银蚁
yín​yǐ

silver ant

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

蚁 yǐ ants Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 义 represents the sound. Simplified form of 蟻.

Components

虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
义
义 Sound component
yì justice

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

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)

蟻 yǐ ants Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 義 represents the sound.

Components

虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
義
義 Sound component
yì right conduct

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngjeXm-qʰ(r)ajʔant
Zhengzhangŋralʔ
Unicodengyɛ̌

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica