Simplified
Original meaning: type of bird
Phonosemantic compound. 隹 represents the meaning and 户 represents the sound. Originally was the name of a type of bird. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kuH | [C.q]ʷˤa(ʔ)-s | to hire |
說文解字
《說文》：“雇，九雇，農桑候鳥，扈民不婬者也。从隹，戶聲。春雇鳻盾，夏雇竊玄，秋雇竊藍，冬雇竊黃，棘雇竊丹，行雇唶唶，宵雇嘖嘖，桑雇竊脂，老雇鷃也。，雇或从雩，，籀文雇，从鳥。”
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)
Original meaning: bucket
Depicts a bucket with a handle on the right side. Based on the original meaning "bucket". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "use".
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yowngH | loŋ-s | use (v.) |
說文解字
《說文》：“用，可施行也。从卜，从中。衛宏說。，古文用。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.253-254漢語多功能字庫林志強《《文源》評注》p.367
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)