禽
qín HSK7

birds

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approved by Hsmq · Mar 20, 2026, 05:08 AM · Reviewed by Marcus Ngai on Mar 20, 2026, 08:21 AM

not seems to be remnant

Changed fields: components

Original meaning: to capture

Pictograph of a net with a handle used for hunting. 今 was added later to represent the sound. Based on the original meaning "to capture", now written as 擒. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "birds" and "fowl".

Components

今
今 Sound component
◎
◎ Iconic component

Depicts a net with a handle used for hunting. Similar to 𠦒.

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
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
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-Sagartgim[C.ɢ](r)[ə]m bird; animal
gim[C.ɢ](r)[ə]m catch, capture

說文解字

《說文》：“禽，走獸總名。从，象形，今聲。禽、离、兕，頭相似。”

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)