略
lüè HSK6

outline, approximately

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approved by Peter Olson · Dec 20, 2021, 06:47 PM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Dec 20, 2021, 06:47 PM

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Changed fields: gloss, hint, originalMeaning, isVerified, components, customSources

Original meaning: demarcate land boundaries

Phonosemantic compound. 田 represents the meaning and 各 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "demarcate land boundaries". The meaning later shifted to "outline" and "approximately".

Components

田
田 Meaning component
Change in meaning
田 hints at the original meaning of 略, "demarcate land boundaries", which is no longer the most common meaning of 略 in modern Mandarin.
各
各 Sound component
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartljak[r]ak draw a boundary; outline

說文解字

《說文》：“略，經略土地也。从田，各聲。”

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)