Pictograph of a person (元) wearing a hat (冃). 元 also represents the sound. The 寸 (hand) component was added later to possibly indicate the hat is being held and put onto the head.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwan | [k.ʔ]ˤor | cap (n.) |
| kwanH | k.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
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Components
品 IconicSimplified component
Depicts a group of things.
Traditional
Originally was a pictograph of a chicken. Later changed to a phonosemantic compound of 奚 and 隹 (bird).
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kej | kˤe | fowl, chicken |
說文解字
《說文》：“雞，知時畜也。从隹，奚聲。鷄，籀文雞从鳥。”
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
Depicts a group of things (品) in an enclosed area.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'uw | qˤ(r)o | (a measure) |
說文解字
《說文》：“區，踦區，藏匿也。从品在匸中。品，眾也。”
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)