凄恻
qī​cè

sorrowful

凄 qī bitter cold Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 冫 represents the meaning and 妻 represents the sound. Simplified form of 淒.

Components

冫
冫 Meaning component
bīng ice

冫 is a component form of 冰.

妻
妻 Sound component
qī wife

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangsʰiːl
Unicodetsei
tsei

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

恻 cè feel anguish Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 则 represents the sound. Simplified form of 惻.

Components

忄
忄 Meaning component
xin, xīn heart

忄 is a component form of 心.

则
则 Sound component
zé rule

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

悽 qī, qì sorrowful Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 妻 represents the sound.

Components

忄
忄 Meaning component
xin, xīn heart

忄 is a component form of 心.

妻
妻 Sound component
qī wife

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangsʰiːl
Unicodetsei

說文解字

痛也。从心妻聲。

Sources

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

惻 feel anguish Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 則 represents the sound.

Components

忄
忄 Meaning component
xin, xīn heart

忄 is a component form of 心.

則
則 Sound component
zé rule

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangsʰrɯɡ
Unicodechriək

說文解字

痛也。从心則聲。

Sources

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