世界屋脊
shì​jiè​wū​jǐ

roof of the world

世 shì generation

Original meaning: leaf

Depicts three leaves on branches of a tree. Remnant from the top part of 枼. Based on the original meaning "leaf", now written as 葉. The meaning later shifted to "generation", since leaves pile up in hundreds much like a generation.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

泄绁贳

Iconic (1)

枼

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyejHl̥ap-s generation

說文解字

《說文》：“世，三十年為一世，从卉而曳長之，亦取其聲也。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.159劉志基《中國漢字文物大系》Vol 3, p.70
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

界 jiè boundary

Phonosemantic compound. 田 represents the meaning and 介 represents the sound.

Components

田
田 Meaning component
tián field
介
介 Sound component
jiè to lie between

Character Evolution

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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkeajHkˤr[e][t]-s boundary

說文解字

《說文》：“畍，境也。从田，介聲。”

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)

屋 wū house, room

Depicts a yurt (𡉉) over a room (室).

Components

𡉉
𡉉 SoundIconic component
què yurt

Depicts a yurt. 𡉉 also represents the sound. Modern form looks like 尸.

Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 𡉉 than it was in ancient scripts.
室
室 MeaningRemnant component
shì room

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 6 verified)

握喔渥龌幄齷

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

幄

Iconic (1)

屚

Remnant (1)

屚

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'uwkqˤok (or *ʔˤok ?)house; roof

說文解字

《說文》：“屋，居也。从尸，尸，所主也。一曰尸象屋形；从至，至，所至止。室、屋皆从至。，籀文屋，从厂。，古文屋。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.677-678zi.tools
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

脊 jí spine

Originally was a pictograph of a fish spine. Later changed into a phonosemantic compound with ⺼ representing the meaning and 朿 representing the sound.

Components

朿
朿 Sound component
cì thorn, stab
Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 朿 than it was in ancient scripts.
⺼
⺼ Meaning component
ròu meat, flesh

⺼ is a component form of 肉.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

瘠嵴鹡鶺

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

嵴

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsjek[ts]ek spine, backbone

說文解字

《說文》：“脊，背呂也。从，从肉。”

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)