两国相争，不斩来使
liǎng​guó​xiāng​zhēng, bù​zhǎn​lái​shǐ

spare envoys

两 liǎng two Simplified

Simplified form of 兩. Combination of two 丙 characters. 丙 also represents the sound.

Components

丙
丙 Sound component
bǐng third
Change in sound
丙
丙 Sound component
bǐng third

Component uses

Sound (3 of 4 verified)

辆俩魉𬜯

Unknown (0 of 3 verified)

瞒蹒螨

Meaning (1)

俩

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.617-618漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

国 guó nation Simplified

Simplified form of 國. Phonosemantic compound. 囗 represents the meaning and 或 represents the sound.

Components

囗
囗 Meaning component
wéi, guó surround
玉
玉 SoundSimplified component
yù jade

Shorthand for the 或 component in the traditional character 國.

Change in sound

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

帼蝈掴

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

相 xiāng, xiàng mutual

Original meaning: look at

Depicts an eye (目) looking at a tree (木). Based on the original meaning "look at". The meaning of this character has shifted over time to "compare" and "each other".

Components

木
木 Iconic component
mù tree
目
目 Iconic component
mù eye

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 8 verified)

想箱湘厢霜缃葙廂

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsjang[s]aŋ mutually
sjangH[s]aŋ-s appearance, quality

說文解字

《說文》：“相，省視也。从目，从木。《易》曰：‘地可觀者莫可觀於木。’《詩》曰：‘相鼠有皮。’”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.267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)

争 zhēng strife, quarrel Simplified

Simplified form of 爭. Depicts two hands (爫 又) grabbing the same plow.

Components

爫
爫 IconicSimplified component
zhǎo hand, claw
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 爫 than it was in ancient scripts.
又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 又 than it was in ancient scripts.
◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a plow.

Component uses

Sound (2 of 10 verified)

静净挣睁铮筝狰诤峥錚

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

挣诤

Sources

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

不 bù, bu no

Original meaning: sepals

Pictograph of sepals of a flower. The modern meaning "no" is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 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 (3 of 5 verified)

否杯钚罘盃

Simplified (4)

还环怀坏

Meaning (1 of 4 verified)

否歪甭孬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpjuwpə not
pjuwpə 不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn)

說文解字

《說文》：“不，鳥飛上翔不下來也。从一，一猶天也。象形。”

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)

斩 zhǎn, zhàn chop Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 车 represents the sound and 斤 represents the meaning. Simplified from 斬.

Components

车
车 Sound component
chē cart, vehicle
Change in sound
斤
斤 Meaning component
jīn axe

Component uses

Sound (2 of 7 verified)

渐暂惭崭堑錾椠

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

錾

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

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

来 lái come Simplified

Original meaning: wheat

Simplified form of 來. Pictograph of a stalk of wheat. The current meaning "come" is a phonetic loan. The original meaning "wheat" is now written as 麥.

Component uses

Sound (1 of 8 verified)

莱睐涞徕崃赉铼梾

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.465
Readings & variants
Unicode

使 shǐ to use

The characters 史 (history), 吏 (government official), 使 (cause; use; instruct), and 事 (matter; work; affair) are all etymologically related and all derive from the same ancient character, depicting a hand (又) holding a container for writing utensils.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

吏
吏 SoundIconic component
lì government official

Depicts a hand holding a container for writing utensils.

Change in sound

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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
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 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-SagartsriXs-rəʔ send; cause
sriHs-rəʔ-s envoy

說文解字

《說文》：“使，伶也。从人，吏聲。”

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)

兩 liǎng two Traditional

Combination of two 丙 characters. 丙 also represents the sound.

Components

丙
丙 Sound component
bǐng third
Change in sound
丙
丙 Sound component
bǐng third

Character Evolution

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 Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 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 (2 of 3 verified)

魎倆輛

Meaning (2)

倆㒼

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartljangXp.raŋʔ a pair

說文解字

《說文》：“兩，二十四銖為一兩。从一；，平分，亦聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.617-618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)

國 guó nation Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 囗 represents the meaning and 或 represents the sound.

Components

囗
囗 Meaning component
wéi, guó surround
或
或 Sound component
huò or

Character Evolution

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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

膕幗蟈摑

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkwok[C.q]ʷˤək state (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“國，邦也。从囗，从或。”

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)

爭 zhēng strife, quarrel Traditional

Depicts two hands (爫 又) grabbing the same plow.

Components

爫
爫 Iconic component
zhǎo hand, claw

爫 is a component form of 爪.

又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 又 than it was in ancient scripts.
◎
◎ Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a plow.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 8 verified)

靜箏崢掙凈淨睜猙

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

掙

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsreang[ts]ˤreŋ
(~ *m-tsˤreŋ or *mə-tsˤreŋ)		strife, quarrel

說文解字

《說文》：“爭，引也。从、厂。”

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)

斬 chop Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 車 represents the sound and 斤 represents the meaning.

Components

車
車 Sound component
chē cart, vehicle
Change in sound
斤
斤 Meaning component
jīn axe

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 5 verified)

嶄慚漸塹暫

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsreamX[ts]ramʔ cut off

說文解字

《說文》：“斬，也。从車，从斤。斬法車裂也。”

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)

來 lái come Traditional

Original meaning: wheat

Pictograph of a stalk of wheat. The current meaning "come" is a phonetic loan. The original meaning "wheat" is now written as 麥.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
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 Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 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 (3 of 8 verified)

麦麥睞萊賚徠棶淶

Iconic (4)

差麦麥𠩺

Simplified (1)

麦

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlojmə.rˤək (> *mə.rˤə)a kind of wheat
lojmə.rˤək (> *rˤə)come

說文解字

《說文》：“來，周所受瑞麥來麰，一來二縫。象芒朿之形。天所來也，故為行來之來。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.465
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)