習
xí

to practice

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approved by Peter Olson · Feb 4, 2021, 05:09 PM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Feb 4, 2021, 05:09 PM

verify, add source

Changed fields: gloss, hint, originalMeaning, isVerified, components, customSources, strokeDataSimp, fragmentsSimp, historicalImages

Original meaning: scorch

Phonosemantic compound. 彗 represents the sound and 日 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "to scorch". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

彗
彗 Sound component
Change in sound
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 彗 than it was in ancient scripts.
日
日 Meaning component
Change in meaning
日 hints at the original meaning of 習, "scorch", which is no longer the most common meaning of 習 in modern Mandarin.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartzips-ɢʷəp (with root *ɢʷəp ‘wing’?)repeat; practice

說文解字

《說文》：“習，數飛也。从羽，从白。”

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)