低利贷款
dī​lì​dài​kuǎn

low-interest loan

低 dī low

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 氐 represents the sound.

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

氐
氐 SoundMeaning component
dī, dǐ, zhī bottom

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangtiːl
Unicodedei
dei

說文解字

《說文新附》：“低，下也。从人、氐，氐亦聲。”

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)

利 lì, li benefit

Depicts harvesting grain (禾) with a blade (刂). Harvest was the main source of profit in agricultural societies.

Components

禾
禾 Iconic component
hé grain stalk
刂
刂 Iconic component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 11 verified)

黎莉梨犁俐痢蜊猁脷唎悧

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

悧

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlijHC.ri[t]-s sharp; profit

說文解字

《說文》：“利，銛也。从刀；和然後利，从和省。《易》曰：‘利者，義之和也。’”

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)

贷 dài, tè lend Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 贝 represents the meaning and 代 represents the sound. Simplified form of 貸.

Components

贝
贝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell
代
代 Sound component
dài replace

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

款 kuǎn item, funds

Original meaning: desire to have something

Phonosemantic compound. 柰 represents the sound and 欠 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "desire to have something". The meaning later shifted to "funds" and "item".

Components

柰
柰 Sound component
nài crab-apple tree
Change in sound
欠
欠 Meaning component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient
Change in meaning
欠 hints at the original meaning of 款, "desire to have something", which is no longer the most common meaning of 款 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

窾

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkʰloːnʔ
Unicodekuɑn

說文解字

《說文》：“，意有所欲也。从欠，祟欠省。歀，或从柰。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.768
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

貸 lend Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 代 represents the sound.

Components

貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell
代
代 Sound component
dài replace

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartthojHl̥ˤək-sborrow; lend
Zhengzhangl̥ʰɯːɡs

說文解字

施也。从貝代聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)