对外 Origin — Chinese Character Wiki

Chinese Character Wiki Wiki

duìwài HSK6

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duì correct Simplified

Original meaning: develop land

Simplified form of 對. Depicts a hand (寸) holding a farming tool (丵) to develop land (土). Based on the original meaning "develop land".

Components

又 Simplified component

yòu again

Shorthand for the left half of 對.

寸 Iconic component

cùn, cun (hand), inch

Depicts a hand.

Component uses

Simplified (1)

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.169-171漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants: Unicode

wài outside

Phonosemantic compound. 卜 represents the meaning and 月 represents the sound.

Components

卜 Iconic component

bo fortune telling

Depicts the cracks on the outside of a turtle shell.

月 Sound component

yuè, yue moon

Looks like 夕, which is also a pictograph of a moon.

Change in sound

外 and 月 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
外 *[ŋ]ʷˤa[t]-s
月 *[ŋ]ʷat

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 月 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Oracle form — Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Seal form — Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

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

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Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	ngwajH	[ŋ]ʷˤa[t]-s	outside

說文解字

《說文》：“外，遠也。卜尚平旦，今夕卜，於事外矣。，古文外。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.555-556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)

duì correct Traditional

Original meaning: develop land

Depicts a hand (寸) holding a farming tool (丵) to develop land (土). Based on the original meaning "develop land".

Components

丵 Iconic component

zhuó chisel

Depicts a farming tool.

土 Iconic component

tǔ earth

寸 Iconic component

cùn, cun (hand), inch

Depicts a hand.

Character Evolution

Oracle form — Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC

Oracle form — Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC

Bronze form — Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC

Seal form — Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Seal form — Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Clerical form — Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD

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

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	twojH	[t]ˤ[u]p-s	respond

說文解字

《說文》：“，譍無方也。从丵，从口，从寸。對，或从土。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.169-171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)