jiān​jù HSK7

arduous

jiān difficult Simplified

Simplified form of . Originally pictograph of person ( or ) guarding a drum () to report difficulties. Later reanalyzed as a compound of 𦰩 and , which both represent the sound.

Components

Simplified component
yòu again

Shorthand for the 𦰩 component in the traditional character .

Sound component
gěn, gèn, hén blunt

Originally written as  but later reanalyzed as  to represent the sound.

Sources

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

large Simplified

Pictograph of a tool for measuring right angles. Based on the original meaning "carpenter's square", now written as . The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

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 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (4 of 10 verified)

Iconic (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangɡaʔ
Unicodeghiǔ

說文解字

《說文》:“巨,規巨也。从工,象手持之。榘,巨或从木、矢,矢者,其中正也。,古文巨。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.383林志強《《文源》評注》p.271
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

jiān difficult Traditional

Originally pictograph of person ( or ) guarding a drum () to report difficulties. Later reanalyzed as a compound of 𦰩 and , which both represent the sound.

Components

𦰩
𦰩 SoundIconic component
jiān to sigh

Depicts a person reporting difficulties. Originally written as or .

Sound component
gěn, gèn, hén blunt

Originally written as but later reanalyzed as to represent the sound.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.

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
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagartkeankˤrə[r] difficulty

說文解字

《說文》:“艱,土難治也。从堇,艮聲。囏,籀文艱从喜。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.912-913
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

steel Traditional

Components

Meaning component
jīn metal

metal

Sound component
large

Character Evolution

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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangɡaʔ
Unicodeghiǔ

說文解字

大剛也。从金巨聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica