紧锣密鼓
jǐn​luó​mì​gǔ

drumming

紧 jǐn tense Simplified

Simplified form of 緊. Phonosemantic compound. 臤 represents the sound, while 糸 represents the meaning.

Components

𰀡
𰀡 Sound component
qiān to gouge out an eye
Change in sound
糸
糸 Meaning component
mì, sī silk

Depicts a thread being tightened.

Sources

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

锣 luó gong Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 钅 represents the meaning and 罗 represents the sound. Simplified form of 鑼.

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

罗
罗 Sound component
luó, luō, luo net for catching birds

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

密 mì secret

Phonosemantic compound. 山 represents the meaning and 宓 represents the sound.

Components

宓
宓 Sound component
mì, fú quiet
山
山 Meaning component
shān mountain

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

嘧

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartmitmri[t] dense

說文解字

《說文》：“密，山如堂者。从山，宓聲。”

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)

鼓 gǔ drum

Depicts a drumstick held in the hand (支) beating on a drum (壴).

Components

壴
壴 Iconic component
zhù drum
支
支 Iconic component
zhī support, hold up

Depicts a hand holding a drumstick.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

鼙瞽臌

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

鼗鼕

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkuX[k]ˤaʔ drum (n.)

說文解字

《說文》：“鼓，郭也。春分之音，萬物郭皮甲而出，故謂之鼓。从壴。支，象其手擊之也。《周禮》：‘六鼓：靁鼓八面，靈鼓六面，路鼓四面，鼖鼓、皐鼓、晉鼓皆兩面。’，籀文鼓。从古聲。”

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)

緊 jǐn tense Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 臤 represents the sound, while 糸 represents the meaning.

Components

臤
臤 Sound component
to gouge out an eye
Change in sound
糸
糸 Meaning component
mì, sī silk

Depicts a thread being tightened.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkjinXC.qi[n]ʔ (I! no palatalization)tight

說文解字

《說文》：“緊，纏絲急也。从臤，从絲省。”

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)

鑼 luó gong Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 釒 represents the meaning and 羅 represents the sound.

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal

釒 is a component form of 金.

羅
羅 Sound component
net for catching birds

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangraːl

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang