(r)[ə]m metal, bronze

說文解字

《說文》：“金，五色金也。黄為之長，久薶不生衣，百鍊不輕，从革不違。西方之行，生於土，从土，左右注象金在土中形，今聲。，古文金。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.925
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

銮 luán bells hung on horse Simplified

A bell 金 dangling from a tassel 亦

Components

亦
亦 Meaning component
yì also
金
金 Meaning component
jīn metal

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

殿 diàn hall

Original meaning: to smack the buttocks

Depicts a weapon (殳) smacking a person's buttocks (𡱒). In ancient China, having one's buttocks smacked with a huge stick was one of the punishments criminals could have. Based on the original meaning, "to smack the buttocks". The meaning later shifted to "palace" and "hall", because buildings have an elevated appearance that stick out like buttocks.

Components

𡱒
𡱒 SoundIconic component
tún buttocks

Depicts a person (尸) with their buttocks (𠂤) emphasized. 𡱒 also represents the sound.

Change in sound
殳
殳 Iconic component
shū weapon or tool

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

臀癜澱

Meaning (1)

臀

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdenH[N-t]ˤə[n]-s palace
tenHtˤə[n]-s rear (building, army unit)
tenHtˤə[n]-s palace, hall

說文解字

《說文》：“殿，擊聲也。从殳，聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新說》p.227-228ChinaKnowledge.deWiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

鑾 bells hung on horse Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 金 represents the meaning and 䜌 represents the sound.

Components

金
金 Meaning component
jīn metal
䜌
䜌 Sound component
luán tie together

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlwan[m]ə.rˤonharness bells
Zhengzhangb·roːn
Unicodeluɑn

說文解字

人君乘車，四馬鑣，八鑾鈴，象鸞鳥聲，和則敬也。从金，从鸞省。

Sources

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