diàn​guān​zào​méi

blue-crowned laughingthrush

diàn indigo

Components

Meaning component
qīng green or blue

blue

Sound component
dìng settle

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangdeːns

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

guān, guàn cap

Pictograph of a person () wearing a hat (). also represents the sound. The (hand) component was added later to possibly indicate the hat is being held and put onto the head.

Components

Iconic component
mào cap

Modern form looks like unrelated .

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
SoundIconic component
yuán first

Depicts a person.

Iconic component
cùn, cun (hand), inch

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkwan[k.ʔ]ˤor cap (n.)
kwanHk.ʔˤor-s cap (v.)

說文解字

《說文》:“冠,絭也。所以絭髮,弁冕之總名也。从冖,从元,元亦聲。冠有法制,从寸。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.612
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

zào noise

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
SoundMeaning component
zào, sào, qiāo chirping of birds

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsawHC.sˤaw-sshout
Zhengzhangsaːws
Unicodesɑ̀u

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang

méi Simplified

Components

Sound component
méi eyebrows
Meaning component
niǎo bird

bird

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

Traditional

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangmril

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang