luò​luò​guǎ​huān

melancholy

luò, là fall

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

is a component form of . Alludes to leaves falling from trees.

Sound component
luò river in Shanxi province

Character Evolution

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-Sagartlakkə.rˤak fall (v.)

說文解字

凡艸曰零,木曰落。从艸洛聲。

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

guǎ widowed, alone

Original meaning: live alone

Depicts a person living alone in a house (). The decorative strokes around the component corrupted into the unrelated .

Components

Iconic component
mián roof
Iconic component
(head), page

Used here to depict a person.

Unknown component
characterless component

Originally depicted decorative strokes around . Modern form looks like unrelated .

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkwaeX[C.k]ʷˤraʔ few

說文解字

《說文》:“寡,少也。从宀,从頒。頒,分賦也,故為少。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

huan, huān happy Simplified

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. (yawn) is a pictograph of a person with an open mouth, used here to represent a person joyfully laughing.

Components

Simplified component
yòu again

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character .

Iconic component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient

Depicts a person opening their mouth to laugh.

Sources

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

huan, huān happy Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. (yawn) is a pictograph of a person with an open mouth, used here to represent a person joyfully laughing.

Components

Sound component
guàn, huán heron
Iconic component
qiàn, qian yawn, deficient

Depicts a person opening their mouth to laugh.

Character Evolution

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-Sagartxwanqʷʰˤar rejoice; joyous

說文解字

《說文》:“歡,喜樂也。从欠,雚聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica