阿利坎特
ā​lì​kǎn​tè

Alicante

阿 ā name prefix

Original meaning: hillside

Phonosemantic compound. 阝 represents the meaning and 可 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "hillside". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

阝
阝 Meaning component
fù hill, place

阝 is a component form of 阜.

Change in meaning
阝 hints at the original meaning of 阿, "hillside", which is no longer the most common meaning of 阿 in modern Mandarin.
可
可 Sound component
kě able to
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 6 verified)

啊婀锕屙痾錒

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'aqˤa[j] slope, river bank
'aʔˤa (< *qˤaj)阿會亘 ēhuìxuān: Skt. ābhāsvara “shining” (E. Hàn)

說文解字

大陵也。一曰曲𨸏也。从𨸏可聲。

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)

利 lì, li benefit

Depicts harvesting grain (禾) with a blade (刂). Harvest was the main source of profit in agricultural societies.

Components

禾
禾 Iconic component
hé grain stalk
刂
刂 Iconic component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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 Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 11 verified)

黎莉梨犁俐痢蜊猁脷唎悧

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

悧

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlijHC.ri[t]-s sharp; profit

說文解字

《說文》：“利，銛也。从刀；和然後利，从和省。《易》曰：‘利者，義之和也。’”

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)

坎 kǎn pit

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 欠 represents the sound. Simplified form of 埳.

Components

土
土 Meaning component
tǔ earth
欠
欠 Sound component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

莰

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkhomX[k]ʰˤomʔpit (n.)
Zhengzhangkʰoːmʔ
kʰoːms
Unicodekǒm

說文解字

陷也。从土欠聲。

Sources

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

特 tè special

Original meaning: bull

Phonosemantic compound. 牛 represents the meaning and 寺 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bull". The meaning later shifted to "prominent" and "special".

Components

牛
牛 Meaning component
niú cow
寺
寺 Sound component
sì, shì temple
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 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-Sagartdok[d]ˤək bull

說文解字

《說文》：“特，朴特，牛父也。从牛，寺聲。”

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)