rú​yíng​zhú​chòu

sycophancy

be like

Original meaning: obey

Depicts a woman () obeying spoken () orders. Based on the original meaning "obey". The meaning later shifted to "be similar" and "like". also serves as a sound component.

Components

SoundIconic component
nǚ, nü woman
Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 5 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartnyona go to
nyona as, like, if

說文解字

《說文》:“如,从隨也。从女,从口。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

ying flies Simplified

Insects  that toads  feed on

Components

Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
Meaning component
miǎn, měng, mǐn toad

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

zhú chase

Depicts a foot () chasing after a wild hog ().

Components

Iconic component
chuò walk

is a component form of .

Iconic component
shǐ pig

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdrjuwk[l]riwk pursue

說文解字

《說文》:“逐,追也。从辵,从豚省。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

chòu smell

Components

Meaning component
(nose), self
Meaning component
quǎn dog

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

Meaning (0 of 3 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsyhuwHt-qʰu(ʔ)-s odor, to stink (intransitive)?
xjuwHqʰu(ʔ)-s odor, to stink (intransitive)?

說文解字

《說文》:“臭,禽走臭而知其迹者,犬也。从犬,从自。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

ying flies Traditional

Insects  that toads  feed on

Components

Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
Meaning component
toad, frog

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartyingm-rəŋfly (n.)
Zhengzhangb·lɯŋ
Unicodeiəng

說文解字

營營青蠅。蟲之大腹者。从黽从虫。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica