Original meaning: call loudly
Originally composed of 口 (mouth) and 日 (sun), representing a call in the morning to wake people up at sunrise to start working. Based on the original meaning "call loudly", now written as 唱. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | tʰjaŋ | |
| Unicode | chiɑng |
說文解字
《說文》：“昌，美言也。从日，从曰。一曰日光也。《詩》曰：‘東方昌矣。’，籀文昌。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.536
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: solid, difficult to break
Depicts a hook-shaped weapon made out of copper. Based on the original meaning "solid, difficult to break". The meaning later shifted to "good" and "lucky".
Components
口 Distinguishing component
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kjit | C.qi[t] (*C.q- > *k-, escaping palatalization) | auspicious |
說文解字
《說文》：“吉，善也。从士、口。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.98-99漢語多功能字庫林志強《《文源》評注》p.93-94
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Depicts water rotating around in a circle.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hwoj | [ɢ]ʷˤəj | go around |
說文解字
《說文》：“回，轉也。从囗，中象回轉形。囘，古文。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.515-516
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzuwk | [dz]ˤok | clan |
說文解字
《說文》：“族，矢鋒也，束之族族也。从，从矢。”
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: nose
Pictograph of a nose. Original form of 鼻 (nose). In China, when people point to themselves, they typically point to their nose.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzijH | s.[b]i[t]-s | self (adv.) |
| dzijH | s.[b]i[t]-s | to follow; from |
說文解字
《說文》：“自，鼻也。象鼻形。，古文自。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.272
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: river in Shandong
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 台 represents the sound. Originally referred to a river in Shandong province. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dri | C.lrə | regulate, arrange |
| driH | lrə-s | regulate, arrange |
說文解字
《說文》：“治，水。出東萊曲城陽丘山，南入海。从水，台聲。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Depicts an area of dry land in the middle of a river.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyuw | tu | islet in stream; province |
說文解字
《說文》：“州，水中可居曰州。周遶其旁，从重川。昔堯遭洪水，民居水中高土，或曰九州。《詩》曰：‘在河之州’。一曰：州，疇也。各疇其土而生之。，古文州。”
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)