隔靴搔痒
gé​xuē​sāo​yǎng

ineffectual

隔 gé separate

Phonosemantic compound. 阝 represents the meaning and 鬲 represents the sound.

Components

阝
阝 Meaning component
fù hill, place
鬲
鬲 Sound component
gé, lì, è type of cauldron with three hollow legs

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkeak[k]ˤrek obstruct, separate (v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“隔，障也。从，鬲聲。”

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)

靴 xuē boots

Phonosemantic compound. 革 represents the meaning and 化 represents the sound. Simplified form of 鞾.

Components

革
革 Meaning component
gé leather
化
化 Sound component
huà change

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhanghʷa

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

搔 sāo to scratch

To scratch 扌 a flea bite 蚤; 蚤 also provides the pronunciation

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand
蚤
蚤 SoundMeaning component
zǎo, zhǎo flea

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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsaws-[ts]ˤuscratch (v.)
Zhengzhangsuː
Unicodesɑu

說文解字

括也。从手蚤聲。

Sources

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

痒 yǎng variant of 癢|痒[yǎng] Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 疒 represents the meaning and 羊 represents the sound. Simplified form of 癢.

Components

疒
疒 Meaning component
nè sick
羊
羊 Sound component
yáng sheep

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartyang[ɢ](r)aŋdisease; suffer
zjangs.[ɢ]aŋdisease; harm
Zhengzhangljaŋ
laŋʔ

說文解字

瘍也。从疒羊聲。

Sources

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

癢 itch Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 疒 represents the meaning and 養 represents the sound.

Components

疒
疒 Meaning component
nè sick
養
養 Sound component
yǎng raise, bring up

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartyangXCə.ɢaŋʔitch
Zhengzhanglaŋʔ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang