In ancient texts the character 亖 (four horizontal strokes) was used. The current form 四 depicts breathing through the nose and is the original form of 呬. The use of 四 as a number is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sijH | s.li[j]-s | four |
說文解字
《說文》：“四，陰數也。象四分之形。，古文四。亖，籀文四。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.948
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 支 represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsye | ke | limb |
| Zhengzhang | kje | ||
| Unicode | jiɛ |
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsye | ke | support, hold up |
| tsye | ke | branch (of tree), limb |
說文解字
《說文》：“支，去竹之枝也。从手持半竹。，古文支。”
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)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syik | l̥ək | pattern |
| syik | l̥ək | to wipe |
說文解字
《說文》：“式，法也。从工，弋聲。”
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)