Original meaning: conform, obey
Pictograph of a kneeling person smoothing out their unkempt hair with their hands. Based on the original meaning "conform, obey". The 口 (mouth) component was added later when the character became more abstract.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nyak | nak | you |
| nyak | nak | agree |
說文解字
《說文》：“若，擇菜也。从艸、右。右，手也。一曰杜若，香艸。”
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)
Original meaning: sacrificial altar for food
Originally a pictograph of a sacrificial altar for food, now written as 俎. The current meaning "moreover" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsjo | tsa | [final particle] |
| tshjaeX | [tsʰ]Aʔ | moreover |
說文解字
《說文》：“且，薦也。从几，足有二橫，一其下地也。”
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)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ywij | ɢʷij (< *ɢʷuj?) | only |
說文解字
《說文》：“唯，諾也。从口，隹聲。”
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)