虽则
suī​zé

although

虽 suī although Simplified

Original meaning: type of lizard

Simplified form of 雖. Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 唯 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "type of lizard". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

唯
唯 Simplified component
wéi only

Shorthand for the 唯 component in the traditional character 雖.

虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect

Component uses

Sound (1)

强

Remnant (1)

强

Sources

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

则 zé rule Simplified

Original meaning: law

Simplified form of 則. Depicts carving inscriptions on bronzeware (鼎) with a knife (刂). Based on the original meaning "law". In ancient China, some legal writings were inscribed on bronzeware.

Components

鼎
鼎 IconicRemnant component
dǐng, zhēn cooking pot

Modern form looks like unrelated 贝.

刂
刂 Iconic component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

Component uses

Sound (3 of 7 verified)

测侧贼厕恻铡鲗

Remnant (1)

贼

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

铡

Sources

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

雖 suī although Traditional

Original meaning: type of lizard

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 唯 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "type of lizard". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
Change in meaning
虫 hints at the original meaning of 雖, "type of lizard", which is no longer the most common meaning of 雖 in modern Mandarin.
唯
唯 Sound component
wéi only
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 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 Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartswijs-qʷij although; even if

說文解字

《說文》：“雖，似蜥蜴而大。从虫，唯聲。”

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)

則 zé rule Traditional

Original meaning: law

Depicts carving inscriptions on bronzeware (鼎) with a knife (刂). Based on the original meaning "law". In ancient China, some legal writings were inscribed on bronzeware.

Components

鼎
鼎 IconicRemnant component
dǐng, zhēn cooking pot

Modern form looks like unrelated 貝.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 鼎 than it was in ancient scripts.
刂
刂 Iconic component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn ~600 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 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 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
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 6 verified)

賊測惻廁側鰂

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsok[ts]ˤək then
tsok[ts]ˤək rule, pattern

說文解字

《說文》：“則，等畫物也。从刀，从貝。貝，古之物貨也。，古文則。，亦古文則。，籀文則从鼎。”

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)