黏痰
nián​tán

phlegm

黏 nián stick to

Components

黍
黍 Meaning component
shǔ proso millet

millet

占
占 Sound component
zhàn divine

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangnem
Unicodeniɛm

說文解字

相箸也。从黍占聲。

Sources

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

痰 tán phlegm

Phonosemantic compound. 疒 represents the meaning and 炎 represents the sound.

Components

疒
疒 Meaning component
nè sick
炎
炎 Sound component
yán flame

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangl'aːm

Sources

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