Simplified
In ancient texts the character 亖 (four horizontal strokes) was used. The current form 四 depicts breathing through the nose and is the original form of 呬. The use of 四 as a number is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | sijH | s.li[j]-s | four |
說文解字
《說文》:“四,陰數也。象四分之形。,古文四。亖,籀文四。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.948
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gjunH | [ɡ]ur-s | district |
| Zhengzhang | ɡluns | ||
| Unicode | ghiuə̀n |
說文解字
周制:天子地方千里,分爲百縣,縣有四郡。故《春秋傳》曰“上大夫受郡”是也。至秦初置三十六郡,以監其縣。从邑君聲。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | xanH | n̥ˤar-s (W dialect: *n̥- > MC x-, *-r > *-n) | (river name) |
說文解字
《說文》:“漢,漾也,東為滄浪水。从水,難省聲。,古文。”
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)