改名换姓
gǎi​míng​huàn​xìng

change one's name

改 gǎi change

Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 己 represents the sound.

Components

己
己 Sound component
jǐ self
Change in sound
攵
攵 Meaning component
pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkojXC.qˤəʔ change (v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“改，更也。从攴、己。”

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)

名 míng name

Depicts a mouth (口) saying their own name at night (夕) when it is too dark for others to see them.

Components

夕
夕 Iconic component
xī evening

Depicts the moon.

口
口 Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 5 verified)

铭茗酩眳銘

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

铭銘

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmjiengC.meŋ name

說文解字

《說文》：“名，自命也。从口，从夕。夕者，冥也。冥不相見，故以口自名。”

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)

换 huàn change Simplified

Simplified form of 換. Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 奐 represents the sound.

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

奂
奂 Sound component
huàn be numerous

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

姓 xìng one's family name

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 生 represents the sound.

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
生
生 Sound component
shēng, sheng life

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsjengHseŋ-s surname

說文解字

《說文》：“姓，人所生也。古之神聖母，感天而生子，故稱天子。从女，从生，生亦聲。《春秋傳》曰：‘天子因生以賜姓。’”

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)

換 huàn change Traditional

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

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand

扌 is a component form of 手.

奐
奐 Sound component
be numerous

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwanH[ɢ]ʷˤa[n]-s change

說文解字

《說文》：“換，易也。从手，奐聲。”

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)