字纸篓
zì​zhǐ​lǒu

wastebasket

字 zì, zi letter

Original meaning: raise up children

Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 子 represents the sound. The 宀 (roof) component is based on the original meaning "raise up children". The meaning later shifted to "educate", "word", and "writing".

Components

宀
宀 Meaning component
mián roof
Change in meaning
宀 hints at the original meaning of 字, "raise up children", which is no longer the most common meaning of 字 in modern Mandarin.
子
子 SoundMeaning component
zi, zǐ child
Change in meaning
子 hints at the original meaning of 字, "raise up children", which is no longer the most common meaning of 字 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

牸

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdziHmə-dzə(ʔ)-s breed, love (v.); character

說文解字

《說文》：“字，乳也。从子在宀下，子亦聲。”

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)

纸 zhǐ paper Simplified

Simplified form of 紙. Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 氏 represents the sound.

Components

纟
纟 Meaning component
mì silk

纟 is a component form of 糸.

氏
氏 Sound component
shì clan

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

篓 lǒu, lǚ, jù bamboo basket Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 娄 represents the sound. Simplified form of 簍.

Components

⺮
⺮ Meaning component
zhú bamboo

⺮ is a component form of 竹.

娄
娄 Sound component
lóu, lǚ, lǘ surname

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

紙 zhǐ paper Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 氏 represents the sound.

Components

糹
糹 Meaning component
mì silk

糹 is a component form of 糸.

氏
氏 Sound component
shì clan

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsyeXk.teʔ paper

說文解字

《說文》：“紙，絮一笘也。从糸，氏聲。”

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)

簍 bamboo basket Traditional

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangroː
roːʔ
roʔ

說文解字

竹籠也。从竹婁聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)