尼罗河
Ní​luó Hé

Nile

尼 ní, nǐ Buddhist nun

Original meaning: stop; approach

Depicts one person (匕) carrying another person (尸) on their back. Based on the original meaning "stop; approach". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

尸
尸 Iconic component
shī sitting person
匕
匕 Iconic component
bǐ, pìn spoon, (person)

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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

Component uses

Sound (2 of 9 verified)

呢泥妮昵伲怩旎铌坭

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartnejXnˤərʔ to stop
nejHnˤərʔ-s to stop, obstruct
nrijnr[əj] near, close

說文解字

《說文》：“尼，從後近之。从尸，匕聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.675-676
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

罗 luó, luō, luo net for catching birds Simplified

Simplified form of 羅. Depicts a net (网) for catching birds (隹).

Components

网
网 Iconic component
wǎng net
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 网 than it was in ancient scripts.
夕
夕 Simplified component
xī evening

Shorthand for the 隹 component in the traditional character 羅.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 7 verified)

逻萝锣椤箩猡啰

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

河 hé river

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 可 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

可
可 Sound component
kě able to

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 Mid Western Zhou ~900 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 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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

菏

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

菏

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartha[C.g]ˤaj river

說文解字

《說文》：“河，水。出焞煌塞外昆侖山，發原注海。从水，可聲。”

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)

羅 net for catching birds Traditional

Depicts a net (网) for catching birds (隹). The 糹 (silk; thread) component was added later.

Components

网
网 Iconic component
wǎng net
糹
糹 Meaning component
mì silk

糹 is a component form of 糸.

隹
隹 Iconic component
zhuī, cuī, wéi bird

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 6 verified)

蘿邏囉儸籮鑼

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlarˤaj a kind of net (on a handle?) (Shuōwén: 'bird net')

說文解字

《說文》：“羅，以絲罟鳥也。从网，从維。古者芒氏初作羅。”

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)