yè​wù HSK5

business

profession Simplified

Original meaning: attack

Simplified character from the top 5 strokes of the traditional . Depicts a person () carrying a weapon (). Based on the original meaning "attack". The meaning later shifted to "expand territory" and "develop business".

Components

zhuó chisel

Shorthand for the component. Depicts a chisel-shaped weapon.

Deleted component
dà, dài big

Depicts a person.

Component uses

Simplified (2)

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.168-169Chinese Language Stack Exchange
Readings & variants
Unicode

wu, wù business Simplified

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the sound, while and both represent the meaning. The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Components

Deleted component
máo spear
Meaning component
tap

is a component form of .

Meaning component
lì, li power

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

profession Traditional

Original meaning: attack

Depicts a person () carrying a weapon (). Based on the original meaning "attack". The meaning later shifted to "expand territory" and "develop business".

Components

Iconic component
zhuó chisel

Depicts a chisel-shaped weapon.

Iconic component
dà, dài big

Depicts a person.


Character Evolution

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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartngjaep[m-qʰ](r)[a]p work (n.)
ngjaep[m-qʰ](r)[a]p horizontal board of a bell stand or frame
ngjaep[ŋ](r)[a]p strong, sturdy

說文解字

《說文》:“業,大版也,所以飾縣鍾鼓,捷業如鋸齒,以白畫之,象其鉏鋙相承也。从丵,从巾,巾象版。《詩》曰:‘巨業維樅。’,古文業。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.168-169Chinese Stack Exchange
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

wu, wù business Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the sound, while and both represent the meaning.

Components

Sound component
máo spear
Change in sound
Meaning component
tap

is a component form of .

Meaning component
lì, li power

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmjuHm(r)o-s exert oneself

說文解字

趣也。从力敄聲。

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica