雌雄异色 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

cí female

Phonosemantic compound. 隹 represents the meaning and 此 represents the sound.

Components

隹 Meaning component

zhuī, cuī, wéi bird

此 Sound component

cǐ this

Character Evolution

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese
Zhengzhang		sʰe
Unicode	tsiɛ

說文解字

鳥母也。从隹此聲。

Sources

Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

xióng male of species

Phonosemantic compound. 隹 represents the meaning and 厷 represents the sound.

Components

厷 Sound component

gōng, hóng forearm

隹 Meaning component

zhuī, cuī, wéi bird

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	hjuwng	[ɢ]ʷəŋ	male

說文解字

《說文》：“雄，鳥父也。从隹，厷聲。”

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)

yì different Simplified

Original meaning: carry on the head

Phonosemantic compound. 廾 represents the meaning and 已 represents the sound. Simplified form of 異. Based on the original meaning "carry on the head", now written as 戴. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

已 Sound component

yǐ already

廾 Meaning component

gǒng two hands

Change in meaning

廾 hints at the original meaning of 异, "carry on the head", which is no longer the most common meaning of 异 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	yiH	ɢ(r)ək-s	different

說文解字

《說文》：“异，舉也。从廾，聲。”

Sources

Character origin: 李学勤《字源》p.204-205
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

sè color

Original meaning: press down

Depicts a kneeling person (卩) being pushed down by a hand (爪). Based on the original meaning "press down", now written as 抑. The current meaning "color" is a phonetic loan.

Components

爪 Iconic component

zhǎo, zhuǎ hand, claw

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 爪 than it was in ancient scripts.

卩 Iconic component

jié person kneeling

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 卩 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Meaning (0 of 3 verified)

艳艴艷

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

铯

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	srik	s.rək	color; countenance

說文解字

《說文》：“色，顏气也。从人，从卪。，古文。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.711-712
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

yì different Traditional

Original meaning: carry on the head

Depicts two hands putting something on top of the head. Based on the original meaning "carry on the head", now written as 戴. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.