贤淑仁慈
xián​shū​rén​cí

kind and virtuous

贤 xián, xiàn virtuous Simplified

Components

又
又 Unknown component
yòu again
贝
贝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

money

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

淑 shū, chù good

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 叔 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

叔
叔 Sound component
shū, shu uncle

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzyuwk[d]iwkfine, good
Zhengzhangɦljɯwɢ
Unicodezhiuk

說文解字

清湛也。从水叔聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

仁 rén humaneness

Depicts a kind relationship between two (二) people (亻). 亻 also represents the sound.

Components

亻
亻 SoundMeaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

二
二 Meaning component
èr two

Used here to represent the concept of two people.

Character Evolution

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 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
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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartnyinniŋ kind

說文解字

《說文》：“仁，親也。从人，从二。忎，古文仁从千、心。，古文仁或从尸。”

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)

慈 cí kind

Components

兹
兹 Sound component
zī, cí now
心
心 Meaning component
xīn, xin heart

heart

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzi[N-ts]əloving, kind
Zhengzhangzɯ
Unicodedzhiə

說文解字

愛也。从心兹聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

賢 virtuous Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 臤 represents the sound.

Components

貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell
臤
臤 Sound component
to gouge out an eye

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 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 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthen[g]ˤi[n]worthy
Zhengzhangɡiːn
Unicodehen

說文解字

多才也。从貝臤聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)