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)
Pictograph of a tool similar to a hammer that is shaped like deer antlers. Original meaning unclear.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyeX | k.deʔ | clan |
說文解字
《說文》：“氏，巴蜀山名岸脅之旁箸欲落者曰氏。氏崩聲聞數百里。象形，乀聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.859-860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)
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hwang | [ɢ]ʷˤaŋ | locust |
| Zhengzhang | ɡʷaːŋ | ||
| ɡʷraːŋ | |||
| ɡʷraːŋs |
說文解字
螽也。从虫皇聲。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | qreːŋ | |
| Unicode | qɛng |
說文解字
《說文》：“鶯，鳥也。从鳥，榮省聲。《詩》曰：‘有鶯其羽。’”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)