筚路蓝缕
bì​lù​lán​lǚ

arduous pioneering

筚 bì wicker Simplified

Components

⺮
⺮ Meaning component
zhú bamboo

bamboo

毕
毕 Sound component
bì finish

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

路 lù road

Phonosemantic compound. 足 represents the meaning and 各 represents the sound.

Components

足
足 Meaning component
zú foot
各
各 Sound component
gè each
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
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 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

Sound (1 of 5 verified)

露璐潞鹭鷺

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartluHCə.rˤak-s road

說文解字

《說文》：“路，道也。从足，从各。”

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)

蓝 lán blue, indigo plant Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 监 represents the sound. Simplified form of 藍.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

监
监 Sound component
jiān watch carefully
Change in sound

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

缕 lǚ thread Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 纟 represents the meaning and 娄 represents the sound. Simplified form of 縷.

Components

纟
纟 Meaning component
mì silk

纟 is a component form of 糸.

娄
娄 Sound component
lóu, lǚ, lǘ surname

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

篳 wicker Traditional

Components

⺮
⺮ Meaning component
zhú bamboo

bamboo

畢
畢 Sound component
bì finish

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpjitpi[t]wattle
Zhengzhangpid

說文解字

藩落也。从竹畢聲。《春秋傳》曰：“篳門圭窬。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

藍 lán blue, indigo plant Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 監 represents the sound.

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

監
監 Sound component
jiān watch carefully
Change in sound

Character Evolution

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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlam[N-k.]rˤam indigo

說文解字

《說文》：“藍，染青草也。从艸，監聲。”

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)

縷 lǚ thread Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 婁 represents the sound.

Components

糹
糹 Meaning component
mì silk

糹 is a component form of 糸.

婁
婁 Sound component
surname

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartljuX[r]oʔthread
Zhengzhangroʔ
Unicodeliǒ

說文解字

綫也。从糸婁聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)