ā name prefix

Original meaning: hillside

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "hillside". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

Meaning component
hill, place

is a component form of .

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "hillside", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
able to
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC
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 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 (1 of 6 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagart'aqˤa[j] slope, river bank
'aʔˤa (< *qˤaj)阿會亘 ēhuìxuān: Skt. ābhāsvara “shining” (E. Hàn)

說文解字

大陵也。一曰曲𨸏也。从𨸏可聲。

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

hibiscus

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
cao, cǎo grass

is a component form of .

Sound component
fu, fū man

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangba
Unicodebhio

說文解字

芙蓉也。从艸夫聲。

Sources

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

luó, luō, luo net for catching birds Simplified

Simplified form of . Depicts a net () for catching birds ().

Components

Iconic component
wǎng net
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Simplified component
evening

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character .

Component uses

Sound (0 of 7 verified)

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

dí, tì tribe from northern China

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
quǎn dog

is a component form of .

Sound component
huǒ fire

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdeklˤek (name of a northern tribe)

說文解字

《說文》:“狄,赤狄,本犬種。狄之為言淫辟也。从犬,亦省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

tè, tēi, tuī excessive

Components

Sound component
to shoot
Meaning component
xīn, xin heart

heart

Character Evolution

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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartthokl̥ ˤəkerr; change; deceitful
Zhengzhangl̥ʰɯːɡ

說文解字

更也。从心弋聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica

net for catching birds Traditional

Depicts a net () for catching birds (). The (silk; thread) component was added later.

Components

Iconic component
wǎng net
Meaning component
silk

is a component form of .

Iconic component
zhuī, cuī, wéi bird

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 6 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartlarˤaj a kind of net (on a handle?) (Shuōwén: 'bird net')

說文解字

《說文》:“羅,以絲罟鳥也。从网,从維。古者芒氏初作羅。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica