黄钟毁弃瓦釜雷鸣
huáng​zhōng​huǐ​qì​wǎ​fǔ​léi​míng

talent sidelined

黄 huáng yellow Simplified

Original meaning: physically disabled

Simplified form of 黃. Pictograph of a person with a large belly, representing someone deformed. The 口 component was added to imply sighing. Based on the original meaning "physically disabled", now written as 尪. Later meaning shifted to "yellow; sallow", a skin color associated with illness.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 7 verified)

横簧磺璜潢蟥癀

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

磺

Historical Pronunciations

Middle Chinese
Unicodehuɑng

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.918
Readings & variants
Unicode

钟 zhōng cup Simplified

Simplified form of 鐘 and 鍾. Phonosemantic compound. 钅 represents the meaning and 中 represents the sound.

Components

钅
钅 Meaning component
jīn metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

中
中 Sound component
zhōng, zhòng central

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

毁 huǐ destroy Simplified

Simplified form of 毀. Phonosemantic compound. 毇 represents the sound and 土 represents the meaning.

Components

毇
毇 SoundRemnant component
huǐ to pound rice
工
工 Simplified component
gōng work

Variant of the 土 component in the traditional character 毀.

Component uses

Sound (1)

燬

Meaning (1)

燬

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.1191-1192
Readings & variants
Unicode

弃 qì abandon Simplified

Simplified form of 棄. Pictograph of two hands (廾) putting a child (𠫓) in a basket (其) for the purpose of abandoning or disposing with it. The traditional component 其 was removed for simplification.

Components

𠫓
𠫓 Iconic component
tū, yù newborn

Upside-down form of 子 (child).

棄
其 Deleted component
qí its, his, (3p possessive)

The traditional component 其 depicting a basket was removed for simplification.

廾
廾 Iconic component
gǒng two hands

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkhjijH[kʰ]i[t]-s throw away, abandon

說文解字

《說文》：“棄，捐也。从廾推棄之，从，，逆子也。弃，古文棄。”

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)

瓦 wǎ earthenware

Pictograph of an object related to pottery.

Character Evolution

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 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

Meaning (3 of 13 verified)

瓶瓷瓮甄甑瓯瓴瓿甓甏甍甕甌

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

佤

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartngwaeXC.ŋʷˤra[j]ʔ roof tile

說文解字

《說文》：“瓦，土器已燒之總名。象形。”

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)

釜 fǔ cauldron

Phonosemantic compound. 金 represents the meaning and 父 represents the sound.

Components

金
金 Meaning component
jīn metal
父
父 Sound component
fù father

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Warring States 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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 Jin 266-420 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 1 verified)

滏

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangbaʔ
Unicodebhiǒ

Sources

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

雷 léi thunder

Depicts rain (雨) and lightning (申) together.

Components

雨
雨 Iconic component
yǔ rain
申
申 Iconic component
shēn to extend

Depicts a lightning bolt. Modern form looks like unrelated 田.

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

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
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 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
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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 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 Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 4 verified)

蕾擂镭檑

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlwojC.rˤuj thunder

說文解字

《說文》：“靁，陰陽薄動，靁雨生物者也，从雨，畾象回轉形。，古文靁。，古文靁。，籀文，靁間有回，回，靁聲也。”

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)

鸣 míng cry of bird or animal Simplified

The sound 口 a bird 鸟 makes

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
鸟
鸟 Meaning component
niǎo bird

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

黃 huáng yellow Traditional

Original meaning: physically disabled

Pictograph of a person with a large belly, representing someone deformed. The 口 component was added to imply sighing. Based on the original meaning "physically disabled", now written as 尪. Later meaning shifted to "yellow; sallow", a skin color associated with illness.

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
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
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
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 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 Xin 9-23 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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 Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Jin 266-420 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

廣橫

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthwangN-kʷˤaŋ yellow

說文解字

《說文》：“黃，地之色也。从田，从炗，炗亦聲。炗，古文光。，古文黃。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.918
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

鐘 zhōng clock Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 釒 represents the meaning and 童 represents the sound.

Components

釒
釒 Meaning component
jīn metal
童
童 Sound component
tóng child

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
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 Western Zhou ~800 BC
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 Western Zhou ~800 BC
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 Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Qin 221-206 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
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
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsyowngtoŋ bell

說文解字

《說文》：“鐘，樂鐘也。秋分之音，物穜成。从金，童聲。古者垂作鐘。銿，鐘或从甬。”

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)

譭 huǐ to slander Traditional

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

Components

言
言 Meaning component
yán speech
毀
毀 SoundMeaning component
huǐ destroy

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhanghmralʔ

Sources

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

棄 qì abandon Traditional

Pictograph of two hands (廾) putting a child (𠫓) in a basket (其) for the purpose of abandoning or disposing with it.

Components

𠫓
𠫓 Iconic component
tū, yù newborn

Upside-down form of 子 (child).

其
其 Iconic component
qí its, his, (3p possessive)

Depicts a basket.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 其 than it was in ancient scripts.
廾
廾 Iconic component
gǒng two hands
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 廾 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkhjijH[kʰ]i[t]-s throw away, abandon

說文解字

《說文》：“棄，捐也。从廾推棄之，从，，逆子也。弃，古文棄。”

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)

鳴 míng cry of bird or animal Traditional

The sound 口 a bird 鳥 makes

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
鳥
鳥 Meaning component
niǎo bird

Character Evolution

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
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-Sagartmjængm.reŋcry (of birds or animals)
Zhengzhangmreŋ
Unicodemiæng

說文解字

鳥聲也。从鳥从口。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)