钳
qián HSK7

pincers

Phonosemantic compound. 钅 represents the meaning and 甘 represents the sound. Simplified form of 鉗.

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

甘
甘 Sound component
gān sweetness

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

鉗 qián pincers Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 釒 represents the meaning and 甘 represents the sound.

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal

釒 is a component form of 金.

甘
甘 Sound component
gān sweetness

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartgjemC.[ɡ]<r>[e]mpincers, tongs
Zhengzhangɡram

說文解字

以𨮯有所劫束也。从金甘聲。

Sources

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