蓄势待发
xù​shì​dài​fā

poised

蓄 xù store

Components

艹
艹 Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

plant

畜
畜 Sound component
chù, xù livestock

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttrhjuwkqʰ<r>ukstore (v.)
xjuwkqʰukcollect; store (n.)
Zhengzhangl̥ʰuɡ
hluɡ
Unicodexiuk

說文解字

積也。从艸畜聲。

Sources

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

势 shì, shi power Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 力 represents the meaning and 执 represents the sound. Simplified form of 勢.

Components

力
力 Meaning component
lì, li power
执
执 Sound component
zhí hold in hand

Sources

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

待 dài wait, stay, treat

Phonosemantic compound. 彳 represents the meaning and 寺 represents the sound.

Components

彳
彳 Meaning component
chì, fú walk

彳 is a component form of 行.

寺
寺 Sound component
sì, shì temple
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdojX[d]ˤəʔ wait on; depend on

說文解字

《說文》：“待，竢也。从彳，寺聲。”

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)

发 fā, fa, fà issue Simplified

Simplified form of both 發 (send out) and 髮 (hair). Visually similar to 犮, the bottom component of 髮.

Component uses

Sound (2 of 4 verified)

废泼酦袯

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

拨

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

勢 shì, shi power Traditional

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

Components

力
力 Meaning component
lì, li power
埶
埶 Sound component
yì, shì art, skill
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyejHŋ̊et-s circumstances, setting

說文解字

《說文新附》：“勢，盛力，權也。从力，埶聲。”

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)

發 fā, fa, fà send out Traditional

Depicts a hand pulling back an arrow (殳) in a bow (弓). 癶 represents the sound.

Components

癶
癶 Sound component
bō legs
Change in sound
弓
弓 Iconic component
gōng bow

Depicts a bow.

殳
殳 Iconic component
shū weapon or tool

Depicts a hand pulling an arrow.

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
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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 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

Sound (2 of 3 verified)

醱廢潑

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

撥

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartpjotCə.pat fly forth, send forth

說文解字

《說文》：“發，發也。从弓，癹聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.880-881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)