zhè​sī

this fellow

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

variant of 廝|厮[sī] Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Components

Meaning component
chǎng cliff, (roof)
Sound component
this

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

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

servant Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 广 represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

广
广 Meaning component
guǎng roof
Sound component
this

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangse
Unicodesiɛ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica