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)
Pictograph of a horn.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kaewk | C.[k]ˤrok | horn, corner |
說文解字
《說文》:“角,獸角也。象形,角與刀魚相似。”
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
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | drjuX | m-t<r>oʔ | pillar |
| Zhengzhang | toʔ | ||
| doʔ | |||
| Unicode | djhiǒ |
說文解字
楹也。从木主聲。
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 | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | thejX | r̥ˤijʔ | body; limbs |
說文解字
《說文》:“體,總十二屬也。从骨,豊聲。”
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)