shēn

inquire

Components

Meaning component
yán speech

speech

Sound component
xiān first

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

inquire Traditional

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsrinsrərnumerous
Zhengzhangsrin

說文解字

致言也。从言从先,先亦聲。《詩》曰:“螽斯羽詵詵兮。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica