měi​nài​mǐn

melamine

měi beautiful

Pictograph of a person with ornamental headwear resembling sheep horns.

Components

Iconic component
yáng sheep

Depicts ornamental headwear resembling sheep horns.

Iconic component
dà, dài big

Used here as a pictograph of a person.


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 Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmijX[m]rəjʔ beautiful

說文解字

《說文》:“美,甘也。从羊,从大。”

Sources

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

nài endure

Original meaning: make the head bald as punishment

Pictograph of a beard () being removed from the face by a hand (). Based on the original meaning "make the head bald as punishment", now written as . The meaning later shifted to "tolerate" and "endure".

Components

SoundIconic component
ér and

Depicts a beard.

Change in sound
Iconic component
cùn, cun (hand), inch

Depicts a hand.


Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartnojHnˤə-s endure

說文解字

《說文》:“耏,罪不至髡也。从而,从彡。耐,或从寸。諸法度字从寸。”

Sources

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

mǐn, mǐng dish

Pictograph of a container for holding food.

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 Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Unknown (0 of 4 verified)

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

Deleted (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmjaengXmraŋʔ vessel, bowl

說文解字

《說文》:“皿,飯食之用器也。象形,與豆同意。讀若猛。”

Sources

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