Pictograph of a head (hair above a face with an eye).
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syuwX | l̥uʔ | head |
| syuwH | l̥uʔ-s | turn the head towards |
說文解字
《說文》：“首，同，古文也。巛象髮，謂之鬊，鬊即巛也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.700
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: raise up children
Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 子 represents the sound. The 宀 (roof) component is based on the original meaning "raise up children". The meaning later shifted to "educate", "word", and "writing".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dziH | mə-dzə(ʔ)-s | breed, love (v.); character |
說文解字
《說文》：“字，乳也。从子在宀下，子亦聲。”
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)
Pictograph of a woman kneeling, with two dots representing the two nipples that mothers use to feed their young.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | muwX | məʔ (? or *mˤoʔ) | mother |
說文解字
《說文》：“母，牧也。从女，象褱子形。一曰象乳子也。”
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)