阵势
zhèn​shì

formation

阵 zhèn burst, array of troops Simplified

Simplified form of 陣. Depicts a formation (阝) of soldiers in chariots (车).

Components

阝
阝 Meaning component
fù hill, place

阝 is a component form of 阜.

车
车 Meaning component
chē cart, vehicle

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

势 shì, shi power Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 力 represents the meaning and 执 represents the sound. Simplified form of 勢.

Components

力
力 Meaning component
lì, li power
执
执 Sound component
zhí hold in hand

Sources

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

陣 zhèn burst, array of troops Traditional

Depicts a formation (阝) of soldiers in chariots (車).

Components

阝
阝 Meaning component
fù hill, place

阝 is a component form of 阜.

車
車 Meaning component
chē cart, vehicle

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdrinHlri[n]-s battle array

Sources

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

勢 shì, shi power Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 力 represents the meaning and 埶 represents the sound.

Components

力
力 Meaning component
lì, li power
埶
埶 Sound component
yì, shì art, skill
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyejHŋ̊et-s circumstances, setting

說文解字

《說文新附》：“勢，盛力，權也。从力，埶聲。”

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)