雾霾
wù​mái

smog

雾 wù fog Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 雨 represents the meaning and 务 represents the sound. Simplified form of 霧.

Components

雨
雨 Meaning component
yǔ rain
务
务 Sound component
wu, wù business

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

霾 mái, lí misty

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

Components

雨
雨 Meaning component
yǔ rain
貍
貍 Sound component
lí, mái, yù a fox-like animal

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartmɛjmˤrəwhirlwind
Zhengzhangmrɯː
Unicodemæi

說文解字

風雨土也。从雨貍聲。《詩》曰：“終風且霾。”

Sources

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

霧 wù fog Traditional

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

Components

雨
雨 Meaning component
yǔ rain
務
務 Sound component
wu, wù business

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmjuHkə.m(r)[o]k-sfog, mist
Zhengzhangmoɡs
moːŋ
Unicodemiò

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica