盗墓贼
dào​mù​zéi

grave robber

盗 dào rob Simplified

Simplified form of 盜. Depicts a gluttonous person drooling (㳄) for food inside of a dish (皿). The meaning later shifted to "steal", "rob", and "bandit".

Components

㳄
㳄 IconicRemnant component
xián spit, saliva

Depicts saliva (氵) coming from a person with an open mouth (欠). Modern form looks like 次.

皿
皿 Iconic component
mǐn, mǐng dish

Depicts a dish with food in it.

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫中華語文知識庫zi.tools
Readings & variants
Unicode

墓 mù grave

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 莫 represents the sound.

Components

土
土 Meaning component
tǔ earth
莫
莫 Sound component
mò, mo do not

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmuHC.mˤak-sgrave (n.)
Zhengzhangmaːɡs
Unicodemò

說文解字

丘也。从土莫聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

贼 zéi thief Simplified

Original meaning: to destroy

Phonosemantic compound. 戈 represents the meaning and 则 represents the sound. Simplified form of 賊.

Components

则
则 SoundRemnant component
zé rule
戈
戈 Meaning component
gē spear

Sources

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

盜 dào rob Traditional

Depicts a gluttonous person drooling (㳄) for food inside of a dish (皿). The meaning later shifted to "steal", "rob", and "bandit".

Components

㳄
㳄 Iconic component
xián spit, saliva

Depicts saliva (氵) coming from a person with an open mouth (欠).

皿
皿 Iconic component
mǐn, mǐng dish

Depicts a dish with food in it.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdawH[d]ˤaw(k)-s steal

說文解字

《說文》：“盜，私利物也。从，欲皿者。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫中華語文知識庫zi.tools
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

賊 zéi thief Traditional

Original meaning: to destroy

Phonosemantic compound. 戈 represents the meaning and 則 represents the sound.

Components

則
則 Sound component
zé rule
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 則 than it was in ancient scripts.
戈
戈 Meaning component
gē spear

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzokk.dzˤək injure; murderer, bandit

說文解字

《說文》：“，敗也。从戈，則聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫Zi.tools
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)