连体婴
lián​tǐ​yīng

conjoined twins

连 lián connect, join, link Simplified

Depicts a carriage (车) being pulled by a person walking (辶). Simplified form of 連.

Components

车
车 Meaning component
chē cart, vehicle
辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 7 verified)

莲链琏涟鲢裢梿

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

链

Sources

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

体 tǐ body Simplified

Simplified form of 體. The foundation (本) of a person (亻) is their body (体).

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person

亻 is a component form of 人.

本
本 Meaning component
běn root

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangbɯːnʔ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

婴 yīng infant Simplified

Original meaning: necklace

Simplified form of 嬰. Depicts a woman (女) wearing shell ornaments (賏) around her neck. 賏 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "necklace". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "infant" or "baby".

Components

賏
賏 SoundIconicSimplified component
yīng, yìng pearls or shells strung together

Depicts two shells (贝) strung together.

女
女 Iconic component
nǚ, nü woman

Component uses

Sound (0 of 7 verified)

樱鹦缨嘤瘿璎撄

Sources

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

連 lián connect, join, link Traditional

Depicts a carriage (車) being pulled by a person walking (辶).

Components

車
車 Meaning component
chē cart, vehicle
辶
辶 Meaning component
chuò walk

辶 is a component form of 辵.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 6 verified)

蓮鏈褳漣槤鰱

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

鏈

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartljenC.ra[n] [surname]
ljen[r]a[n] connect in a row

說文解字

員連也。从辵从車。

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)

體 tǐ body Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 骨 represents the meaning and 豊 represents the sound.

Components

骨
骨 Meaning component
gǔ, gú bone
豊
豊 Sound component
lǐ, fēng abundant
Change in sound

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 Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartthejXr̥ˤijʔ body; limbs

說文解字

《說文》：“體，總十二屬也。从骨，豊聲。”

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)

嬰 yīng infant Traditional

Original meaning: necklace

Depicts a woman (女) wearing shell ornaments (賏) around her neck. 賏 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "necklace". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "infant" or "baby".

Components

賏
賏 SoundIconic component
yīng, yìng pearls or shells strung together

Depicts two shells (貝) strung together.

女
女 Iconic component
nǚ, nü woman

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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 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

Component uses

Sound (0 of 4 verified)

纓櫻鸚瓔

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'jiengʔeŋ surround; necklace
'jiengʔeŋ baby

說文解字

《說文》：“嬰，頸飾也。从女、賏，賏，其連也。”

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)