紫铜
zǐ​tóng

copper

紫 zǐ purple

Phonosemantic compound. 糸 represents the meaning and 此 represents the sound.

Components

糸
糸 Meaning component
mì, sī silk
此
此 Sound component
cǐ this

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Jin 266-420 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 Chinese
Zhengzhangʔseʔ
Unicodetziɛ̌

說文解字

帛青赤色。从糸此聲。

Sources

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

铜 tóng copper Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 钅 represents the meaning and 同 represents the sound. Simplified form of 銅.

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

同
同 Sound component
tóng, tong, tòng together

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

銅 tóng copper Traditional

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

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal

釒 is a component form of 金.

同
同 Sound component
tóng, tong, tòng together

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartduwng[l]ˤoŋbronze, copper
Zhengzhangdoːŋ
Unicodedhung

說文解字

赤金也。从金同聲。

Sources

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