dǎi HSK7

evil, bad

Original meaning: cracked wooden post

Variant of . Pictograph of a wooden post or digging tool with a cracked bottom. Similar to and . The meaning later shifted to "bad" and "evil".

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Meaning (6 of 27 verified)

Iconic (2)

Sound (1)

Distinguishing (1)

Unknown (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangŋaːd

說文解字

《說文》:“歹,骨之殘也。从半冎。讀若櫱岸之櫱。,古文歺。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.333
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica