Depicts a ceremonial jade tablet pointed at the top.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kwej | [k]ʷˤe | jade scepter |
說文解字
《說文》：“圭，瑞玉也，上圜下方。公執桓圭，九寸；侯執信圭，伯執躬圭，皆七寸；子執穀璧，男執蒲璧，皆五寸。以封諸侯。从重土。楚爵有執圭。珪，古文圭从玉。”
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)
Simplified
Original meaning: tomb
Simplified form of 亞. Depicts a wooden structure where coffins are placed. Based on the original meaning "tomb". The current meaning "Asia" is a phonetic loan.
Phonosemantic compound. ⻏ represents the meaning and 冄 represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | na | nˤar | ample |
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Traditional
Original meaning: tomb
Depicts a wooden structure where coffins are placed. Based on the original meaning "tomb". The current meaning "Asia" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | 'aeH | ʔˤrak-s | secondary |
說文解字
《說文》：“亞，醜也。象人局背之形。賈侍中說以為次弟也。”
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)