Original meaning: separate
Pictograph of two lines facing away from each other. The current meaning "eight" is a phonetic loan. The original meaning "separate" is now written as 別.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | peat | pˤret | eight |
說文解字
《說文》：“八，別也。象分別相背之形。”
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)
Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 干 represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kan | kˤar | pole, rod |
| Zhengzhang | kaːn | ||
| Unicode | gɑn |
說文解字
竹梃也。从竹干聲。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of a small child with its two arms waving.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsiX | [ts]əʔ | 1st earthly branch |
| tsiX | tsəʔ | child; gentleman, master |
說文解字
《說文》：“子，十一月陽气動，萬物滋，人以為偁。象形。，古文子，从巛，象髮也。，籀文子，囟有髮，臂、脛在几上也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 徐中舒《甲骨文字典》p.1571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)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | rteŋʔ | |
| teːŋʔ | ||
| Unicode | děng |
說文解字
《說文新附》：“打，擊也。从手，丁聲。”
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)
Original meaning: sepals
Pictograph of sepals of a flower. The modern meaning "no" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjuw | pə | not |
| pjuw | pə | 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)
Simplified
Original meaning: chopsticks
Simplified form of 著. 艹 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "chopsticks", now written as 箸. The modern meanings are phonetic loans.
Components
Alludes to bamboo chopsticks. 艹 and ⺮ (bamboo) were often used interchangeably with each other because of their visual and semantic similarity.
Change in form
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Unicode | djiɑk |
| djiɑk |
Sources
- Character origin
- Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
Traditional
Original meaning: chopsticks
Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "chopsticks", now written as 箸. The modern meanings are phonetic loans.
Components
Alludes to bamboo chopsticks. 艹 and ⺮ (bamboo) were often used interchangeably with each other because of their visual and semantic similarity.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | trjoH | t<r>ak-s | place (n.); visible |
| drjak | m-t<r>ak | put on clothes; be attached | |
| trjak | t<r>ak | to place |
Sources
- Character origin
- Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica