盍
hé

what? why not?

Original meaning: lid

Pictograph of a lid (去) on top of a container (皿). Based on the original meaning "lid", now written as 蓋. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

去
去 Iconic component
qù go away

Here used to graphically represent a lid with a handle. Unrelated to the verb "go".

皿
皿 Iconic component
mǐn, mǐng dish

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 8 verified)

盖磕瞌阖嗑溘蓋闔

Simplified (1)

盖

Iconic (1)

奄

Remnant (1)

奄

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

豔

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthapm-[k]ˤap thatch, cover (v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“，覆也。从血、大。”

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)