借尸还魂
jiè​shī​huán​hún

reincarnation

借 jiè borrow

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

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

昔
昔 Sound component
xī, cuò in the past, ancient times
Change in sound

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsjaeH[ts]Ak-s loan, borrow
tsjek[ts]Ak loan, borrow

說文解字

《說文》：“借，假也。从人，昔聲。”

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)

尸 shī sitting person Simplified

Original meaning: sit

Depicts a person with their knees bent to sit or squat.

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 Early Western Zhou ~1000 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 Late Western Zhou ~800 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

Meaning (4 of 17 verified)

展局屠屁屡屑孱屙羼尻屣屃屄屌屍屢屭

Iconic (7)

尼尾刷尿尉屎𡱒

Unknown (0 of 2 verified)

屦屨

Sound (1)

屍

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsyijl̥̥[ə]j corpse

說文解字

《說文》：“尸，陳也。象卧之形。”

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)

还 hái, huán still, return Simplified

Simplified form of 還. 辶 represents the meaning. 不 replaces the traditional phonetic component 睘.

Components

不
不 Simplified component
bù, bu no

Shorthand for the 睘 component in the traditional character 還.

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

魂 hún soul

Phonosemantic compound. 鬼 represents the meaning and 云 represents the sound. Simplified form of 䰟.

Components

鬼
鬼 Meaning component
guǐ ghost
云
云 Sound component
yún clouds

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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthwon[m.]qʷˤə[n]spiritual soul
Zhengzhangɢuːn
Unicodehuən

說文解字

陽气也。从鬼云聲。

Sources

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

屍 corpse Traditional

A person (尸) who is dead (死).

Components

尸
尸 SoundMeaning component
shī sitting person
死
死 Meaning component
sǐ die

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsyijl̥̥[ə]j corpse

說文解字

《說文》：“屍，終主。从尸，从死。”

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)

還 hái, huán still Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 辶 represents the meaning and 睘 represents the sound.

Components

辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

睘
睘 Sound component
qióng round
Change in sound

Character Evolution

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 Western Zhou ~800 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 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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthwaen[ɢ]ʷˤ<r>en turn around; return
zjwens-ɢʷen turn around, return; agile

說文解字

復也。从辵瞏聲。

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)