吃空额
chī​kòng'é

payroll embezzlement

吃 chī eat

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 乞 represents the sound.

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
乞
乞 Sound component
qǐ, qì beg

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangkɯd

說文解字

《說文》：“吃，言蹇難也。从口，气聲。”

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)

空 kōng, kòng empty

Phonosemantic compound. 穴 represents the meaning and 工 represents the sound.

Components

穴
穴 Meaning component
xué, jué cave
工
工 Sound component
gōng work

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 6 verified)

控腔崆倥箜焢

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhuwngkʰˤoŋ hollow, empty; hole
khuwngXkʰˤoŋʔ hollow, empty; hole

說文解字

《說文》：“空，竅也。从穴，工聲。”

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)

额 é forehead Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 页 represents the meaning and 客 represents the sound. Simplified form of 額.

Components

页
页 Meaning component
yè page
客
客 Sound component
kè guest

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

額 é forehead Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 頁 represents the meaning and 客 represents the sound.

Components

頁
頁 Meaning component
yè (head), page
客
客 Sound component
kè guest

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngaekC.ŋˤrak (no pre-Qín exx?)forehead

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart