ā'ěr​bó​tǎ

Alberta

ā name prefix

Original meaning: hillside

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

Components

Meaning component
hill, place

is a component form of .

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "hillside", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
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)

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

ěr you Simplified

Simplified form of . Pictograph of a weapon with a sharp head and tail decorations on the end. Similar in origin to . Original meaning unclear.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 5 verified)

Meaning (1 of 3 verified)

Simplified (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartnyeXn[ə][r]ʔ you(r)

說文解字

《說文》:“尒,詞之必然也。从入、丨、八,八象气之分散。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.259董蓮池《說文解字考正》p.129
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

bó, bo older brother, uncle

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
rén person

is a component form of .

Sound component
bái, bai white

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpaekpˤrak father’s elder brother

說文解字

《說文》:“伯,長也。从人,白聲。”

Sources

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

tower

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
earth
Sound component
dā, dá, tà small bean

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangtʰuːb
Unicodetɑp

說文解字

《說文新附》:“塔,西域浮屠也。从土,答聲。”

Sources

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

ěr you Traditional

Pictograph of a weapon with a sharp head and tail decorations on the end. Similar in origin to . Original meaning unclear.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartnejXnˤ[ə][r]ʔ numerous
nyeXn[ə][r]ʔ (adv. suffix)
nyeXn[ə][r]ʔ you(r)

說文解字

《說文》:“爾,麗爾,猶靡麗也。从冂,从,其孔;尒聲。此與爽同意。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.259董蓮池《說文解字考正》p.129
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica