Origin unclear. Various explainations include (1) possibly derives from 入 (enter), with two strokes on the bottom to distinguish it from 入 (enter) or (2) a pictograph of a hut, which is thought to be the original form of 廬. Either way, the current meaning is a phoentic loan.
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ljuwk | k.ruk | six |
說文解字
《說文》：“六，《易》之數，陰變於六，正於八。从入，从八。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.635-637Wiktionary
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
A single horizontal stroke, representing the number one.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'jit | ʔi[t] | one |
說文解字
《說文》：“一，惟初太始，道立於一，造分天地，化成萬物。弌，古文一。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Character Evolution
Component uses
說文解字
《說文》：“儿，仁人也。古文奇字人也。象形。孔子曰：在人下，故詰屈。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: male criminal
Depicts a tool (辛) piercing through a person's eye (目). This was usually given as punishment to criminals. 東 was added later to represent the sound. Based on the original meaning "male criminal". The meaning later shifted to "boy servant" (now written as 僮) and "child".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | duwng | [d]ˤoŋ | boy |
說文解字
《說文》：“童，男有辠曰奴，奴曰童。女曰妾。从，重省聲。，籀文童，中與中同从。，以為古文疾字。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.166漢語多功能字庫陳靖《兩周古文字編注》p.855
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Original meaning: bamboo joint
Simplified form of 節. Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 即 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bamboo joint". Later used as a measure word for segments and divisions of time.
Components
Shorthand for the ⺮ component in the traditional character 節.
Shorthand for the 即 component in the traditional character 節.
Traditional
Pictograph of a child (人) with an opening in the top of its head (囟). Represents the soft spot (fontanel) at the top of young infant heads. The 囟 component is written like 臼.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nye | ŋe | child |
說文解字
《說文》：“兒，孺子也。从儿，象小兒頭囟未合。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.687
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Original meaning: bamboo joint
Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 即 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bamboo joint". Later used as a measure word for segments and divisions of time.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tset | tsˤik | joint |
說文解字
《說文》：“節，竹約也。从竹，即聲。”
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)