意
yìYì HSK2

thought

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approved by Peter Olson · Oct 17, 2020, 07:06 PM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Oct 17, 2020, 07:06 PM

given sources actually say 从心从音, do not claim that 音 is a sound component

Changed fields: hint, components

Thought (意) is the sound (音) that comes from the mind (心). (This explanation is oversimplified for brevity. The 音 component in this character actually has a rather complicated history.)

Components

音
音 Meaning component
心
心 Meaning component

Character Evolution

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 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-Sagart'iHʔ(r)ək-s thought (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“意，志也。从心察言而知意也。从心，从音。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.790-791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)