Origin unclear. Composed of 辛 (chisel) and 丙 (pedestal) with 口 being later added as a distinguishing component for the name of an ancient kingdom.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syang | s-taŋ | musical note |
| syang | s-taŋ | (place name) | |
| syang | s-taŋ | estimate; business; trader |
說文解字
《說文》：“商，从外知內也。从，章省聲。，古文商。，亦古文商。，籀文商。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Traditional
Original meaning: manage, govern
Depicts using speech (言) and one's hands (寸) to manage or govern. The meaning later shifted to "discuss" and "ask for".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | thawX | [t]ʰˤuʔ | examine; denounce |
說文解字
《說文》：“討，治也。从言，从寸。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 李学勤《字源》p.193-194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)