zhè​xiē HSK1

these

zhè this Simplified

Original meaning: to meet

Simplified form of , which originally meant "to meet" and had a pronunciation corresponding to modern Mandarin yàn. later acquired an unrelated pronunciation and meaning through confusion with another character.

Components

Meaning component
chuò walk
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "to meet", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
wén writing

Simplified from the component in the traditional character , which is based on archaic pronunciation yàn.

Sources

Character origin
Wiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode

xiē a few

Components

Meaning component
this
Meaning component
èr two

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangsaːls
sjaːl
seːs

說文解字

《說文新附》:“些,語辭也,見《楚辭》。从此,从二。其義未詳。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

zhè this Traditional

Original meaning: to meet

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. The character originally meant "to meet" and had a pronunciation corresponding to modern Mandarin yàn. later acquired an unrelated pronunciation and meaning through confusion with .

Components

Meaning component
chuò walk
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "to meet", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
yán speech

Based on archaic pronunciation yàn.

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangŋrans

Sources

Character origin
Wiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang