虹
hóng HSK7

rainbow

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approved by Prismcool · Oct 10, 2025, 03:41 AM · Reviewed by Prismcool on Oct 10, 2025, 03:41 AM

creature

Changed fields: hint, isVerified, customSources

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 工 represents the sound. Originally was a pictograph of a creature, with two heads on each end, that resembled a rainbow.

Components

虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
工
工 Sound component
gōng work

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthuwngm-kˤoŋ rainbow
kaewngHkˤroŋ-s rainbow

說文解字

《說文》：“虹，螮蝀也。狀似蟲。从虫，工聲。《明堂》、《月令》曰：‘虹始見。’”

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)