pín​lǜ​tiáo​zhì

frequency modulation

pín frequently Simplified

Original meaning: riverside

Depicts a person standing () on the shore wading () in shallow water. Based on the original meaning "riverside", now written as . The meaning later shifted to "continuous" and "repeatedly".

Components

IconicRemnant component
shè wade
Iconic component
page

Depicts a head on top of a person.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

lǜ, shuài rate, frequency

Original meaning: rope

Pictograph of a rope with four dots representing bits of threads. Based on the original meaning "rope". The meaning later shifted to "lead", "follow", "standard", "rate", and "frequency".

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlwijH[r]ut-s bird net
lwit[r]ut norm, standard
srwijHs-rut-s lead (v.); commander
srwits-rut follow, go along

說文解字

《說文》:“率,捕鳥畢也。象絲罔。上下其竿柄也。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

diào, tiáo adjust, tune Simplified

Simplified form of 調. Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
yán speech

is a component form of .

Sound component
zhōu cycle
Change in sound

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

zhì control

Original meaning: break

Depicts cutting down a tree () with a knife (). Based on the original meaning "break". The meaning later shifted to "control".

Components

Iconic component
wèi not yet

Depicts a tree.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Iconic component
dāo knife

is a component form of .


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsyejHtet-s cut out, prepare

說文解字

《說文》:“制,裁也。从刀,从未。未,物成,有滋味,可裁斷。一曰止也。,古文制如此。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.357漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

pín frequently Traditional

Original meaning: riverside

Depicts a person standing () on the shore wading () in shallow water. Based on the original meaning "riverside", now written as . The meaning later shifted to "continuous" and "repeatedly".

Components

IconicRemnant component
shè wade
Iconic component
(head), page

Depicts a head on top of a person.


Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartbjin[b]i[n] frequently
bjin[m-p]i[n] river bank

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

調 diào, tiáo adjust, tune Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
yán speech
Sound component
zhōu cycle
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagartdew[d]ˤiw tune (v.), adjust

說文解字

《說文》:“調,和也。从言,周聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica