欧姆蛋
ōu​mǔ​dàn

omelette

欧 ōu Europe Simplified

Original meaning: vomit

Simplified form of 歐. Phonosemantic compound. 欠 represents the meaning and 區 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "vomit". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

区
区 Sound component
qū area
欠
欠 Meaning component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient
Change in meaning
欠 hints at the original meaning of 欧, "vomit", which is no longer the most common meaning of 欧 in modern Mandarin.

Sources

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

姆 mǔ woman looking after children

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

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
母
母 Sound component
mǔ mother

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmuwXməʔ female teacher in harem

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart

蛋 dàn eggs

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 延 represents the sound.

Components

延
延 SoundRemnant component
yán delay
Change in sound
虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangl'aːns

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

歐 ōu Europe Traditional

Original meaning: vomit

Phonosemantic compound. 欠 represents the meaning and 區 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "vomit". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

區
區 Sound component
qū area
欠
欠 Meaning component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient
Change in meaning
欠 hints at the original meaning of 歐, "vomit", which is no longer the most common meaning of 歐 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangqoː
qoːʔ
Unicodeqǒu

說文解字

《說文》：“歐，吐也。从欠，區聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)