Original meaning: cut
Depicts two lines crossing. Based on the original meaning "cut", now written as 切. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tshit | [tsʰ]i[t] | seven |
說文解字
《說文》：“七，陽之正也。从一，微陰从中衺出也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.951-952
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
A single vertical line, representing one set of ten. Analagous to the archaic characters 廿 (twenty) and 卅 (thirty). Possibly originally a picture of a needle, now written as 針.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyip | t.[g]əp | ten |
說文解字
《說文》：“十，數之具也。一為東西，丨為南北，則四方中央備矣。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.155
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Origin unclear. Originally an X-shape.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nguX | C.ŋˤaʔ | five |
說文解字
《說文》：“五，五行也。从二。陰陽在天地間交午也。，古文五省。”
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)