老子英雄儿好汉，老子反动儿混蛋
lǎo​zi​yīng​xióng'ér​hǎo​hàn, lǎo​zi​fǎn​dòng'ér​hún​dàn

bloodline theory slogan

老 lǎo old

Pictograph of an old person with long hair bent over and leaning on a cane.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
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 Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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
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
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 5 verified)

姥佬铑栳咾

Meaning (1 of 5 verified)

姥佬耆耄耋

Iconic (1)

孝

Remnant (1)

孝

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlawXC.rˤuʔ old

說文解字

《說文》：“老，考也。七十曰老。从人、毛、匕。言須髮變白也。”

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)

子 zi, zǐ child

Pictograph of a small child with its two arms waving.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
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 Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Meaning (10 of 21 verified)

好存字李孩孙季孤仔孟孽籽孺孢孪孳孥囝孫孨孿

Iconic (15)

了学教保包孔乳孕孝孚孛孑孓斿學

Sound (2 of 5 verified)

字仔孜籽耔

Remnant (3)

了孑孓

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsiX[ts]əʔ 1st earthly branch
tsiXtsəʔ child; gentleman, master

說文解字

《說文》：“子，十一月陽气動，萬物滋，人以為偁。象形。，古文子，从巛，象髮也。，籀文子，囟有髮，臂、脛在几上也。”

Sources

Character origin
徐中舒《甲骨文字典》p.1571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)

英 yīng flower

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

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

央
央 Sound component
yāng beg

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Seal form
Seal Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

瑛

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'jaengʔ<r>aŋ young grass plants

說文解字

艸榮而不實者。一曰黃英。从艸央聲。

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)

雄 xióng male of species

Phonosemantic compound. 隹 represents the meaning and 厷 represents the sound.

Components

厷
厷 Sound component
gōng, hóng forearm
隹
隹 Meaning component
zhuī, cuī, wéi bird

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-Sagarthjuwng[ɢ]ʷəŋ male

說文解字

《說文》：“雄，鳥父也。从隹，厷聲。”

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)

儿 r, ér child Simplified

Simplified form of 兒. Variant form of 人, a pictograph of a human.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Simplified (1)

党

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

禿

說文解字

《說文》：“儿，仁人也。古文奇字人也。象形。孔子曰：在人下，故詰屈。”

Sources

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

好 hǎo, hāo, hào good

It is good (好) for a woman (女) and her child (子) to be together.

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
子
子 Meaning component
zi, zǐ child

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 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
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)

孬

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

孬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartxawXqʰˤuʔ good
xawHqʰˤuʔ-s love, like (v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“好，美也。从女、子。”

Sources

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

汉 hàn Chinese people Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 𦰩 represents the sound. In simplified characters, the 𦰩 component is abbreviated to 又.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

又
又 Simplified component
yòu again

Shorthand for the 𦰩 component in the traditional character 漢.

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

反 fǎn reverse

Original meaning: climb

Pictograph of a hand (又) climbing a cliff (厂). Based on original meaning "climb", now written as 扳. The meaning later shifted to "pull" and "reverse".

Components

厂
厂 Iconic component
chǎng cliff, (roof)
又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 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

Component uses

Sound (4 of 13 verified)

版板饭返贩扳阪坂畈舨钣飯販

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

返叛

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartbaenX[b]ˤranʔ dignified, grand
pjonXCə.panʔ reverse (v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“反，覆也。从又、厂。反形。，古文。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.206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)

动 dòng move Simplified

Simplified form of 動. Phonosemantic compound. 力 represents the meaning. The sound component 重 was simplified to 云.

Components

力
力 Meaning component
lì, li power
云
云 Simplified component
yún clouds

Shorthand based on the cursive form of the 重 component in the traditional character 動.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

恸

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

恸

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

混 hùn, hún to mix

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 昆 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

昆
昆 Sound component
kūn elder brother

Character Evolution

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

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangɡuːnʔ
Unicodehuə̌n

說文解字

《說文》：“混，豐流也。从水，昆聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

蛋 dàn eggs

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 延 represents the sound.

Components

延
延 SoundRemnant component
yán delay
Change in sound
虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangl'aːns

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

兒 r, ér son Traditional

Pictograph of a child (人) with an opening in the top of its head (囟). Represents the soft spot (fontanel) at the top of young infant heads. The 囟 component is written like 臼.

Components

囟
囟 Iconic component
xìn fontanel

Depicts the gap between the bones in an infant skull.

人
人 Iconic component
rén, ren person

Depicts a human.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
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 Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 6 verified)

睨阋猊鲵鯢鬩

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

倪霓

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartnyeŋe child

說文解字

《說文》：“兒，孺子也。从儿，象小兒頭囟未合。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.687
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

漢 hàn Chinese people Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 𦰩 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

𦰩
𦰩 Sound component
jiān to sigh
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartxanHn̥ˤar-s (W dialect: *n̥- > MC x-, *-r > *-n)(river name)

說文解字

《說文》：“漢，漾也，東為滄浪水。从水，難省聲。，古文。”

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)

動 dòng move Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 力 represents the meaning and 重 represents the sound.

Components

力
力 Meaning component
lì, li power
重
重 Sound component
zhòng, chóng heavy

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

慟

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

慟

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartduwngX[Cə-m-]tˤoŋʔ move

說文解字

《說文》：“動，作也。从力，重聲。，古文動从辵。”

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)