Original meaning: file of ten soldiers
The character is based on the original meaning "file of ten soldiers". The modern meaning "what" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyip | t.[g]əp | troop of ten men |
說文解字
《說文》：“什，相什保也。从人、十。”
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)
Simplified
Pictograph of a twisted thread.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'ew | ʔˤ[i]w | small (Shuōwén) |
說文解字
《說文》：“幺，小也。象子初生之形。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.416
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | maːlʔ |
說文解字
《說文》：“麼，細也，从幺麻聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)