Pictograph of a crawling insect. The current meaning "seek" or "beg" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Simplified
Original meaning: chestnut tree
Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 辛 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "chestnut". This character was repurposed during character simplification as the simplified form of 親.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
說文解字
《說文》：“𣓀，果實如小栗。从木，辛聲。《春秋傳》曰：‘女摯不過栗。’”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: conflict
Phonosemantic compound. 非 represents the meaning and 告 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "conflict". The meaning later shifted to "lean against".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | kʰuːɡs |
說文解字
《說文》：“靠，相違也。从非，告聲。”
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)
Pictograph of two hands together to convey the meaning "friend". 又 also represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | hjuwX | [ɢ]ʷəʔ | friend |
說文解字
《說文》：“友，同志為友。从二又，相交友也。，古文友。。亦古文友。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.211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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Sound (1)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tshin | [tsʰ]i[n] | close; parents |
說文解字
《說文》：“親，至也。从見，亲聲。”
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)