雪泥鸿爪
xuě​ní​hóng​zhǎo

transience

雪 xuě snow

Phonosemantic compound. 雨 represents the meaning and 彗 represents the sound.

Components

雨
雨 Meaning component
yǔ rain
彗
彗 SoundRemnant component
huì, suì broom
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

鳕鱈

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsjwet[s]ot snow

說文解字

《說文》：“，凝雨說物者。”

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)

泥 ní mud

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 尼 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

尼
尼 Sound component
ní, nǐ Buddhist nun

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-SagartnejC.nˤ[əj]mud
nejHnˤər(ʔ)-simpeded, obstructed (Lunyu)
Zhengzhangniːl
niːls
Unicodenei
nèi

說文解字

水。出北地郁郅北蠻中。从水尼聲。

Sources

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

鸿 hóng, hòng species of wild swan Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 鸟 represents the meaning and 江 represents the sound. Simplified form of 鴻.

Components

鸟
鸟 Meaning component
niǎo bird
江
江 Sound component
jiāng large river

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

爪 zhǎo, zhuǎ hand, claw

Pictograph of a hand or claw pointing downwards.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Iconic (2)

色印

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

抓笊

Meaning (2)

抓爬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsraewX[ts]ˤ<r>uʔ claw

說文解字

《說文》：“爪，也。覆手曰爪，象形。”

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)

鴻 species of wild swan Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 鳥 represents the meaning and 江 represents the sound.

Components

鳥
鳥 Meaning component
niǎo bird
江
江 Sound component
jiāng large river

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthuwng[ɡ]ˤoŋkind of wild goose
Zhengzhangɡoːŋ
ɡoːŋʔ
Unicodehung

說文解字

鴻鵠也。从鳥江聲。

Sources

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