猫哭老鼠
māo​kū​lǎo​shǔ

crocodile tears

猫 māo cat Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 犭 represents the meaning and 苗 represents the sound. Simplified form of 貓.

Components

犭
犭 Meaning component
quǎn dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

苗
苗 Sound component
miáo sprouts

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangmrew

Sources

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

哭 kū cry

Depicts the howl (吅) of a dog (犬).

Components

吅
吅 Meaning component
xuān, sòng noise
犬
犬 Meaning component
quǎn dog

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhuwk[kʰ]ˤok weep

說文解字

《說文》：“哭，哀聲也。从吅，獄省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.106
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

老 lǎo old

Pictograph of an old person with long hair bent over and leaning on a cane.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 5 verified)

姥佬铑栳咾

Meaning (1 of 5 verified)

姥佬耆耄耋

Iconic (1)

孝

Remnant (1)

孝

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlawXC.rˤuʔ old

說文解字

《說文》：“老，考也。七十曰老。从人、毛、匕。言須髮變白也。”

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)

鼠 shǔ rat

Pictograph of a rat.

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 Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Meaning (1 of 9 verified)

鼹鼬鼩鼯鼷鼱鼢竄鼴

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyoX[l̥]aʔ rat

說文解字

《說文》：“鼠，穴蟲之總名也，象形。”

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)

貓 māo cat Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 豸 represents the meaning and 苗 represents the sound.

Components

豸
豸 Meaning component
zhì (dhole), beast
苗
苗 Sound component
miáo sprouts

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmaewC.mˤraw cat

說文解字

《說文新附》：“貓，貍屬。从豸，苗聲。”

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)