shǎn​diǎn

flash point

shǎn flash Simplified

Original meaning: peek

Simplified form of . Depicts a person () peeking through the space in the middle of a door (). Based on the original meaning "peek". The meaning later shifted to "dodge" and "flash".

Components

Iconic component
mén, men door
Iconic component
rén, ren person

Sources

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

diǎn dot Simplified

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Sound component
zhàn divine
Change in sound
biāo, huǒ fire

Simplified from the (black) component in the traditional character .

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

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

shǎn flash Traditional

Original meaning: peek

Depicts a person () peeking through the space in the middle of a door (). Based on the original meaning "peek". The meaning later shifted to "dodge" and "flash".

Components

Iconic component
mén, men door
Iconic component
rén, ren person

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhanghljamʔ
hljams
Unicodeshiɛ̌m

說文解字

《說文》:“閃,闚頭門中也。从人在門中。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

diǎn dot Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
hēi black
Sound component
zhàn divine
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttemXtˤemʔ black spot

說文解字

《說文》:“點,小黑也。从黑,占聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica