泪眼婆娑
lèi​yǎn​pó​suō

tearful

泪 lèi tears Simplified

Simplified form of 淚. Depicts drops of water (氵) coming from the eye (目).

Components

氵
氵 Iconic component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

目
目 Iconic component
mù eye

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

眼 yǎn eye

Phonosemantic compound. 目 represents the meaning and 艮 represents the sound.

Components

目
目 Meaning component
mù eye
艮
艮 Sound component
gěn, gèn, hén blunt

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngonXŋˤə[n]ʔ protrude as a knob
ngeanX[ŋ]ˤ<r>ə[n]ʔ eye

說文解字

《說文》：“眼，目也。从目，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)

婆 pó, po mother-in-law

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

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
波
波 Sound component
bō waves

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartba[b]ˤa[j] 婆娑 saunter, dance

Sources

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

娑 suō, suǒ, suò dance

Components

沙
沙 Sound component
shā sand
女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman

woman

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsa[s]ˤa[j]婆娑 saunter, dance
Zhengzhangsaːl
saːlʔ
Unicodesɑ

說文解字

舞也。从女沙聲。《詩》曰：“市也媻娑。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

淚 lèi tears Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 戾 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

戾
戾 Sound component
lì bend, violate, transgress

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlwijH[r][ə]p-s tears (n.)

Sources

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