The characters 史 (history), 吏 (government official), 使 (cause; use; instruct), and 事 (matter; work; affair) are all etymologically related and all derive from the same ancient character, depicting a hand (又) holding a container for writing utensils. 事 and 史 were originally written the same, but later an extra mark was added to distinguish them.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzriH | [m-s-]rəʔ-s | serve; service, affair |
說文解字
《說文》：“事，職也。从史，之省聲。，古文事。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.214
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: flow out
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 寅 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "flow out". The meaning later shifted to "spread", "develop", and "perform".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yenX | N-q(r)anʔ | flow out, extend |
說文解字
《說文》：“演，長流也。一曰水名。从水，寅聲。”
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)
Simplified
Original meaning: scorch
Simplified form of 習. Phonosemantic compound. 彗 represents the sound and 日 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "to scorch". The current meaning is a phonetic loan. The traditional component 日 was removed for simplification.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
說文解字
《說文》：“羽，鳥長毛也。象形。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kjun | [k]ʷər | army; camp |
說文解字
《說文》：“軍，圜圍也。四千人為軍。从車，从包省。軍，兵車也。”
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)
Traditional
Original meaning: scorch
Phonosemantic compound. 彗 represents the sound and 日 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "to scorch". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Change in sound
Change in form
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | zip | s-ɢʷəp (with root *ɢʷəp ‘wing’?) | repeat; practice |
說文解字
《說文》：“習，數飛也。从羽，从白。”
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)