救灾款
jiù​zāi​kuǎn

relief funds

救 jiù save

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

Components

求
求 Sound component
qiú seek
攵
攵 Meaning component
pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 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 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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkjuwHs.k(r)u-s help, save

說文解字

《說文》：“救，止也。从攴，求聲。”

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)

灾 zāi calamity Simplified

Depicts a fire (火) burning a building (宀).

Components

宀
宀 Iconic component
mián roof
火
火 Iconic component
huǒ fire

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
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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-Sagarttsoj[ts]ˤə calamity

說文解字

《說文》：“烖，天火曰烖。从火，聲。灾，或从宀、火；，古文从才；災，籀文从。”

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)

款 kuǎn item, funds

Original meaning: desire to have something

Phonosemantic compound. 柰 represents the sound and 欠 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "desire to have something". The meaning later shifted to "funds" and "item".

Components

柰
柰 Sound component
nài crab-apple tree
Change in sound
欠
欠 Meaning component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient
Change in meaning
欠 hints at the original meaning of 款, "desire to have something", which is no longer the most common meaning of 款 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

窾

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkʰloːnʔ
Unicodekuɑn

說文解字

《說文》：“，意有所欲也。从欠，祟欠省。歀，或从柰。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.768
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

災 zāi calamity Traditional

Depicts a fire (火) and a flood (𡿧).

Components

𡿧
𡿧 SoundIconic component
zāi flood
火
火 Iconic component
huǒ fire

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
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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-Sagarttsoj[ts]ˤə calamity

說文解字

《說文》：“烖，天火曰烖。从火，聲。灾，或从宀、火；，古文从才；災，籀文从。”

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)