Original meaning: thread spool
Pictograph of a warp beam used for holding silk in, also known as a spool. The modern meaning "9th heavenly stem" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nyim | n[ə]m | 9th heavenly stem |
說文解字
《說文》：“壬，位北方也。陰極陽生，故《易》曰：‘龍戰于野。’戰者，接也。象人褢妊之形。承亥壬以子，生之敘也。與巫同意。壬承辛，象人脛。脛，任體也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 古今文字集成
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of an ancient farming tool. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyin | [d]ər | 5th earthly branch |
說文解字
《說文》：“震也。三月陽气動，雷電振，民農時也。物皆生。从乙、匕，象芒達，厂聲也。辰，房星，天時也。从二。二，古文上字。，古文辰。”
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
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | qoːl |
| qoːlʔ | |
| qrol |
說文解字
順皃。从人委聲。《詩》曰：“周道倭遟。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Original meaning: untangle threads
Simplified form of 亂. Originally written as 𤔔, which depicts two hands (𠬪) untangling threads (幺) on a silk frame. 乚 was later added as a distinguishing mark. The meaning later shifted to "mess" and "confusion".
Components
Shorthand for the 𤔔 component in the traditional character 亂.
Traditional
Original meaning: untangle threads
Originally written as 𤔔, which depicts two hands (𠬪) untangling threads (幺) on a silk frame. 乚 was later added as a distinguishing mark. The meaning later shifted to "mess" and "confusion".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | lwanH | [r]ˤo[n]-s | disorder, rebellion |
說文解字
《說文》：“亂，治也。从乙。乙，治之也。从。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.960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)