Simplified
Original meaning: leaf
Depicts three leaves on branches of a tree. Remnant from the top part of 枼. Based on the original meaning "leaf", now written as 葉. The meaning later shifted to "generation", since leaves pile up in hundreds much like a generation.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syejH | l̥ap-s | generation |
說文解字
《說文》：“世，三十年為一世，从卉而曳長之，亦取其聲也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.159劉志基《中國漢字文物大系》Vol 3, p.70
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Original meaning: wound, injury
Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 倉 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "wound, injury". The meaning "begin, establish" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsrhjang | [tsʰ]raŋ | wound (v.) |
| tsrhjangH | [tsʰ]raŋ-s | begin |
說文解字
《說文》：“刅，傷也。从刃，从一。創，或从刀，倉聲。”
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)