茅利塔尼亚 Origin — Chinese Character Wiki

máo reeds

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

Components

艹 Meaning component

cao, cǎo grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

矛 Sound component

máo spear

Character Evolution

Bronze form — Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC

Seal form — Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	mæw	C.mˤru	kind of grass; "thatch"
Zhengzhang		mruː
Unicode	mau

說文解字

菅也。从艸矛聲。

Sources

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

lì, li benefit

Depicts harvesting grain (禾) with a blade (刂). Harvest was the main source of profit in agricultural societies.

Components

禾 Iconic component

hé grain stalk

刂 Iconic component

dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (3 of 11 verified)

黎莉梨犁俐痢蜊猁脷唎悧

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

悧

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	lijH	C.ri[t]-s	sharp; profit

說文解字

《說文》：“利，銛也。从刀；和然後利，从和省。《易》曰：‘利者，義之和也。’”

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)

tǎ tower

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 荅 represents the sound.

Components

土 Meaning component

tǔ earth

荅 Sound component

dā, dá, tà small bean

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese
Zhengzhang		tʰuːb
Unicode	tɑp

說文解字

《說文新附》：“塔，西域浮屠也。从土，答聲。”

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)

ní, nǐ Buddhist nun

Original meaning: stop; approach

Depicts one person (匕) carrying another person (尸) on their back. Based on the original meaning "stop; approach". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

尸 Iconic component

shī sitting person

匕 Iconic component

bǐ, pìn spoon, (person)

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

Component uses

Sound (2 of 9 verified)

呢泥妮昵伲怩旎铌坭

Historical Pronunciations

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	nejX	nˤərʔ	to stop
	nejH	nˤərʔ-s	to stop, obstruct
	nrij	nr[əj]	near, close

說文解字

《說文》：“尼，從後近之。从尸，匕聲。”

Sources

Character origin: 季旭昇《說文新證》p.675-676
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Baxter-Sagart
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

yà Asia, sub- Simplified

Original meaning: tomb

Simplified form of 亞. Depicts a wooden structure where coffins are placed. Based on the original meaning "tomb". The current meaning "Asia" is a phonetic loan.