zū​diàn

lease land

rent

Original meaning: land tax

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "land tax". The meaning later shifted to "rent" and "hire".

Components

Meaning component
grain stalk
Sound component
qiě moreover
Change in sound

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangʔsaː
Unicodetzo

說文解字

《說文》:“租,田賦也。从禾,且聲。”

Sources

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

diàn tenant farmer

Depicts a person () working in the fields (). also represents the sound.

Components

Iconic component
rén person
SoundIconic component
tián field

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdenHlˤiŋ-s hunt

說文解字

《說文》:“佃,中也。从人,田聲。《春秋傳》曰:‘乘中佃,一轅車。’”

Sources

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