银狐
yín​hú

silver fox

银 yín silver Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 钅 represents the meaning and 艮 represents the sound. Simplified form of 銀.

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

艮
艮 Sound component
gěn, gèn, hén blunt
Change in sound

Sources

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

狐 hú species of fox

Phonosemantic compound. 犭 represents the meaning and 瓜 represents the sound.

Components

犭
犭 Meaning component
quǎn dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

瓜
瓜 Sound component
guā melon

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthu[ɡ]ʷˤafox
Zhengzhangɡʷaː
Unicodeho

說文解字

䄏獸也。鬼所乘之。有三徳：其色中和，小前大後，死則丘首。从犬瓜聲。

Sources

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

銀 yín silver Traditional

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

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal

釒 is a component form of 金.

艮
艮 Sound component
gěn, gèn, hén blunt
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Xin 9-23 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-Sagartnginŋrə[n] silver

說文解字

《說文》：“銀，白金也。从金，艮聲。”

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)