← Back to history approved by inralback19 · Dec 21, 2025, 12:57 AM
Changed fields: gloss
Original meaning: cold water
Simplified form of 況. Phonosemantic compound. 冫 represents the meaning and 兄 represents the sound.
Components
bīng ice
氵 is a component form of 水.
Change in meaning
冫 hints at the original meaning of 况, "cold water",
which is no longer the most common meaning of 况 in modern Mandarin. xiōng, xiong elder brother
Change in sound
况 and 兄 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar
in Middle Chinese.
况 xjwangH
兄 xjwaeng Historical Pronunciations