赌咒发誓
dǔ​zhòu​fā​shì

vow

赌 dǔ bet, gamble Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 贝 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Simplified form of 賭.

Components

贝
贝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China, shells were used as currency.

者
者 Sound component
zhě one who...
Change in sound

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

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

咒 zhòu curse

Derived from 祝, with the 礻 (show) component being replaced by 口 (mouth) component when the meaning extended to "curse". Depicts a kneeling person (卩) opening their mouth (口) to pray for disaster to happen on someone.

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
口
口 Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth
卩
卩 Iconic component
jié person kneeling

Modern form looks like 几.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 卩 than it was in ancient scripts.

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangtjus

Sources

Character origin
Chinese Language Stack Exchange漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

发 fā, fa, fà issue Simplified

Simplified form of both 發 (send out) and 髮 (hair). Visually similar to 犮, the bottom component of 髮.

Component uses

Sound (2 of 4 verified)

废泼酦袯

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

拨

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

誓 shì oath, vow

Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 折 represents the sound.

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
折
折 Sound component
zhé, zhē, shé break off
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdzyejH[d][a]t-s swear

說文解字

《說文》：“誓，約束也。从言，折聲。”

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)

賭 dǔ bet, gamble Traditional

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

Components

貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China, shells were used as currency.

者
者 Sound component
zhě one who...
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttuXmə.tˤaʔ wager

說文解字

《說文新附》：“賭，博簺也。从貝，者聲。”

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)

發 fā, fa, fà send out Traditional

Depicts a hand pulling back an arrow (殳) in a bow (弓). 癶 represents the sound.

Components

癶
癶 Sound component
bō legs
Change in sound
弓
弓 Iconic component
gōng bow

Depicts a bow.

殳
殳 Iconic component
shū weapon or tool

Depicts a hand pulling an arrow.

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
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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 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 Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 3 verified)

醱廢潑

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

撥

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartpjotCə.pat fly forth, send forth

說文解字

《說文》：“發，發也。从弓，癹聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.880-881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)