Simplified
Components
Simplified shorthand of the traditional 厤 component.
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.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sriX | s-rəʔ | scribe |
說文解字
《說文》：“史，記事者也。从又持中；中，正也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.213-214
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: fight
Phonosemantic compound. 盾 represents the meaning and 尃 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "fight", which later shifted to "win", "plentiful", and "gamble".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pak | pˤak | broad |
說文解字
《說文》：“博，大，通也。从十，从尃。尃，布也。”
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)
Original meaning: varicolored cow
Phonosemantic compound. 牛 represents the meaning and 勿 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "variety", depicting the variety of colors on a cow. Later the meaning shifted to "things".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | mjut | C.mut | thing |
說文解字
《說文》：“物，萬物也。牛為大物，天地之數，起於牽牛，故从牛，勿聲。”
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)
Traditional
Original meaning: pass through
Phonosemantic compound. 止 (foot) represents the meaning and 厤 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "pass through". The meaning later expanded to also include "experience" and "history".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lek | [r]ˤek | pass by; in turn |
說文解字
《說文》：“歷，過也。从止，厤聲。”
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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwanH | [k]ˤo[n]ʔ-s | lodging-house |
說文解字
《說文》：“館，客舍也。从食，官聲。《周禮》：‘五十里有市，市有館，館有積，以待朝聘之客。’”
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)