xùn​xī

message

xùn inquire Simplified

Simplified form of . Depicts a mouth () interrogating a captured prisoner of war (). also represents the sound. The (mouth) component was later reanalyzed as (speech).

Components

Iconic component
yán speech

is a component form of . Originally (mouth). Later reanalyzed as (speech).

SoundIconic component
xùn to fly rapidly

Depicts a captive prisoner with their hands tied behind their back.

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

xi, xī breathe, rest

Depicts a breath of air going into the nose (). The lines representing breath were later reanalyzed as (heart).

Components

Iconic component
(nose), self

was the original form of (bí; nose).

Iconic component
characterless component

Originally lines depicting breath. Later reanalyzed as (heart).


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsiksək breathe
siksək 安息 Ānxī (Iranian country in the western regions, W. Hàn; from Aršaka = Arsaces, founder of the Arsacid dynasty)

說文解字

《說文》:“息,喘也。从心,从自,自亦聲。”

Sources

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

xùn inquire Traditional

Depicts a mouth () interrogating a captured prisoner of war (). also represents the sound. The (mouth) component was later reanalyzed as (speech).

Components

Iconic component
yán speech

Originally (mouth). Later reanalyzed as (speech).

SoundIconic component
xùn to fly rapidly

Depicts a captive prisoner with their hands tied behind their back.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsinH[s]i[n]-s ask

說文解字

《說文》:“訊,問也。从言,卂聲。,古文訊从卥。”

Sources

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