概
gài HSK3

approximately

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approved by Peter Olson · Nov 17, 2021, 05:41 PM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Nov 17, 2021, 05:41 PM

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Changed fields: gloss, originalMeaning, isVerified, components, customSources

Original meaning: rod used to level off a heaped measure

Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 既 represents the sound.

Components

木
木 Meaning component
Change in meaning
木 hints at the original meaning of 概, "rod used to level off a heaped measure", which is no longer the most common meaning of 概 in modern Mandarin.
既
既 Sound component

The pronunciation of 概 was similar to 既 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-SagartkojH[k]ˤə[t]-s to strickle

說文解字

《說文》：“，斗斛。从木，既聲。邵瑛羣經正字：“今經典多作概。”

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)