计划生育
jì​huà​shēng​yù

family planning

计 jì, ji calculate Simplified

Depicts saying (言) numbers (十) to count or calculate.

Components

讠
讠 Meaning component
yán speech

讠 is a component form of 言.

十
十 Meaning component
shí ten

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

划 huà, huá row, paddle Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 戈 represents the sound. In simplified Chinese 划 is also used to mean "cut, delimit, draw", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 劃.

Components

戈
戈 Sound component
gē spear
Change in sound
刂
刂 Meaning component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwaeC.[g]ʷˤraj (?)row (v.)

Sources

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

生 shēng, sheng life

Pictograph of a sprout (屮) emerging from the ground (一).

Components

屮
屮 Iconic component
chè, cǎo sprout

Depicts a sprout growing.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 屮 than it was in ancient scripts.
一
一 Iconic component
yī one

Used here to depict the ground.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (7 of 11 verified)

性青星省胜姓牲甥笙旌眚

Meaning (4 of 5 verified)

靑甤甦產産

Deleted (1)

产

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsraengsreŋ (MC srj- > sr-; or *s.reŋ ?)bear, be born; live
sraengsreŋ fresh, raw
srjaengsreŋ (or *s.reŋ ?)bear, be born; live

說文解字

《說文》：“生，進也。象艸木生出土上。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.506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)

育 yù to have children

Phonosemantic compound. 𠫓 represents the meaning and ⺼ represents the sound. Originally written as 毓.

Components

𠫓
𠫓 Iconic component
tū, yù newborn

Depicts an upside-down child being born head-first. Upside-down rotation of 子.

⺼
⺼ Sound component
ròu meat, flesh
Change in sound

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
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

唷淯

Unknown (0 of 1 verified)

澈

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartyuwkm-quk breed, produce

說文解字

養子使作善也。从𠫓肉聲。《虞書》曰：“教育子。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.974
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

計 jì, ji calculate Traditional

Depicts saying (言) numbers (十) to count or calculate.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
十
十 Meaning component
shí ten

Character Evolution

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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkejHkˤij-s calculate

說文解字

《說文》：“計，會也，筭也。从言，从十。”

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)

劃 cut, delimit, draw Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 畫 represents the sound.

Components

畫
畫 SoundMeaning component
huà a painting
刂
刂 Meaning component
dāo knife

刂 is a component form of 刀.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthweakgʷˤrek draw (v.)

說文解字

《說文》：“劃，錐刀曰劃。从刀，从畫，畫亦聲。”

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)