Original meaning: to capture
Pictograph of a net with a handle used for hunting. 今 was added later to represent the sound. Based on the original meaning "to capture", now written as 擒. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "birds" and "fowl".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gim | [C.ɢ](r)[ə]m | bird; animal |
| gim | [C.ɢ](r)[ə]m | catch, capture |
說文解字
《說文》:“禽,走獸總名。从,象形,今聲。禽、离、兕,頭相似。”
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)
Traditional
Pictograph of a bird.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tewX | tˤiwʔ | bird |
說文解字
《說文》:“鳥,長尾禽緫名也。象形,鳥之足似匕,从匕。”
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)