Simplified
Original meaning: to not be seen
Simplified form of 萬. Variant of 丏. Depicts a person (人) with a cover on top, conveying the original meaning "to not be seen". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | mans |
| mɯːɡ |
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.701黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.2839-2840
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Original meaning: bear
Pictograph of a bear. Based on the original meaning "bear". The meaning of this character has shifted over time to mean "strong" and "ability, power". Original form of 熊.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | noj | nˤə | a kind of bear |
| nong | nˤə(ŋ) | a kind of bear | |
| nong | nˤə(ʔ) (~ *nˤəŋ) | able; ability |
說文解字
《說文》：“能，熊屬，足似鹿。从肉，聲。能獸堅中，故稱賢能，而彊壯稱能傑也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.752
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of a bent ruler or L-shaped tool.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | khjowk | kʰ(r)ok | to bend |
說文解字
《說文》：“曲，象器曲受物之形。或說，曲，蠶薄也。曲說文古文，古文曲。”
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)
Origin unclear. Possibly a pictograph of a side view of a person with a mark on their leg indicating the length of one foot.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyhek | tʰAk | foot (measure) |
說文解字
《說文》：“尺，十寸也。人手卻十分動脈為寸口。十寸為尺。尺，所以指尺榘事也。从尸，从乙，乙所識也。周制寸、尺、咫、尋、常、仞諸度量，皆以人之體為法。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Original meaning: scorpion
Originally a pictograph of a scorpion. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | mjonH | C.ma[n]-s | 10,000 |
說文解字
《說文》：“萬，蟲也。从厹，象形。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.954-955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)