Depicts a hand (又) pulling back a bowstring (弓) with an arrow (矢) to shoot. Later written as 身 and 寸.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | zyaeH | Cə.lAk-s | shoot; archer |
| zyek | Cə.lAk | hit with bow and arrow |
說文解字
《說文》：“，弓弩發於身而中於遠也。从矢，从身。射，篆文从寸。寸，法度也，亦手也。”
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)
Original meaning: varicolored cow
Phonosemantic compound. 牛 represents the meaning and 勿 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "variety", depicting the variety of colors on a cow. Later the meaning shifted to "things".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | mjut | C.mut | thing |
說文解字
《說文》：“物，萬物也。牛為大物，天地之數，起於牽牛，故从牛，勿聲。”
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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | pʰreːw |
| pʰreːws |
說文解字
《說文新附》：“拋，棄也。从手，从尤〔尢〕，从力；或从手，聲。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)