强扭的瓜不甜
qiǎng​niǔ​de​guā​bù​tián

forced results

强 qiáng, qiǎng strong Simplified

Phonosemantic component. 弓 represents the meaning and 畺 represents the sound. Originally written as 彊.

Components

弓
弓 Meaning component
gōng bow
虽
虽 SoundRemnant component
suī although

The purpose of this component is unclear.

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

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

犟襁镪糨

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartgjangN-kaŋ strong
gjangXm-kaŋʔ make an effort

說文解字

《說文》：“強，蚚也。从虫，弘聲。，籀文強，从从彊。”

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)

扭 niǔ, niu turn

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 丑 represents the sound.

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

丑
丑 Sound component
chǒu second earthly branch; (simp.) ugly

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangnuʔ
tnuʔ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

的 de, dì, dí [possessive]

Original meaning: bright

Phonosemantic compound. 白 represents the meaning and 勺 represents the sound. The character is based on the original meaning "bright".

Components

白
白 Meaning component
bái, bai white
Change in meaning
白 hints at the original meaning of 的, "bright", which is no longer the most common meaning of 的 in modern Mandarin.
勺
勺 Sound component
sháo, shuò, zhuó spoon
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagarttek[t-l]ˤewk bright; mark in a target

說文解字

《說文》：“旳，明也。从日，勺聲。《易》曰：‘為的顙。’”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

瓜 guā melon

Depicts a melon hanging from a vine.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 6 verified)

孤狐弧呱胍觚

Meaning (1 of 6 verified)

瓣瓢瓤瓠瓞㼌

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkwaekʷˤra melon, gourd

說文解字

《說文》：“瓜，也。象形。”

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)

不 bù, bu no

Original meaning: sepals

Pictograph of sepals of a flower. The modern meaning "no" is a phonetic loan.

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
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 Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 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
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 5 verified)

否杯钚罘盃

Simplified (4)

还环怀坏

Meaning (1 of 4 verified)

否歪甭孬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpjuwpə not
pjuwpə 不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn)

說文解字

《說文》：“不，鳥飛上翔不下來也。从一，一猶天也。象形。”

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)

甜 tián sweet

Depicts the tongue (舌) tasting something sweet (甘).

Components

舌
舌 Meaning component
shé tongue
甘
甘 Meaning component
gān sweetness

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangl'iːm

說文解字

《說文》：“甛，美也。从甘，从舌。舌，知甘者。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

強 qiáng, qiǎng strong Traditional

Phonosemantic component. 弓 represents the meaning and 畺 represents the sound. Originally written as 彊.

Components

弓
弓 Meaning component
gōng bow
畺
畺 SoundRemnant component
jiāng, jiàng boundary
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 畺 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangɡaŋ
ɡaŋʔ
Unicodeghiɑng
ghiǎng

說文解字

《說文》：“強，蚚也。从虫，弘聲。，籀文強，从从彊。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)