Mǐn​hòu Xiàn

Minhou

mǐn Fujian province Simplified

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

Components

Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
Sound component
mén, men door

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

hóu, hòu marquis

Original meaning: target (archery)

Pictograph of an arrow () hitting a target. Based on the original meaning "target (archery)". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "marquis", likely because archery was associated with people of high ranking.

Components

Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a target.

Iconic component
shǐ arrow

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 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 Qin 221-206 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
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 7 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthuw[g]ˤ(r)o feudal lord

說文解字

《說文》:“矦,春饗所矦也。从人,从厂,象張布,矢在其下。”

Sources

Character origin
zi.toolsChinaKnowledge.de季旭昇《說文新證》p.447
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

xiàn county Simplified

Original meaning: suspend, hang

Simplified form of . Pictograph of a severed head () hanging on a rope () from a tree (). Based on the original meaning "hang" or "suspend". The current meaning is a phonetic loan. The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Components

Iconic component
shǒu head

Depicts a severed head.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Iconic component
tree
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Deleted component
xì, xi, jì system

Depicts a rope. The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Component uses

Sound (1)

Iconic (1)

Sources

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

Fujian province Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
Sound component
mén, men door

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartminmrə[n]southern tribes
Zhengzhangmrɯn
mɯn
Unicodemyin

說文解字

東南越,蛇穜。从虫門聲。

Sources

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

xiàn county Traditional

Original meaning: suspend, hang

Pictograph of a severed head () hanging on a rope () from a tree (). Based on the original meaning "hang" or "suspend", now written as . The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

Iconic component
shǒu head

Depicts a severed head.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Iconic component
tree
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Iconic component
xì, xi, jì system

Depicts a rope.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 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
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
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

Sound (1)

Iconic (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwenHCə.[g]ʷˤe[n]-s district
hwen[g]ʷˤe[n] suspend

說文解字

《說文》:“縣,繫也。从系持。”

Sources

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