皮

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (皮):
* → Japanese: 皮(び) (bi); 皮(ひ) (hi)
* → Korean: 피(皮) (pi)
* → Vietnamese: bì (皮)

/pʰei̯²¹⁻³⁵/

/pʰei̯²¹⁻³⁵/

(Cantonese) Short for 皮費／皮费 (“operation expense”).


看

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 手 (“hand”) + 目 (“eye”) – to put a hand above eyes to gaze afar.
STEDT compares it to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *ka(n/ŋ) (“to know; to see”).
Also compare Tibetan མཁན་པོ (mkhan po, “professor; abbot”) (Schuessler, 2007).


程

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rleŋ): semantic 禾 (“grain”) + phonetic 呈 (OC *rleŋ, *l'eŋs) – measurements.


稗

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ras (“rice, fruit, to bear fruit, round object”) (STEDT).


稔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *njɯːm): semantic 禾 (“grain”) + phonetic 念 (OC *nɯːms).
; “year”

Han compound

(of crops, grains) to ripen; ripe; mature; fully-grown


競

According to Shuowen, an Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 誩 (“argument”) + 儿 (“man”) + 儿 (“man”) – two individuals debating vigorously. Also possibly a Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡraŋs): phonetic 誩 (OC *ɡaŋʔ, *ɡraŋs, *l̥ʰuːms) + semantic 儿 (“man”) + semantic 儿 (“man”). Compare 友.

Han compound

(literary) competitively; eagerly; trying to outdo one another


甫

→ Bouyei: bux

desc

→ Proto-Southwestern Tai: *pʰuːꟲ (“person”)

Ahom: 𑜇𑜥 (phū)

Lao: ຜູ້ (phū)

Lü: ᦕᦴᧉ (ṗhuu²)

Shan: ၽူႈ (phūu)

Thai: ผู้ (pûu)

→ Zhuang: boux

In oracle bone script, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 屮 (“vegetation”) + 田 (“field”) – garden, original form of 圃.
In bronze inscriptions, the components 屮 and 田 corrupted into 父 and 用 respectively. 父 (OC *paʔ, *baʔ) became a sound component,
making the character phono-semantic (形聲／形声, OC *paʔ).
In the modern form the components have merged into a single shape.
Probably cognate with 父 (OC *paʔ, “father”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

臺甫

台甫


牛

Wutunhua: nek

/n̠ʲi̯əu̯¹³/

/n̠ʲi̯əu̯¹³/

Pictogram (象形) of a bull's head.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ŋwa.
;"awesome"

傲人

nowadays especially of breasts, body curve

細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛／细汉偷挽匏，大汉偷牵牛

sè-hàn thau bán pû, tōa-hàn thau khan gû

牛屄

牛人

(Mainland China, Mandarin, slang) awesome; powerful

Twenty-Eight Mansions
w:Twenty-Eight Mansions

(～宿) (Chinese astronomy) Ox (one of Twenty-Eight Mansions)

(physics) Short for 牛頓／牛顿 (niúdùn, “newton”).

(Hong Kong Cantonese, computing) Short for 火牛 (“transformer”). (Classifier: 隻／只 c)


祭

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): ⺼ (“meat”) + 又 (“hand”) + 示 (“altar, ceremony”) – the hand offers a piece of meat at the altar during a ceremony.
The top is not related to but may be corrupted to 癶 in calligraphy and handwriting; 癶 also served as the second-round simplified form of the component. The left part is ⺼ twisted to the left (compare 將, 然). The right part is a form of 又.

Spring and Autumn period
w:Spring and Autumn period

(～國) Zhai (a state during the Spring and Autumn period (祭國))


窯

cave dwelling (common in the Loess Plateau, Northern China); yaodong


盆

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (盆):
* → Japanese: 盆(ぼん) (bon)
* → Korean: 분(盆) (bun)
* → Vietnamese: bồn (盆)

⇒ Japanese: 盆(ぼに) (boni)

/pʰuːn²¹⁻³⁵/

/pʰuːn²¹⁻³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯːn): phonetic 分 (OC *pɯn, *bɯns) + semantic 皿.


磨

Originally written as 䃺 (mó). Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maːl, *maːls): semantic 石 (“rock”) + abbreviated phonetic 靡 (OC *mralʔ).


祖

Characters in the same phonetic series (且) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsaːʔ): semantic 示 + phonetic 且 (OC *sʰjaːʔ, *ʔsa). Specialization of 且. See there for more.
;“to Zucc”

Han compound

One of the two suffixes of emperors' temple names.

(Cantonese) A transliteration of the English male given name Joe


秒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mewʔ): semantic 禾 (“cereal; grain”) + phonetic 少 (OC *hmjewʔ, *hmjews).

Han compound

一天有86400秒。

Classifier for measuring an angle or latitude/longitude: second; arcsecond

(obsolete) unit of length equal to 0.0001 cun


竄

/t͡sʰu̯än⁵¹/

/t͡sʰuɑŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰuaŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰueŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰu̯än⁵¹/

/t͡sʰuɑŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰuaŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰueŋ²¹³/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 鼠 (“mouse”) + 穴 (“hole”) – to hide in a hole.
Related to 鑽 (OC *ʔsoːn, *ʔsoːns, “to bore, perforate”), with semantic shift "to bore" > "to hide (in a bored-out area)" > "to go into exile" (STEDT).

改觀

to change appearance, to change one's view

A few facts about Pelosi's "sneaky" visit to Taiwan

2022, Xinhua News Agency, http://www.xinhuanet.com/2022-08/25/c_1128944443.htm

佩洛西竄臺的若干事實

佩洛西窜台的若干事实

Counter-measures against Tsai Ing-wen's "sneaky" visit are necessary and correct

2023, People's Daily, http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2023-04/10/content_25974729.htm

zhēnduì Cài Yīngwén cuàn Měi cǎiqǔ fǎnzhì cuòshī bìyào qiě zhèngdāng

針對蔡英文竄美採取反制措施必要且正當

针对蔡英文窜美采取反制措施必要且正当

(neologism, officialese, derogatory) Short for 竄訪／窜访 (cuànfǎng)


稿

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kaːwʔ): semantic 禾 + phonetic 高 (OC *kaːw).

Han compound

稿件

(literary, or in compounds) looks; appearance (of a person)


稻

→ Proto-Vietic: *ʔa-lɔːʔ (“paddy rice”)

Vietnamese: lúa

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'uːʔ): semantic 禾 (“grain, cereal, rice”) + phonetic 舀 (OC *lowʔ, *lu, *lo).
Area word (rice culture originated in the south). Often compared with Proto-Hmong-Mien *mbləu (“rice plant/paddy”), whence White Hmong nplej (Bodman, 1980).
The relationship with similar-looking Mon-Khmer words is ambiguous (Schuessler, 2007). Ferlus (2010) proposes a connection to Proto-Mon-Khmer *sruʔ (“paddy”), which in turn is linked to Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₂rawʔ (“taro”), as the two plants share the same farming niche.
Alternatively, Sagart (2011) derives this word from 舀 (OC *lowʔ, *lu, *lo, “to scoop (hulled grain) from a mortar”). If so, since the Hmong-Mien comparandum only has the derived sense of “rice”, it would be borrowed from Chinese rather than the other way around.
The native Min word 粙 may be a variant (Schuessler, 2007, apud Norman, p.c.).


穢

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qʷads): semantic 禾 (“grain”) + phonetic 歲 (OC *sqʰʷads, *sqʰʷad).

Han compound

(dialectal Hakka, Malaysian Mandarin) disgusting; revolting


破

→ Thai: ผ่า (pàa)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰaːls): semantic 石 + phonetic 皮 (OC *bral).
According to Schuessler (2007), cognate with Burmese ဖဲ့ (hpai., “to break off a small piece”), Dimasa bai (“break”), Mizo peh (peʔ, “to break; be broken”). However, STEDT derives the above three terms from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *(p/b)aj (“to break out; to break off; to hatch”) and does not compare 破 (OC *pʰaːls) to it.


符

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bo): semantic 𥫗 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 付 (OC *pos).


窗

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (窗):
* → Korean: 창(窓) (chang)
* → Vietnamese: song (窗)

→ Zhuang: cueng

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/tʰɔŋ³³⁻³³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰy̯æn³³/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/tʰɔŋ³³⁻³³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰy̯æn³³/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 穴 (“hole”) + 囱 (“window”).
From circumstantial noun prefix *s- + 通 (OC l̥ˤoŋ, “to penetrate”), literally "where light penetrates" (Baxter and Sagart, 2014).

Han compound

窻
䆫
窓
牕
*囪
囱
牎
𤗄
𪺠
𤗉
𮈾
𡆧

窗簾

窗帘

打開個窗

打开个窗


稅

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (稅):
* → Japanese: 税(ぜい) (zei)
* → Korean: 세(稅) (se)
* → Vietnamese: thuế (稅)

desctree

→ Thai: ส่วย (sùai)
→ Northern Thai: ᩈ᩠ᩅ᩠᩵ᨿ
→ Lao: ສ່ວຍ (suāi)
→ Lü: ᦉᦽᧈ (ṡoy¹)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hljods): semantic 禾 + phonetic 兌 (OC *l'oːds).

Han compound

稅厝

税厝


穫

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷaːɡ): semantic 禾 + phonetic 蒦 ().


稟

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 㐭 (“granary”) + 禾 (“grain”) meaning "to gift grain".


稟

Alternative form of 廩／廪 (“granary; barn”)

Alternative form of 懍／懔 (lǐn, “to fear; to venerate”)


眼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋrɯːnʔ): semantic 目 (“eye”) + phonetic 艮 (OC *kɯːns).
Derived from Etymology 2 (Sagart, 1999). Displaced common Sino-Tibetan 目 (OC *muɡ, “eye”) in many dialects.

Han compound

(Cantonese, mahjong) two identical tiles which are an essential part of a legal winning hand


箴

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kjɯm): semantic 𥫗 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 咸 (OC *ɡrɯːm) – a bamboo needle, probe.
Same word as 針 (OC *kjum). See there for more.

Han compound

Alternative form of 針／针 (zhēn, “needle; probe”)


禾

Pictogram (象形) – picture of a plant stalk. The stalk is more recognizable in older form. Similar to 来 but unrelated to 釆.
Cognate with Tibetan གྲོ (gro, “wheat”) (Hill, 2019).


省

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (省):
* → Japanese: 省(しょう) (shō)
* → Korean: 성(省) (seong)
* → Vietnamese: tỉnh (省)

→ Bouyei: senj

→ Lü: ᦵᦌᦲᧃ (soen)

→ Zhuang: sengj

Originally 眚. In oracle bone script, an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sreŋʔ, *sleŋʔ): phonetic 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs, “sprout”) + 目 (“eye”) – "to inspect plants". In Shuowen Jiezi, 眚 and 省 became separate characters. 生 corrupted over time into 少.

Han compound

GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

外務省

外务省

社會安全省

社会安全省

^⁜ (historical, by extension) department (of a government)

ministry of the Japanese or North Korean government

福建省

province; (originally) Short for 行省 (xíngshěng). (Classifier: 個／个)

省港澳 ― Shěng-Gǎng-Ào ― Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau

(chiefly Guangdong) Short for 省城 (shěngchéng, “Guangzhou”).


禮

Austroasiatic languages
Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *riːʔ) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 礻 (“altar”) + phonetic 豊 (OC *riːʔ, “ceremony”) – performing rites at the altar.
Originally written 豊, see there for more.
Uncertain. Schuessler (2007) proposes that this is an old areal etymon. Compare Tibetan ཞེ་ས (zhe sa, “respect, honor, deference”), རྗེ་བོ (rje bo, “lord, nobleman”), རྗེད (rjed, “to honor; reverence”); Mru [script needed] (ri, “ritual”) is possibly borrowed from Austroasiatic (cf. Mon [script needed] (rèh seh, “to respect, to revere”); Thin Khmu [script needed] (rɛh, “to lift up”); both from Proto-Mon-Khmer *reh (“to raise up, to exalt”)).

cog

礼
豊
礼
𠃞
𤔑
𥜨
𥜪
𫌓
𢢪
𥘆
𰳰
𮕤
𥝏

to treat worthies and intellectuals respectfully and courteously

敬賢禮士

敬贤礼士

48th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "ritual" (𝌵)


籲

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *los): phonetic 籥 (OC *lowɢ) + semantic 頁 (“head”).

Han compound

2020 May 2, 甘瑜, “「龍門」又嗌告急「黃絲」籲咪盲撐”, in 《文匯報》 [Wen Wei Po], page A9:

m⁴ siu² “wong⁴ si¹” dou¹ jyu⁶ tung⁴ lou⁶ m⁴ hou² maang⁴ caang³.

唔少「黃絲」都籲同路唔好盲撐。

唔少「黄丝」都吁同路唔好盲撑。


笙

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (笙):
* → Japanese: 笙(しょう) (shō); 笙(そう) (sō)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sreŋ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mriŋ (“sound; noise; animal cry”); cognate with 鳴 (OC *mreŋ, “to make a sound”), 鈴 (OC *reːŋ, “bell”), Burmese မြည် (mrany, “to make a sound”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

inh

(music) sheng (a Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes)


窄

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsraːɡ): semantic 穴 (“cave; hole”) + phonetic 乍 (OC *zraːɡs)


童

In oracle bone inscriptions, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 䇂 (“chisel”) + 見 (“kneeling person with a huge eye”). It depicts a person getting their eye (目) gouged out, a common punishment for slaves in ancient China. Compare 民, 臧.
In bronze inscriptions, the phonetic component 東 (OC *toːŋ) was added, making the character phono-semantic (形聲／形声).
In the modern form 䇂 has corrupted into 立. The bottom 里 derives from 東 combining with 土, similar to 重.
; “child; servant boy; virgin; bare”
; “shaman”

12th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "youthfulness" (𝌑)


秀

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (秀):
* → Japanese: 秀(しゅ) (shu)
* → Korean: 수(秀) (su)
* → Vietnamese: tú (秀)

From an earlier form 𥝙, attested in the stone drum inscriptions (石鼓文 (shígǔwén)) from the Warring States period.
According to Chi (2010), the character is an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 禾 (“rice plant”) + 引 (“to draw out flowers”) — blooming of a rice plant. The Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts (睡簡) recorded this character as ⿱禾引. The bottom component 弓 found in the stone drum inscriptions is likely a reduction of 引.
Xu Kai (徐鍇), the author of 《說文解字繫傳》 (10th century AD) gave the following explanation: Pictogram (象形): 禾 (“plant”) + 乃, resembling a fruit/an ear hanging off a plant.
Shuowen states that this character was tabooed at that time (2nd century AD) and so did not elaborate on its origin, due to it being the birth name of Emperor Guangwu of Han.
May be a causative of 褎 (OC *lɯws, “growth of seedlings”). Compare Proto-Vietic *m-loh (“to blossom”) (whence Vietnamese trổ (“to burst, to open, to display”), lổ (“naked”)), and Khmer លាស់ (lŏəh, “to grow, to blossom, to prosper”).


籮

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raːl): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 羅 (OC *raːl).
Compare Mizo hrai (“basket for measuring rice”) (Schuessler, 2007).


竊

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

The current form likely derives from a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰleːd): semantic 宀 + phonetic 䊪 (OC *m·raːds, *m·rads, *m·raːd), as attested in the Western Han period. 宀 is later replaced with 穴, and 萬 corrupts into 廿 and 禼. Based on the corrupted form, Shuowen erroneously interprets this character as a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰleːd): semantic 穴 (“cave; hole”) + semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 廿 (OC *zid) + phonetic 禼 (OC *sed). In the current form, 廿 is omitted and 米 is replaced with 釆.

Han compound

窃
𫞺
𫁝
𥨱
𥨵
𢿝
𥩓


窩

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qloːl): semantic 穴 (“cave”) + phonetic 咼 (OC *kʰʷroːl).


篇

(historical) bound set of bamboo slips used for recordkeeping


簾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·rem): semantic 竹 + phonetic 廉 (OC *ɡ·rem).


積

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔseɡs, *ʔseɡ): semantic 禾 + phonetic 責 (OC *ʔsreːɡ).
* (to collect; to accumulate): Cognate with Tibetan རྩིག་པ (rtsig pa) (Schuessler, 2007).
* (jack; knave, to jack): From English jack.

Han compound

to store up crops; to store cereal crops

to hold in store; to store up (for future use); to be latent

(mathematics) Short for 乘積／乘积 (chéngjī, “product (in a multiplication)”).

乘積

sixtieth (60th) tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "accumulation" (𝍁)


粿

→ English: kuih, kueh

→ Malay: kuih

→ Sundanese: kuéh

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kloːlʔ): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 果 (OC *kloːlʔ)
Probably the same word as 果 (OC *kloːlʔ, “fruit”) (Jerry Norman apud Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

rice cake, typically steamed and made from glutinous rice; kuih


篋

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰeːb): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 匧 (OC *kʰeːb).


穡

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *srɯɡ): semantic 禾 (“cereal; grain”) + phonetic 嗇 (OC *srɯɡ). Specialization of 嗇 (OC *srɯɡ).
Probably related to 采 (OC *s.r̥ˤəʔ, “to pluck”) (Baxter, 1992; Sagart, 1999; Baxter and Sagart, 2014). See there for more.
Schuessler (2007) compares it to Proto-Lolo-Burmese *C-šak (“to pluck; to pick (a fruit, etc.)”), as well as Khmer ច្រូត (crout, “to reap; to harvest”).

cog

(literary or Hokkien) farming; farm labour


篩

(dated) to warm up (an alcoholic beverage)


秦

Cao Wei
Chen dynasty
Eastern Han dynasty
Eastern Wei
Eastern Wu
Eastern Zhou dynasty
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Han dynasty
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
Jin dynasty (265–420)
Liang dynasty
Liao dynasty
Liu Song dynasty
Ming dynasty
Northern Qi
Northern Wei
Northern Zhou
Northern and Southern dynasties
Qin dynasty
Qing dynasty
Shang dynasty
Shu Han
Shuowen
Shuowen Jiezi
Song dynasty
Southern Qi
Southern and Northern dynasties
Spring and Autumn period
Sui dynasty
Tang dynasty
Three Kingdoms
Warring States period
Western Han dynasty
Western Liao
Western Wei
Western Xia
Western Zhou dynasty
Xia dynasty
Xin dynasty
Yuan dynasty
Zhou dynasty
oracle bone script

→ English: Ch'in, Chin, Qin, Tsin

desctree

→? Sanskrit: चीन (cīna)
Niya Prakrit: 𐨕𐨁𐨣 (cina), 𐨕𐨁𐨎𐨣 (ciṃna)
→ Middle Persian: 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (čīn)
Classical Persian: چین (čīn)
Dari: چین (čīn)
Iranian Persian: چین (čin)
Tajik: Чин (Čin)
→ Arabic: اَلصِّين (aṣ-ṣīn)
→ Ancient Greek: Θῖνα (Thîna), Θῖναι (Thînai), Σῖναι (Sînai), Τζίνιστα (Tzínista)
→ Latin: Sinae
→ Portuguese: China
→ Italian: Cina
→ Sardinian: Cina
→ English: China
→ Middle Chinese: 支那 (MC tsye na)
Chinese: 支那 (Zhīnà)
→ Japanese: 支那 (しな, shina)
→ Korean: 지나 (jina)
→ Vietnamese: Chi Na
→ Malay: Cina
Indonesian: Cina
→ Malayalam: ചീന (cīna)
→ Telugu: చీనా (cīnā)
→ Kannada: ಚೀನಾ (cīnā)

In the oracle bone script, an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 午 (“pestle”, the original form of 杵) + 廾 (“two hands”) + two 禾 (“grain”). The most conservative variant is 𥢮. A form of its bronze inscription containing only one 禾 developed into the subsequent small seal script form in Shuowen. The 午 and 廾 components have fused into 𡗗 in the modern form. Old Chinese *dzin may derive from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-dz(j)a-k/n/t/s (“to eat; food; to feed; rice”), also recorded as *dzaʔ (Schuessler, 2007).
According to Shuowen Jiezi, the glyph is an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): abbreviated 舂 (“to pound grain”) + 禾 (“grain”) – husked grain. However this would necessitate a phonological shift that is considered unlikely, and furthermore is likely a folk etymology altogether.

Han compound

The Marquis of Jin and the Earl of Qin laid siege to [the capital of] Zheng, under the pretext of the [Earl of] Zheng's disrespectful treatments towards [Marquis of] Jin and double-mindedness towards Chu. Jin armies were stationed at Hanling; Qin armies at Fannan.

Jìn hóu, Qín bó wéi Zhèng, yǐ qí wúlǐ yú Jìn, qiě èr yú Chǔ yě. Jìn jūn Hánlíng, Qín jūn Fánnán.

晉侯、秦伯圍鄭，以其無禮於晉，且貳於楚也。晉軍函陵，秦軍氾南。

晋侯、秦伯围郑，以其无礼于晋，且贰于楚也。晋军函陵，秦军氾南。


移

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lal): semantic 禾 + phonetic 多 (OC *ʔl'aːl).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/m/s-laj ~ r/s-lej ~ b-rej (“to change, exchange, buy”). Compare also Tibetan རྗེ་བ་ (rje ba, “to change, barter”) and Burmese လှယ် (hlai, “to exchange”).
Characters 易 (OC *leɡ, “to change”) and 賜 (OC *sleːɡs, “to give”) are derivates of it.

cog

䄬
迻
乁
扡
𡖰
𢼏
𥞀
𥟻
𧚕
⿰⿱一𤓯多


禪

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (禪):
* → Japanese: 禅(ぜん) (zen) (see there for further descendants)
* → Korean: 선(禪) (seon)
* → Vietnamese: thiền (禪)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djan, *djans): semantic 示 + phonetic 單 (OC *taːn, *djan, *djanʔ, *djans).
Pronunciation 1 is short for 禪那, which is a borrowing from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “dhyana”).

Han compound

(Buddhism) dhyana; deep meditation; contemplation


糰

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 團 (OC *doːn, “ball”).
From 團 (OC *doːn, “ball; lump”).


禁

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *krɯm, *krɯms): phonetic 林 (OC *ɡ·rɯm) + semantic 示 (“altar”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *krim (“custom, prohibition”). Compare Tibetan ཁྲིམས (khrims, “law, rule; habit”), Mizo hrem (“to punish”) and Japhug khrɯm (“punishment”), although the latter may be borrowed from Tibetan (Jacques, 2015; Jacques, 2004: 89).
Schessler (2007) also adds Burmese ခြိမ်း (hkrim:, “to threaten”) to the list of the possible cognates, however this word likely belongs to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-krim (“to threaten”).


直

desc

→ Old Turkic: tik (vertical, straight, straightforward)

Oghuz: دیك

Azerbaijani: dik

Turkish: dik

Turkmen: dik

Turkmen: dikan (honest, straight, direct)

Oracle bone script: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 目 (“eye”) + 丨 (“vertical stroke”) – vertical stroke above the eye; looking straight ahead. Then, a black dot was drawn inside the vertical stroke and this point later became a horizontal stroke (hence getting a shape similar to 十).
The line on the side appears in bronze script and subsequently stretched under the 目 shape, while the traditional form appears in seal script.
A conservative version is used inside the character 𢛳 (> 德), while the modern version is used inside its variant 惪. Unrelated to 具 and 真.
; "simply; only"
; "straight; right"
; “heterosexual”

Han compound

(Chinese calligraphy) vertical stroke in Chinese characters


端

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (端):
* → Japanese: 端(たん) (tan)
* → Korean: 단(端) (dan)
* → Vietnamese: đoan (端)

Characters in the same phonetic series (耑) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *toːn): semantic 立 + phonetic 耑 (OC *toːn).

Han compound

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 端 (MC twan)


稱

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰjɯŋ, *tʰjɯŋs): semantic 禾 (“rice”) + phonetic 爯 (OC *tʰjɯŋ) – measure rice.

Han compound

別稱

别称


稱

(Mandarin, colloquial) to have (money or properties)


票

Simplified from 𤐫 (火 → 示 and 𢍱 → 覀). Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 火 (“fire”) + semantic 𢍱 (“to rise high”), which represents two pairs of hands holding and rising an object, perhaps a bag or basket (西). The character originally represented the idea of sparks rising up. By extension, it was also used to mean "token" or "label." Then, the two pair of hands disappeared in the modern version.
Unrelated to the original version of 要 and 栗.

我投王先生的票。

ballot; voting slip; vote (Classifier: 張／张 m)

(Chinese opera) amateur performance of Chinese opera


筍

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sqʰʷinʔ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 旬 (OC *sɢʷin).


粙

Probably a variant of 稻 (OC *l'uːʔ) (Schuessler, 2007, apud Norman, p.c.).


籌

/t͡sʰɐu̯²¹⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰɐu̯²¹⁻³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *du): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 壽 (OC *djuʔ, *djus).


築

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tuɡ): phonetic 筑 (OC *tuɡ, *duɡ) + semantic 木 (“wood”).
According to STEDT, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsuk ~ tsik (“to build”); cognate with Tibetan རྩིག (rtsig, “to build”), Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔtsukᴴ (“to build”) (whence Burmese ဆောက် (hcauk, “to build”)).
On the other hand, Schuessler (2007) derives this from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *truk, whence also Tibetan རྡུག (rdug, “to conquer; to vanquish”) and Burmese တိုက် (tuik, “to dash against; to bump against”). STEDT derives the Tibetan word from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *m/r-tuk (“cut; knock; pound”).

cog

(literary) wooden pestle for pounding dirt


笠

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·rɯb): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 立 (OC *rɯb).
Compare Proto-Tai *klɤpᴰ (“bamboo hat”) (Schuessler, 2007).


篷

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *boːŋ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 逢 (OC *boŋ).
Variant of 帆 (OC *bom), which has been related to 風 (OC *plum, “wind”) (Karlgren, 1957); if so, it may be from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *buŋ (“wind”) (STEDT).

Han compound

帳篷

帐篷


範

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bomʔ): semantic 車 (“carriage”) + abbreviated phonetic 笵 (OC *bomʔ).

Han compound

範疇／范畴

Family Precepts (by Sima Guang, a famous chancellor of the Song Dynasty)

《家範》

《家范》


筋

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 竹 (“bamboo”) + 𠛧 (“peel”) – sinew (bamboo is sinewy when peeled). The component 力 is a corruption of 刀 (刂).

(anatomy) vein that stands out on the skin; prominent superficial vein


篾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *meːd): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + abbreviated phonetic 蔑 (OC *meːd, *meːd).

Han compound

篾席 ― mièxí

made using strips of bamboo, reed or stalk


當

desc

→ Vietnamese: đang (present tense marker)

Characters in the same phonetic series (尚) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *taːŋ, *taːŋs): phonetic 尚 (OC *djaŋ, *djaŋs) + semantic 田 (“field”) – fields facing each other.
當 (OC *taːŋs, “right; suitable; ought to”) (pronunciation 2) is the exopassive derivation of 當 (OC *taːŋ, “to have the value of; to be equal of; to face; vis-à-vis”) (pronunciation 1), literally "what is being matched".
黨 (OC *taːŋʔ, “class; party”) is the endoactive derivation of 當 (OC *taːŋ, “to be equal of”), literally "that which is equal in rank" (Schuessler, 2007).
Perhaps cognate with Tibetan དང (dang, “(together) with; and”) (Schuessler, 2007).

cog

當權

当权

to undertake; to manage; to take charge of

當場

当场

just at (a place); at or in the very same

(literary) to make a judgement; to sentence


當

desc

→ Vietnamese: đáng (“worthy; to deserve”)

→ Zhuang: dangq (“to pawn; to be the same as; to treat as”)


祝

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (祝):
* → Vietnamese: chúc (祝)

Ideogram (指事) – a man kneeling with open mouth (兄) next to an altar (示).
Perhaps related to 觸 (OC *tʰjoɡ, “to butt, knock against”); see there for more (STEDT).

(literary) temple attendant who burns joss sticks and candles


穀

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kloːɡ): semantic 禾 (“grain”) + phonetic 𣪊 ().
From Austroasiatic or an area word (Schuessler, 2007); compare:
* Proto-Vietic *r-koːʔ (“husked rice”), Khmu [script needed] (rŋkoʔ, “husked rice”)
* Jingpho n-gu (n³³ ku³³, “rice (uncooked)”) (from Austroasiatic)
* Proto-Tai *C̬.qawꟲ (“rice”) (borrowed from Austroasiatic, whence Thai ข้าว (kâao, “rice”))
* Burmese ကောက် (kauk, “rice; paddy”) (supported by Hill, 2019)
STEDT compares this to provisional Proto-Tibeto-Burman *kuk (“rice, grain (crop)”).

cog

Setaria italica
Setaria italica#Translingual

foxtail millet (Setaria italica, the plant or the unhulled grain)


突

Characters in the same phonetic series (突) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 穴 (“cave; den”) + 犬 (“dog”) – a dog suddenly coming out of a den.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/m-du (“to dig, hoe”); cognate with Burmese တူး (tu:, “to dig”) (STEDT).

inh

Used in the place name 趵突泉, a famous spring in Jinan, Shandong, China.


籃

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·raːm): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 監 (OC *kraːm, *kraːms).

Han compound

女籃

女篮

男籃

男篮


筵

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (筵):
* → Japanese: 筵(えん) (en)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lan): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 延 (OC *lan, *lans).

Han compound

盛筵

喜筵

(obsolete or in compounds) banquet; feast

The Classic of Poetry, c. 11ᵗʰ – 7ᵗʰ centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

或肆之筵，或授之几。


穴

Characters in the same phonetic series (穴) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形)—possibly an entrance to a cave or a door flap. A conservative version is 𠕉. See also 奐.


竺

Shuowen: Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tuːɡ, *tuːɡ, *tuɡ): phonetic 𥫗 (OC *tuɡ) + semantic 二 ― thick.


箕

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kɯ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 其 (OC *kɯ, *ɡɯ). Specialization of 其.

𠀠
𢌰
𠔋
𠀮
𡿸
𠔐
𠔝
𠥊
𠥩
𠴩
𠔛
𠷛
𠚙
𦋊
𥫶
𥫠
𥫚
䇧

(～宿) (Chinese astronomy) Winnowing Basket (one of Twenty-Eight Mansions)


筒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *doːŋ, *doːŋs): semantic 𥫗 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 同 (OC *doːŋ)

Han compound

tube-shaped part of an item of clothing or footwear


知

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (知):
* → Japanese: 知(ち) (chi)
* → Korean: 지(知) (ji)
* → Vietnamese: tri (知)

Han_dynasty#Western_Han
Warring States
oracle bone inscriptions

Originally the same character as 智, used interchangeably. In oracle bone inscriptions, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 大 (“adult”) + 口 (“mouth”) + 子 (“child”) – to transmit knowledge. In the Warring States period, 大 corrupted into 矢 (OC *hliʔ) and became a sound component. In Western Han script the component 子 started being dropped, arriving at the modern form.
The two pronunciations are cognate. The word is possibly of Sino-Tibetan origin, compare Mizo hria, hriat (“to know”), Jingpho chye (“to know”), Tibetan རིག (rig, “to know”) (Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with 智 (OC *ʔl'es).

Han compound

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 知 (MC trje)


簿

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *baːʔ, *baːɡ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 溥 (OC *pʰaːʔ, *paːɡ).


粗

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰaː, *zaːʔ): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 且 (OC *sʰjaːʔ, *ʔsa).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ra (“hard, difficult”); cognate with Tibetan སྲ་མོ (sra mo, “hard”) (STEDT).


箏

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (箏):
* → Japanese: 箏(そう) (sō)
* → Korean: 쟁(箏) (jaeng)
* → Vietnamese: tranh (箏)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsreːŋ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 爭 (OC *ʔsreːŋ).

Han compound

古箏

古筝


策

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (策):
* → Japanese: 策(さく) (saku)

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰreːɡ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 朿 (OC *sʰeɡs).

Han compound

筞
*筴
箣
𠞁
𠞦
𠷽
𢄆
𥳯


算

desc

→ Lü: ᦉᦸᧃᧈ (ṡoan¹)

→ Lü: ᦉᦸᧃᧈ (ṡoan¹)

In current form, 竹 (“bamboo”) + 目 + 廾.
The 目 portion may have originally represented counting rods (or possibly an abacus, although the character is believed to predate its invention). Such rods were typically made from bamboo. Perhaps related to the top component of 學, hence to 爻.
Similar but unrelated to 具.
It has been compared with Tibetan གཤོར (gshor, “to count, to measure, to weigh”) by Gong (1995).

cog

Alternative form of 筭 (suàn, “ancient device for counting numbers”)

筭

The exchange rate between Japanese Yen and Hong Kong Dollars has dropped below the ratio of 1 JPY to 0.06 HKD [literally: …below the ratio of 6.]

jat⁶ jyun⁴ deoi³ gong² jyun⁴ dit³ cyun¹ luk⁶ syun³.

日元兌港元跌穿六算。

日元兑港元跌穿六算。

(Hong Kong) ratio between two currencies, expressed with only the first significant figure


穿

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰy̯e̞³³/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰy̯e̞³³/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 穴 (“cave”) + 牙 (“tooth”) – to penetrate through, to pass through.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan [Term?]; cognate with Tibetan རྟོལ (rtol, “to bore; to pierce; to perforate”) (Schuessler, 2007).

cog

我們穿綠色的運動鞋。

我们穿绿色的运动鞋。

to wear; to put on (clothing); to have (clothing) on


穿

From 上 (OC *djaŋʔ, *djaŋs) (Yang, 2016).

(Min) to wear; to put on (clothing); to have (clothing) on


瓜

→ Bouyei: gval

→ Zhuang: gve

→ Thai: กวา (gwaa)

Pictogram (象形) - a pictograph of a melon suspended by its vines.
Etymology not clear (Schuessler, 2007).
Possibly a borrowing from Proto-Hmong-Mien *klˠa (“cucumber”) (Ostapirat, 2016).
Compare also Tibetan ཀུ་བ (ku ba, “gourd”), Burmese သခွား (sa.hkwa:, “cucumber”) (Luce, 1981).


箬

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *njaɡ): semantic 竹 + phonetic 若 (OC *nja, *njaʔ, *njaɡ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nas (“leaf”).


真

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (真):
* → Japanese: 真(しん) (shin)
* → Korean: 진(眞) (jin)
* → Vietnamese: chân (真)

→ Lao: ຈິງ (ching)

→ Old Turkic: 𐰲𐰃𐰣 (čin)

→ Kazakh: шын (şyn)

→ Uzbek: chin

→ Uyghur: چىن (chin)

→ Karakalpak: шын

→ Nogai: шын (şın)

→ Kyrgyz: чын (cın)

→ Yakut: дьиҥ (jiñ)

→ Tatar: чын (çın)

→ Tuvan: шын (şın)

→ Southern Altai: чын (čïn)

→ Bashkir: ысын (ısın)

→ Turkmen: çyn (чын)

→ Chuvash: чӑн (čăn)

→ Eastern Mari: чын (čyn)

→ Thai: จริง (jing)

Originally phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔljin): phonetic 𠂈 (OC *l'ɯːnʔ) + 貝 (“cowry”); 𠂈 (a knife or dagger) was then a phonetic component. Often 丁 (OC *rteːŋ, *teːŋ) (a nail) was added as a second phonetic component at the bottom; originally, it appeared as a black dot. He Linyi posits it to be the original character for 珍 (OC *ʔl'ɯn, “rare; valuable”).
The sound component 𠂈 corrupted into 十 in the modern form, and into 匕 in the orthodox seal script form 眞. The bottom of the character in both forms derives from the components 貝 and 丁 corrupting into 目 and 丌.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan; cognate with Tibetan བདེན (bden, “true; truth”). Possibly connected with 貞 (OC *teŋ) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

眞
𡙊
𠤛
⿱𥃭大
⿱𥃰大
⿱𥃰六
𰶵
𰶱
⿳上目大
⿳止目六
⿳十且八

(Chinese calligraphy) Short for 真書／真书 (zhēnshū, “regular script”).


糾

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kɯw, *krɯwʔ): phonetic 丩 (OC *kɯw, *krɯw, “to entangle”) + semantic 糹 (“silk”). Originally written 丩.
Compare possibly Burmese ကျိုး (kyui:, “result, effect, advantage”) (Luce, 1981).

cog

纠
丩
𠃏
𠃖
𠃚
糺
𥾆
紏
𠛩
𠞎
𠜉
𠝙
𢒥


箭

→ Vietnamese: tên

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔslens): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 前 (OC *zleːn).

Han compound

(archery, weaponry) arrow (Classifier: 支 m c mn)


糧

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raŋ): semantic 米 + phonetic 量 (OC *raŋ, *raŋs).

Han compound

粮
粮
𥣷
𩞯
𣊼
⿰米卜


糴

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'eːwɢ): semantic 入 (“in”) + phonetic 䊮 (OC *l'eːwɢ, “grain”)


紛

Characters in the same phonetic series (分) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰɯn): semantic 糸 + phonetic 分 (OC *pɯn, *bɯns).


答

→ Proto-Southwestern Tai: *tɔːpᴰ¹ᴸ

Thai: ตอบ (dtɔ̀ɔp)

Cognate with 對 (OC *tuːbs, “to respond”) (Schuessler, 2007), which is the exoactive of 答 (OC *tkuːb). Compare Tibetan འདེབས ('debs, “to cast; to send”) (Hill, 2019).


紹

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djewʔ): semantic 糸 + phonetic 召 (OC *dews, *djews).


科

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (科):
* → Japanese: 科(か) (ka)
* → Korean: 과(科) (gwa)
* → Vietnamese: khoa (科)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰoːl, *kʰoːls) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): phonetic 禾 (OC *ɡoːl, “grain”) + semantic 斗 (“measuring tool”).
Possibly a *k-prefixed noun derived from 和 (OC *ɡoːl), hence “the things which harmonize” (Schuessler, 2007).


窮

/t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡuŋ): semantic 穴 (“cave; nest; confinement”) + phonetic 躬 (OC *kuŋ).
Possibly a vocalic variant of 邛 (OC *ɡoŋ, “distress”) (Schuessler, 2007). See there for more.

Han compound

貧窮

贫穷

人窮志不窮

人穷志不穷

窮鄉僻壤

穷乡僻壤

69th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "exhaustion, tiredness" (𝍊)

窮大

穷大

俚讀書窮用功。

俚读书穷用功。


籍

/t͡siɪk̚¹²¹/

/t͡siɪk̚¹²¹/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zjaːɡ): semantic 𥫗 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 耤 (OC *zjaːɡ) – the (bamboo) census books.


筷

From 快 (kuài), originally euphemistic for 箸 (zhù), homophonous to 住 (zhù, “to stay; to stop”). See 筷子 (kuàizi) for more.

(Wu) Classifier for an amount of food held with a pair of chopsticks.


篦

→ Middle Korean: 빗 (pis, “comb”)

Korean: 빗 (bit, “comb”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *piː, *bis): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 𣬉 ().
Related to 比 (OC *pis, *bis, “dense; closely packed”) (Shiming; Wang, 1982; Zhengzhang, 2003). Compare 梳 (OC *sŋra, “comb”), usually thought to be related to 疏 (OC *sŋra, “sparse”).


縝

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰin, *ʔljinʔ, *tʰjin): semantic 糸 + phonetic 真 (OC *ʔljin).


緋

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pɯl): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 非 (OC *pɯl).
Maybe a cognate of 翡 (OC *bɯls, “a kind of red kingfisher”).


箍

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʷaː): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 㧜 ()

Han compound

Kho͘ saⁿ tō sī sì kho͘ saⁿ kiám saⁿ kho͘.

箍三就是四箍三減三箍。

箍三就是四箍三减三箍。

(Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew, Malaysian Cantonese) Classifier for money: yuan; dollar; buck; peso; ringgit; rupiah


紐

/n̠ʲi̯əu̯⁴¹/

/n̠ʲi̯əu̯⁴¹/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *nuʔ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 丑 (OC *n̥ʰuʔ).
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-na ~ s-naːr (“nose”); see there for more discussion.

inh

transliteration for "New" in place names; e.g. 紐約／纽约 (Niǔyuē), 紐西蘭／纽西兰 (Niǔxīlán).


的

Old Turkic: tek (-ish, like)

Kypchak: -daq, -day

Karluk: -daq, -day

Oghuz: -dek, -tek

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pleːwɢ): semantic 白 (“white”) + phonetic 勺 (OC *pljewɢ, *bljewɢ).
The original form was 旳 with the meaning of “bright”, hence the initial 日 semantic. See Etymology 1 below.
For the "bright" sense, probably related to 曜 (OC *lewɢs, “to shine; daylight”); see there for more (STEDT).
The sense of “mark in a target” may be secondary. Alternatively, it may be an independent root on its own. Compare Tibetan རྟགས (rtags, “mark, sign”).

Han compound

旳
㢩
墑
𥡦
𤾠
𬐄
ㄉ
der
个
亓
兮
ㄟ
之

Alternative form: (ancient) 旳

(historical) red dot worn on the centre of the forehead by women; bindi


的

Wutunhua: -de

→ Khmer: ទី (tii)

Tang Dynasty
Thomas Barclay (missionary)

First attested in the Tang Dynasty as 底. This glyph was borrowed later to represent de, the possessive marker in Northern Chinese, superseding the earlier 底 as a way to write this word.
There are three main competing proposals for its etymology:
* Derived from the lenition of the literary genitive marker 之 (OC *tjɯ) (Demiéville, 1950; Wang, 1958; Mei, 1988), which is still preserved in many phrases, and in the written form to some extent, especially in Taiwan.
* Derived from the lenition of 者 (OC *tjaːʔ, “nominalizer > medieval possessive”) (Lü, 1943; Yuan et al., 1996; Yang, R., 2016). Note that 的 is also a nominalizer like 者 in Classical Chinese.
* Derived from the lenition of Middle Chinese demonstrative 底 (MC tejX) (Shi, 2015, 2023).
If from either of the first two etymons, possibly cognate with the demonstrative 這／这 (zhè).
Possibly cognate with the particle sense of 地, which is homophonic but now has its specialised usage.
In contemporary times it is also used to represent unrelated equivalent particles in other Chinese varieties. Examples include Hokkien ê (variously also written as 个, 之, 兮, 亓, ㄟ, possibly derived from 其 according to Douglas (1873) although the Arte de la Lengua Chiõ Chiu (1620) and Dictionario Hispanico Sinicum (1626-1642) historically used 个), Eastern Min gì (其), Wu geq (個) and Cantonese ge³ (嘅 < 個).

och-l

旳
㢩
墑
𥡦
𤾠
𬐄
ㄉ
der
个
亓
兮
ㄟ
之

† - may use corresponding classifier in certain contexts

Alternative form: (dated) 底

我的書／我的书

這本書是老王的。

这本书是老王的。

別開他的玩笑了。

别开他的玩笑了。

蛇的毒

人民的國家／人民的国家

Used after an attribute. Indicates that the previous word has possession of the next one. It functions like ’s in English (or like the word “of” but with the position of possessor and possessee switched). ’s; of

You've really been working hard the past few days.

你們這兩天真夠辛苦的。

你们这两天真够辛苦的。

Used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis.


的

Phonetic syllable used to transcribe certain syllables in foreign loanwords.

旳
㢩
墑
𥡦
𤾠
𬐄
ㄉ
der
个
亓
兮
ㄟ
之

打的


糟

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsluː): semantic 米 + phonetic 曹 (OC *zluː). The original version is 𥽾. The radical of the rice perhaps is a reference to the liquor made out of fermented rice (see for instance 鬯) and the original meaning is "unfiltered", referred for instance to liquor and wine.

Han compound

(informal) awful; messy; terrible; in bad shape


站

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (站):
* → Vietnamese: trạm (站)

desc

→ Lü: ᦈᦱᧃᧈ (ṫsaan¹)

→ Lü: ᦈᦱᧃᧈ (ṫsaan¹)

→ Zhuang: camh

Ming Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
Yam (route)
Yuan Dynasty

Generally considered to be a Mongolian influence in the Yuan Dynasty – an abbreviation of 站赤 (zhànchì, “post stations during the Yuan Dynasty”), from Middle Mongol ᠵᠠᠮᠴᠢ (ǰamči, “post station”) (> Mongolian замч (zamč, “guide; cicerone”)), a derivative of Middle Mongol ᠵᠠᠮ (ǰam, “way, path”) (> Mongolian зам (zam)).
Mongolian ǰam is undoubtedly cognate with Proto-Turkic *jam (“post station”) (> Turkish yam; ~ Russian ям (jam)) with the same meaning; see Yam (route). Also compare Turkish yamçı (“post rider”), Russian ямщи́к (jamščík, “drive, coachman”).
There is no scholarly consensus regarding the direction of borrowing. Generally it is believed that Turkic jam and Chinese zhàn are loanwords from Mongolian ǰam, however some (e.g. Tuymebayev in Казахско-монгольские лексические параллели) believe the directionality is reversed (i.e. Chinese "to stand > stand > station" → Middle Mongol → Turkic → Russian). Whatever the etymology, what is apparent is that the word jam has been around for a long time and was used by Central Asians to designate a key postal relay station or official.
In Chinese, this word has been competing with the native equivalent 驛／驿 (yì, “post station”) since its introduction. Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty saw a profusion of usages of zhàn, which was deliberately suppressed in the succeeding Ming Dynasty in favour of yì. Both were used in the subsequent Qing Dynasty, with zhàn eventually predominating in the modern times, being used to render the sense of "station" in modern concepts, such as "train station". Other Sinosphere countries show preference variations too: Vietnamese uses 站 (trạm), whereas Japanese and Korean still use 驛 for "station" (Japanese 駅 (えき, eki), Korean 역 (驛, yeok)).

lang

站長

站长

B站

N站


笛

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'ɯːwɢ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 由 (OC *lɯw).
Cognate with 籥 (OC *lowɢ, “bamboo flute”) (Baxter, 1992).


綢

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰuːw, *dɯw): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 周 (OC *tjɯw).


緬

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *menʔ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 面 (OC *mens).

Han compound

Short for 緬甸／缅甸 (Miǎndiàn, “Myanmar, Burma”).


竹

Characters in the same phonetic series (竹) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – two bamboo stalks, with leaves. Earlier forms resembled 个 + 个, current form resembles rather ケ + ケ, or 亇 + 亇.
See also the original version of 散.
Compare Proto-Tai *b.twuːkᴰ (“bamboo strip for tying or weaving”), whence Thai ตอก (dtɔ̀ɔk, “bamboo strip”).

cog

(music) musical instrument made of bamboo


皇

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (皇):
* → Japanese: 皇(おう) (ō); 皇(こう) (kō)
* → Korean: 황(皇) (hwang)
* → Vietnamese: hoàng (皇)

Pictogram (象形) ― a lit oil lamp. The derivative 煌 (OC *ɡʷaːŋ) refers to the original word.
Later developed into a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷaːŋ): semantic 白 (“flame”) + phonetic 王 (OC *ɢʷaŋ, *ɢʷaŋs).
Bodman (1980) proposes a connection with 王 (OC *ɢʷaŋ) "king" (see there for more information).

Han compound

𤽙
𤽚
𤽢
𤽧
𦤃
𦤍
𦤐


縊

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qleːɡs, *qleɡs): semantic 糸 + phonetic 益 (OC *qleɡ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan. Compare Tibetan འཁྱིག་ ('khyig, “tie, fasten”), Burmese အစ် (ac, “throttle”) (Hill, 2017).


糶

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l̥ʰeːwɢs): semantic 出 (“out”) + phonetic 䊮 (OC *l'eːwɢ, “grain”)


箱

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *slaŋ): semantic 𥫗 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 相 (OC *slaŋ, *slaŋs) – a bamboo box.

Han compound

拎住一大箱嘢


甲

→ Thai: กาบ (gàap)

→ Zhuang: gyap

→ Old Turkic: qap

→ Kazakh: қап (qap)

Characters in the same phonetic series (甲) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形): a turtle shell. In the character 卑 it represents a fan held in hand.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *krap (“shell; shield”). Cognate with Tibetan ཁྲབ (khrab, “coat of mail; shield”). Perhaps related to 鞈 (OC *kuːb, *kruːb, “leather jerkin or cuirass”) (Schuessler, 2007).

och-l

𠇚
𡴌
𤰒
鉀
𢓜
徦
到
仔:á


綻

(Eastern Min) Alternative form of 賺／赚 (“incorrect”)


粽

→ Thai: จ้าง (jâang)

/t͡sʊŋ³³⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʊŋ³³⁻³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsoːŋs): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 宗 (OC *ʔsuːŋ).
First attested in Fengsu Tongyi (195). Bencao Gangmu claimed it was derived from 棕 (zōng, “palm tree”) due to similar shapes of zongzi and palm tree leaves.

Han compound

zongzi (dumpling made of glutinous rice, wrapped in leaves) (Classifier: 隻／只 c)


纇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ruːls): semantic 糸 + phonetic 頪 (OC *roːds).


紮

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsriːd): phonetic 札 (OC *sqriːd) + semantic 糸.

Han compound

(Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to carry; to bring along (on one's person, usually concealed originally on one's waist)


番

→ Japanese: 飜(ハン) (han)

→ Vietnamese: phen

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *paːl, *paːls, *pʰaːn, *pʰan, *ban): phonetic 釆 () + semantic 田 – "animal's footprint in the field"; Xu Shen interprets both components as the pictogram of an animal footprint. Original form of 蹯 (fán).
According to Tadashi Takada (高田忠周), it's the pictogram of some seeds on the palm of an open hand, which conveys the concept of "spreading". Original form of 播.
Neither Xu Shen nor Tadashi Takada interprets the bottom component as the pictogram of a field.
; “to do in turns; turn; time”
; “anime series”

生番

non-Sinicized ethnic minority, barbarian

番茄

c. 1300, 周達觀 (Zhou Daguan), 真臘風土記 (The Customs of Cambodia)

Yú xiāngrén Xuē shì, jū fān sānshíwǔ nián yǐ.

余鄉人薛氏，居番三十五年矣。

余乡人薛氏，居番三十五年矣。

A generic term for the non-Han people in China's west in historical times; (by extension) non-Han people; foreign land; foreign; non-native; barbarian


組

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsaːʔ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 且 (OC *sʰjaːʔ, *ʔsa).


粵

A specialization of 雩 (OC *qʰʷla, *ɢʷla) by modification of 雨 (Chi, 2010).
Shuowen interprets it as an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 宷 + 亏.
Related to 越 (OC *ɢʷad, “Yue; Viet”). See there for more.

粤
⿳丿冈丂
⿳丿⿵冂米丂
𡩭
𦉿
粤
𠿋
𡩭
粤
𡩭

粵音／粤音

精通國粵英／精通国粤英

fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English


粟

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

Warring States period
oracle bone script

Pictogram (象形) in oracle bone script. During the Warring States period, phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *soɡ): phonetic 角 (OC *kroːɡ, *ɡ·roːɡ) + semantic 米 (“rice”). 角 corrupted into 𠧪 and further into 西

Han compound

(Cantonese) Short for 粟米 (“corn; maize”).


統

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰuːŋs): semantic 糸 + phonetic 充 (OC *l̥ʰjuŋ).

Han compound

統戰

统战

統派

统派

武統

武统


繹

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *laːɡ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 睪 (OC *neb, *laːɡ, *kuː).
Same word as 驛 (OC *laːɡ, “posthorse; relay station”), 譯 (OC *laːɡ, “to translate”), 懌 (OC *laːɡ, “relaxed; pleased”), 斁 (OC *laːɡ, “to be tired of”) (Schuessler, 2007). Also related to 釋 (OC *hljaɡ, “to set free; to explain”), 赦 (OC *hljaɡs, “to let go; to pardon”) (Schuessler, 2007).


級

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *krɯb): semantic 糹 (“thread”) + phonetic 及 (OC *ɡrɯb).


練

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·reːns): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 柬 (OC *kreːnʔ).


第

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *diːls): semantic 𥫗 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 弟 (OC *diːlʔ, *diːls). 竹 here refers to the bamboo strips used for writing (e.g. accounting, classification) in ancient times. See also 等.
Alternatively, may have originally been written 弟.
Karlgren (1956: 14) connects this word with → tī 梯 ‘ladder’.

Han compound

(historical) rank in the imperial examinations


紀

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kɯʔ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 己 (OC *kɯʔ).

Han compound

寒武紀

寒武纪

侏羅紀

侏罗纪


縛

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *baːɡs, *baɡ): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 尃 (OC *pʰa).
Austroasiatic. Compare Khmer ប៉ាក់ (pak, “to embroider”), Mon ဗိုက် (“to put around esp. lower half of body”), Temiar bəg (“to bind”) (Schuessler, 2007). Alternatively, note Thai ผูก (pùuk, “to tie; to bind”) and Vietnamese buộc (“to tie; to bind”).

cog

(Hokkien) to weave from bamboo strips (tools, utensils, etc.)


纜

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·raːms): semantic 糹 (“silk”) + phonetic 覽 (OC *ɡ·raːmʔ).
Note similarities with 欄 (OC *ɡ·raːn, “railing, balustrade”); see there for more.

Han compound

纜片／缆片 [Cantonese] ― laam⁶ pin³⁻² [Jyutping] ― to wear a diaper

纜頸巾／缆颈巾 [Cantonese] ― laam⁶ geng² gan¹ [Jyutping] ― to wear a scarf

纜皮帶／缆皮带 [Cantonese] ― laam⁶ pei⁴ daai³⁻² [Jyutping] ― to wear a leather belt

纜安全帶／缆安全带 [Cantonese] ― laam⁶ on¹ cyun⁴ daai³⁻² [Jyutping] ― to fasten a seatbelt

(Cantonese) to wear something that requires wrapping


私

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (私):
* → Japanese: 私(し) (shi)
* → Korean: 사(私) (sa)
* → Vietnamese: tư (私)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sil): semantic 禾 (“grain”) + phonetic 厶 (OC *sil) – private grain or field.
Displaced the original form 厶.


立

Sino-Xenic (立):
* → Vietnamese: lập (立)

Characters in the same phonetic series (立) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – a person standing on the ground; compare 大 and 文. This characters is also a contracted form of 辛 on top of 妾 and 童. Unrelated to 音.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-r(j)ap (“to stand”). Cognate with 位 (OC *ɢʷrɯbs).

inh

to institute; to lay down; to draw up; to compose (legal document)


纓

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qeŋ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 嬰 (OC *qeŋ).


羶

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hljan): semantic 羊 + phonetic 亶 (OC *taːnʔ).

Han compound

膻
膻
䍹
羴
𦏫
𦏭
𦏬
𠆞

rank odor (especially of sheep and goat)


纍

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rul, *ruls): phonetic 畾 (OC *ruːl) + semantic 糸 (“fine silk”). The original meaning is "rope; to bind", hence any reference to being tired after hard work in the fields or after sewing is a folk etymology based on modern meaning.
; “to bind; rope”
: Related to 虆 (OC *roːl, *rul, “creeper; rambler”), 藟 (OC *rulʔ, “to wind; creeper”) (Wang, 1982).
: Proto-Tai *roːjꟲ (“to string together”) (whence Thai ร้อย (rɔ́ɔi)) may be a loan from Chinese (Manomaivibool, 1975).
Also see 累 (OC *ruːls, *rolʔ, *rols).

Han compound

Alternative form of 㹎 (léi, “bull in mating season”)


相

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 木 (“tree”) + 目 (“eye”) – looking at, or watching the tree.
An allofam is 胥 (OC *sŋa, *sŋaʔ, “each other; mutually; all; to observe; to assist”) (Gong, 1995; Schuessler, 2007).
Derivative: 想 (OC *slaŋʔ, “to think”) (“appearance > to visualise > to think”).

och-l

assess the suitability of a prospective son-in-law or husband

相女婿

to see for oneself; to evaluate by seeing for oneself


相

/ɬiaŋ³³⁻³³⁵/

/ɬiaŋ³³⁻³³⁵/

影幾張相

影几张相

photo; picture; photograph (Classifier: 張／张 c; 幅 c)


綠

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *roɡ): semantic 糸 + phonetic 彔 (OC *b·roːɡ).
Starostin derives this from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *rwak (“leaf”), and cites Tibetan ཁྲོག་པོ (khrog po, “botanical term used of leaves standing round the stem scattered or alternately”), Burmese ရွက် (rwak), အရွက် (a.rwak, “leaf”) as cognates. Compare also Kinnauri rāgʻ (“blue, green”).
Cognate with 菉 (“name of a plant of uncertain species”). In modern times this character gave rise to 氯 (“chlorine”).
For the sense “to cuckold”, see 綠頭巾／绿头巾 (lǜtóujīn).

zh-l

綠頭巾／绿头巾 (lǜtóujīn)

綠建築

绿建筑

綠住宅

绿住宅

environmentally friendly
environmentally friendly

healthy; environmentally friendly; green

Alternative form of 菉 (lù, “name of a plant”)

綠營

绿营

(politics) related to the pro-independence pan-Green coalition of Taiwan


細

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *snɯːls): semantic 糸 + phonetic 囟 (OC *snɯns). The right component is etymologically unrelated to 田 in which it was corrupted to after the Han dynasty.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *z(j)əj (“little; small; tiny”) (STEDT); cognate with Jingpho zi (“small”), Tibetan ཟི (zi, “small”), Burmese သေး (se:, “small”).

inh

細看

细看

slowly; carefully; thoroughly; detailedly


系

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): abbreviated 手 + 糸. Also used as simplified forms:
* Simplified from 繫 (𣪠 → 丿) (through an intermediate form 毄).
* Simplified from 係 (elimination of 人).

Han compound

to belong to; to be part of; to fall under; to be categorised as; to be classified as


篤

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tuːɡ): phonetic 竹 (OC *tuɡ) + semantic 馬 (“horse”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tuːk (“deep; thick”) (STEDT). Cognate with Tibetan འཐུག་པ ('thug pa, “thick; deep”).

cog

笃
竺
䈞
笃
督
厾
𧰵
㧻
笃
䐁
㞘
𡰪
笃
涿
笃
笃

Speech that is true and honest, behavior that is sincere and respectful.

The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

言忠信，行篤敬。

言忠信，行笃敬。

(literary) honest; sincere; earnest; whole-hearted


綿

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 糸 + 帛 (“silk”).

Han compound

Both mín and mián signify to apply—mín is used in the Qin region, and mián in Zhao. In Wu and Yue, mínmián refers to the act of taking off one's clothes and covering something with it.

Mín, mián, shī yě. Qín yuē mín, zhào yuē mián, wú, yuè zhījiān tuōyī xiàng bèi wèi zhī mínmián.

緡、緜，施也。秦曰緡，趙曰緜，吴、越之間脱衣相被謂之緡緜。

缗、绵，施也。秦曰缗，赵曰绵，吴、越之间脱衣相被谓之缗绵。

(dialectal, obsolete) to apply; to cover


織

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjɯɡs, *tjɯɡ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 戠 (OC *tjɯɡ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tak ~ dak (“to weave”).


笑

/t͡sʰiɛu²¹³/

/t͡sʰiɛu²¹³/

Originally ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) or phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sqʰows): phonetic 艸 (OC *sʰuːʔ, “grass”) + semantic 犬 (“dog”).
Later, phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sqʰows): semantic 竹 + phonetic 夭 (OC *qoːwʔ, *qrow, *qrowʔ).

Han compound

笑容

唔識笑

唔识笑


箸

→ Baha: daau³³ (“chopsticks”)

→ Bouyei: deh (“chopsticks”)

desc

→ Burmese: (via Min Nan) တူ (tu, “chopsticks”)

→ Korean: 저 (箸, jeo) > 젓가락 (jeotgarak, “chopsticks”)

→ Lao: ຖູ່ (thū) > ໄມ້ຖູ່ (mai thū, “chopsticks”)

⇒ Lolopo: azzu (“chopsticks”)

→ Lü: ᦏᦴᧈ (ṫhuu¹)

→ Lü: ᦏᦴᧈ (ṫhuu¹) > ᦙᦺᧉᦏᦴᧈ (may²ṫhuu¹, “chopsticks”)

→ Proto-Hmong-Mien: *drouH (“chopsticks”)

Iu Mien: zouc

White Hmong: rawg

→ Nuosu: ꎋ (rrup, “chopsticks”)

→ Sui: zuh (“chopsticks”)

→ Vietnamese: đũa (“chopsticks”)

→ Zhuang: dawh (“chopsticks”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tas, *das): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 者 (OC *tjaːʔ).
The Classical Chinese word for "chopsticks". It has been replaced by 筷子 (kuàizi) in many dialects for taboo reasons, avoiding homophony with 住 (zhù, “stopping”) in boatmen's language. Still used in almost all Min dialects and sporadically in other topolects, such as Southern Wu topolects including Wenzhounese.

Han compound

I'll get a chopstickful of noodles for you to try.

ngo⁵ gaap³ zyu⁶ min⁶ bei² nei⁵ si³ haa⁵ a¹.

我夾箸麵畀你試下吖。

我夹箸面畀你试下吖。

A chopstickful of chive sprouts, three cups of beautiful white rice wine.

一箸青絲菜，三杯白玉醅。

一箸青丝菜，三杯白玉醅。

(literary or Southwestern Mandarin, Cantonese) Classifier for an amount of food held with a pair of chopsticks: chopstickful


納

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *nuːb): semantic 糸 (“silk, thin thread”) + phonetic 内 ().
; “to make enter > to accept, to receive; to contribute”
; “nano-”


福

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (福):
* → Japanese: 福(ふく) (fuku)
* → Korean: 복(福) (bok)
* → Vietnamese: phúc (福), phước (福)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pɯɡ): semantic 示 + phonetic 畐 (OC *pʰrɯɡ, *bɯɡ).
Proto-Sino-Tibetan [Term?]. Cognate with 富 (OC *pɯɡs, “rich”), Tibetan ཕྱུགས (phyugs, “livestock”).


福

Only used in 福埔 (“a place in Jinjiang, Fujian”).


罔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mlaŋʔ): semantic 网 (“net”) + phonetic 亡 (OC *maŋ).
;“not have; not”

Han compound

冈
𠔿
𡦽
𡧏
㒺
𠕏
𦉸
𦉽


綜

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsuːŋs): semantic 糸 + phonetic 宗 (OC *ʔsuːŋ).


纏

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *dan, *dans): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 廛 (OC *dan).
Cognate with Tibetan སྟར (star, “to tie fast”) (Schuessler, 2007, Hill, 2019).


續

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ljoɡs, *ljoɡ): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 𧶠 (OC *luɡ).


繼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *keːɡs): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 㡭 ().
The original form may have depicted four 幺 (“silk”).
According to Schuessler 2007, originally the same word as 係 (OC *keːɡs).

Han compound

If there be not the appendage of good faith, covenants are of no use.

Commentary of Zuo, c. 4ᵗʰ century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

苟信不繼，盟無益也。

苟信不继，盟无益也。

I have heard that 'a superior man helps the distressed, but does not add to the wealth of the rich'.

The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

吾聞之也，君子周急不繼富。

吾闻之也，君子周急不继富。

to continue; to maintain; to carry on; to follow

繼承

继承

to succeed to the throne; to inherit the throne

繼位

继位

Our present investitures, they practice government through inheritance. Those who inherit the right to govern, in the end can they be [expected to be] virtuous? When it comes down to it are they not unworthy? If so then we cannot yet know whether humanity will be governed or thrown into turmoil.

Liu Zongyuan,《封建論》On Investiture, 9th century CE (translated by Nolan Bensen)

Jīn fú fēngjiàn zhě, jì shì ér lǐ. Jì shì ér lǐ zhě, shàng guǒ xián hū? Xià guǒ bùxiào hū? Zé shēngrén zhī lǐluàn, wèikě zhī yě.

今夫封建者，繼世而理。繼世而理者，上果賢乎？下果不肖乎？則生人之理亂，未可知也。

今夫封建者，继世而理。继世而理者，上果贤乎？下果不肖乎？则生人之理乱，未可知也。

immediately afterward; right afterward; soon after


目

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (目):
* → Japanese: 目(もく) (moku)
* → Korean: 목(目) (mok)
* → Vietnamese: mục (目)

Pictogram (象形) – human eye, now rotated 90 degrees. Compare the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓁹.
See also 直, 真, 見, 頁, 夏, 面, 臣 and the earlier versions of 要. The eye is not rotated in the character 𢛳, 曼, 睪, and 眔 (used in 褱).
Sometimes it depicts a web (网) through its variant 罒, e.g., 買, 罵, 罪, 詈 (used in 罰) and 羅 (> 罗). Unrelated to 鼎 and 貝.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-mjak ~ s-mik. Cognate with Tibetan མིག (mig, “eye”), Burmese မျက် (myak, “eye, face”).


絲

qualifier

see <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">sēricus</i> for descendants of this

→ Ancient Greek: Σήρ (Sḗr, “Chinese; silkworm”)
→ Latin: Sēres
English: Seres
Portuguese: Seres
Spanish: Seres
 (see sēricus for descendants of this)

→ Aramaic:

desc

Classical Syriac: ܫܺܐܪܳܐ (šērā), ܫܺܐܪܳܝܳܐ (šērāyā), ܫܻܝܪܳܝܳܐ (šērāyā, “silk; silk garment”)

Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: שִׁירָאָה (šērāʾā), שִּׁירָא (šērā, “silk; silk garment”)

Mandaic: ࡔࡉ࡚ࡓࡀࡉࡀ (/šērāyā/)

→ Arabic: سِيرَاء (sīrāʔ, “a kind of silk garment”)

ሢራይ, ሥራይ, ሤራይ

→ Ge'ez: ሢራይ, ሥራይ, ሤራይ (śiray, śəray, śeray, “silk; silk garment”)

→? Old Korean: 糸利 (*SIli, “thread”)

Middle Korean: 실〯 (sǐl, “id.”)

Korean: 실 (sil, “id.”)

→ Vietnamese: tơ

Obsolete. 皮 is used for SI prefix pico-.

絲竹

丝竹


耘

Related to Tibetan ཡུར་མ (yur ma, “weeding”), Kurtöp [script needed] (wer, “to weed”) (Schuessler, 2007, 2024).


緊

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kinʔ): phonetic 臤 (OC *kʰaːn, *kʰriːn, *ɡiːn, *kʰins) + semantic 糸.

Han compound

GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified); † - only used for pulled objects as a resultative


缽

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *poːd): semantic 缶 (“pot”) + phonetic 本 (OC *pɯːnʔ). Originally written as 鉢 (OC *poːd) or 盋 (OC *poːd).
Short for 缽多羅／钵多罗 (bōduōluó), from Sanskrit पात्र (pātra, “(drinking) vessel; bowl; cup; plate; etc.”).

der

bowl; basin; pot (often made of earthenware or metal)


繭

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 糸 (“silk”) + 虫 (“insect”) + abbreviated 黹 (“needlework”).


總

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsloːŋʔ): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 悤 ().

Han compound

总
揔
惣
㧾
捴
𤙹
㹅
𠂳
𥾜
𦀙
𦁕
縂
緫
𩮀
揌
摠
総
楒
𩭤
𥡥
稯
𢝰
𢵃
搃
𢭇

陳總

陈总

Used as a suffix after a person's surname in nicknames for people being leader of a company, usually for males.


緩

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷaːnʔ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 爰 (OC *ɢʷan).


絆

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *paːns): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 半 (OC *paːns).

Han compound

絆手絆腳

绊手绊脚

他被樹根絆了一下。

他被树根绊了一下。

差點兒絆了我一跤。

差点儿绊了我一跤。

t͡sia³³ nˡøyŋ⁵³ ia³³ puɑŋ²¹³

ciā nè̤ng iā buáng / [t͡sia³³ nˡøyŋ⁵³ ia³³ puɑŋ²¹³]

者儂野絆

t͡sia³³ nˡøyŋ⁵³ ia³³ puɑŋ²¹³

者侬野绊


缸

水缸

vat; crock; jar (usually with a large opening and small bottom, made of clay, porcelain, enamel, glass, etc.) (Classifier: 口 m)


筆

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (筆):
* → Japanese: 筆(ひつ) (hitsu)
* → Korean: 필(筆) (pil)
* → Vietnamese: bút (筆)

→ Buryat: ᠪᠢᠷ (bir) / биирэ (biire)

desc

→ Khmer: ពិត (pɨt, “small Chinese-style writing brush”)

→ Korean: 붓 (but, “writing brush”)

→ Proto-Be: *ɓitᴰ¹

Lingao: bit⁷, bɔt⁷'

→ Manchu: ᡶᡳ (fi, “brush”), ᠪᡳᡨᡥᡝ (bithe, “book”), ᠪᡳᡨᡥᡝᠰᡳ (bithesi, “scribe”)

zh-l

→ Chinese: 筆帖式／笔帖式 (bǐtièshì, “scribe during the Qing Dynasty”)

→ Nivkh: питғы (pitγə)

desc

→ Tibetan: པིར (pir, “writing brush, pen”)

→ Mongolian: ᠪᠢᠷ (bir) / бийр (biir)

→ Proto-Turkic: *biti-

Old Turkic: 𐰋𐰃𐱅𐰃 (b²it²i /biti-/, “to write”)

→ Mongolian: ᠪᠢᠴᠢᠬᠦ (bičikü) / бичих (bičix, “to write”)

desctree

⇒ Proto-Turkic: *bitig
→ Hungarian: betű
Oghur:
Chuvash: пӗтӳ (pĕt̬ü, “amulet”)
Common Turkic: *bitig, *bitik
Proto-Oghuz: *bitig, *bitik
West Oghuz:
Old Anatolian Turkish: بِتى (biti, “letter, written document”)
Azerbaijani: bitik (archaic)
Ottoman Turkish: بتى (biti, “letter, written document; memory (literature); bill, document”)
Turkish: biti (“letter, post; amulet; notebook; book; forme; amulet; credentials, document, compass, licence; clerk”) (dialectal)
East Oghuz:
Salar: bitik
Karluk:
Karakhanid: بِتِكٔ (bitig, bitik)
Khorezmian Turkic:
→ Bulgar: بطك (bitik)
Chagatai:
Uyghur: بېتىك (bëtik)
Kipchak:
Kipchak: بتو (bitüv, bitiv), بتی (biti), بتك (bitik)
North Kipchak:
Bashkir: бетеү (betew, “amulet”)
Tatar: бөти (böti, “letter, amulet”)
West Kipchak:
Karaim: битик (bitik)
Kumyk: битик (bitik, “amulet”)
South Kipchak:
Caspian:
Kazakh: бітік (bıtık, “letter, scripture”)
Siberian:
Old Turkic: 𐰋𐰃𐱅𐰏 (b²it²g /bitig/)
→ Turkish: betik
Old Uyghur: [script needed] (bitig)
Western Yugur: [script needed] (pïʰtïɣ, “book”)
→ Mongolian: бичиг (bičig)
→ Kyrgyz: бичик (bicik, “book of Kalmyk”)
→ Southern Altai: бичик (bičik, “book”)
→ Khakas: пічік (pìçìk, “book”)
→ Shor: пичик (“script, alphabet”)
→ Tuvan: бижик (bijik)
→ Yakut: бичик (bicik)

→ Vietnamese: viết (“to write”)

→ Zhuang: bit

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *prud) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 聿 (OC *b·lud, “writing brush”) – a hand holding a brush 聿. The bamboo (竹) refers to the material of traditional Chinese brushes.
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ris (“to draw; picture”) or *rit (“to draw; boundary”) (STEDT). Related to 聿 (OC *b·lud); more distant cognates from the allofamic root *b-rəy (“to draw, mark; boundary”) include 理 (OC *rɯʔ, “to cut jade, put in order”), Tibetan འབྲི ('bri, “to write”), Burmese ရေး (re:, “to write”).
Benedict (1972) surmises that this might ultimately be a loan from Austro-Tai into Sino-Tibetan; compare Proto-Austronesian *bulut (“hairy filaments of certain plants, husk”) (> Cebuano bulut).

cog

The character you have miswritten lacks one stroke here.

Nǐ zhè ge zì xiě cuò le, zhèlǐ shào le yī bǐ.

你這個字寫錯了，這裡少了一筆。

你这个字写错了，这里少了一笔。

Classifier for writing or drawing: stroke (of Chinese characters, in a painting, etc.)


繪

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡoːbs): semantic 糸 + phonetic 會 (OC *koːbs, *ɡoːbs).

Han compound

(literary, or in compounds) to draw; to sketch; to paint


繰

Alternative form of 璪 (zǎo, “silk pendant strung with jade hung from a crown as an ornament”)


粒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rɯb): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 立 (OC *rɯb).


罐

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *koːns): semantic 缶 (“pottery”) + phonetic 雚 (OC *koːns).

Han compound

𮉸
鑵
𨫝
罆/𰭄
𤮳
𰭃
⿰缶关

can; jar; tin; cylindrical container for holding objects or liquids or cooking

(dialectal) Classifier for bottled items.


糖

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (糖):
* → Japanese: 糖(とう) (tō)
* → Korean: 당(糖) (dang)
* → Vietnamese: đường (糖)

→ Guiqiong: d’ɐŋ

→ Macanese: tôm-tôm

/tʰɔːŋ²¹⁻³⁵/

/tʰɔːŋ²¹⁻³⁵/

zh:临城镇 (临高县)
zh:琼山区

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'aːŋ): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 唐 (OC *ɡl'aːŋ).
Original meaning was “sweet rice cake” or “sugar syrup”. Cognate with 餳 (OC *ljaːŋ).
Compare Proto-Lingao lhaŋ² ("sugar"), whence Lincheng /haŋ˧/, Qiongshan /liaŋ˩˧/.

Han compound

棒棒糖

無糖薄荷糖

无糖薄荷糖

糖吃多了不好。

糖食得多冇益。

Short for 糖果 (tángguǒ). sweets; candy; lollies; confectionery (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 粒 c)

糖果

多糖

葡萄糖

(organic chemistry) saccharide; carbohydrate

撒糖

(Internet slang, figurative) loveable and likeable, cute

吃糖

Yesterday [my] HRT drugs were spotted by my parents.

昨天糖被我爸媽發現了。

昨天糖被我爸妈发现了。

hormone replacement therapy
hormone replacement therapy

(transgender slang, figurative) HRT (hormone replacement therapy) drugs, especially pills


緣

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lon, *lons): semantic 糹 + phonetic 彖 (OC *l̥ʰjelʔ, *hljelʔ, *l̥ʰoːns).


縣

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (縣):
* → Japanese: 県(けん) (ken); 県(げん) (gen)
* → Korean: 현(縣) (hyeon)
* → Vietnamese: huyện (縣)

→ English: hsien, xian

→ Iu Mien: nquenc

→ Lingao: hin⁴

desc

→ Lü: ᦶᦉᧃᧈ (ṡaen¹)

→ Lü: ᦶᦉᧃᧈ (ṡaen¹)

→ Mongolian: сияан (sijaan)

→ Zhuang: yen

/jᵘɔn³²⁻³²⁵/

/jᵘɔn³²⁻³²⁵/

Shuowen: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 𥄉 + 系 – to hang 系 by the head 𥄉 (hair hanging down).
Original form of 懸. Originally in bronze and bamboo slip scripts, Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 目 + 木 + 糸 - to hang with the string 糸 by the head 目 (using an eye to represent a head) on a tree 木. In Qin bamboo slip scripts, some of 目 + 木 were corrupted to 県 (with one straight horizontal line rather than 𠃊) which interpreted to a reversed 首 head by Shuowen, and 糸 was corrupted to 系.

seat of government
seat of government#English

(in many cases but not always) county seat (the town which serves as the seat of government of such divisions)


父

Pictogram (象形) – A hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *p/ba (“male; father”).
Regular development from Middle Chinese would lead to the labiodental fù in Mandarin, but the colloquial word resisted the sound changes and is now written as 爸 (bà), with the 巴 (bā) phonetic component added to it to indicate the unchanged bilabial initial.

inh

Mount Liangfu (alternately, Mount Liangfu) (in Shandong, China)

梁父山（梁甫山）

(literary) Alternative form of 甫 (“honorific suffix used after a man's name; courtesy name”)


純

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən³⁵/


翰

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡaːn, *ɡaːns): phonetic 倝 (OC *kaːns) + semantic 羽 (“feather”).


管

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (管):
* → Japanese: 管(かん) (kan)
* → Korean: 관(管) (gwan)
* → Vietnamese: quản (管)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *koːnʔ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 官 (OC *koːn).


缺

/t͡ɕʰy̯e̞²⁴/

/t͡ɕʰy̯e̞²⁴/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰʷed, *kʰʷeːd): semantic 缶 (“earthen pot”) + phonetic 夬 (OC *kʷraːds).

Han compound

(Hokkien) chipped part; broken edge (on a bowl, cup, etc.)


終

Originally a pictogram (象形), 夂 (definition 2) – the knot at the end of a cord. Later reformulated as a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjuŋ): semantic 糹 + phonetic 冬 (OC *tuːŋ).
Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Chepang दोङःसा (doŋʔ‑, “to end; to cease”), Lai [script needed] (doŋ / doʔŋ, “to end”) (Schuessler, 2007).
Wang (1982) derives 冬 (OC *tuːŋ, “winter”) from this word.

cog

终
𣧩
𠔾
𠂂
𡦿
𢍐
𤽘
𤽬
𦤒
𢒣
𣊂
𣈩
𣊜
𪚪
𦄖

被難

to be killed in a disaster, political incident

無果而終

无果而终

(literary, or in compounds) to come to an end


絕

Originally ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 刀 (“knife”) + 幺 (“silk”) or ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 刀 (“knife”) + 𢆶 (“silk”) — to cut silk threads.
Now phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 糹 (“silk”) + semantic 刀 (“knife”) + phonetic 巴 (卪).
Most likely unrelated to 色.

Han compound

绝
絶
㔃
𢇍
𠤉
撧
𢴭

斷絕

断绝

絕望

绝望

Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

Zhōng Zǐqī sǐ, Bó Yá pò qín jué xián, zhōngshēn bù fù gǔqín, yǐwèi shì wú zú fù wéi gǔqín zhě.

鍾子期死，伯牙破琴絕弦，終身不復鼓琴，以為世無足復為鼓琴者。

钟子期死，伯牙破琴绝弦，终身不复鼓琴，以为世无足复为鼓琴者。

The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Wèi zhì shēn, Qín wáng jīng, zì yǐn ér qǐ, xiù jué.

未至身，秦王驚，自引而起，袖絕。

未至身，秦王惊，自引而起，袖绝。


罵

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mraːʔ, *mraːs): semantic 网 + phonetic 馬 (OC *mraːʔ). The original version is 𦋻. See also 詈 (< 𧧧).


置

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tɯɡs): semantic 罒 + phonetic 直 (OC *dɯɡ).

Han compound

寘
𦌤
𦋲
𦌃
𦋘
𦋽
𢍧

置君

It's definitely not simple to establish a home.

jiu³ zi³ jat¹ tau⁴ gaa¹ zan¹ hai⁶ m⁴ gaan² daan¹.

要置一頭家真係唔簡單。

要置一头家真系唔简单。


耕

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kreːŋ): semantic 耒 (“tilling tool”) + phonetic 井 (OC *skeŋʔ).

Han compound

筆耕

笔耕


翌

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lɯɡ): phonetic 羽 (OC *ɢʷaʔ, *ɢʷas) + semantic 昱

Han compound

(literary) Alternative form of 翼 (yì, “wing”)


聾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *roːŋ): phonetic 龍 (OC *b·roŋ, *mroːŋ) + semantic 耳 (“ear”) – deaf.
Perhaps related to 聳 (OC *sloŋʔ, “deaf”) (Schuessler, 2007).


粥

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (粥):
* → Japanese: 粥(しゅく) (shuku)
* → Korean: 죽(粥) (juk)

→ English: jook, zhou

→ Thai: โจ๊ก (jóok)

→ Zhuang: souh, cuk

The reduced form of the character 鬻 (OC *luɡ), which was an ideogrammic compound and the original character for "congee".
; “congee; rice gruel”
: Alternatively, it may be related to Tibetan ཐུག་པ (thug pa, “Tibetan-style soup, broth, gruel, porridge”) (Bodman, 1980; Schuessler, 2007).


維

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷi): semantic 糸 (“thread”) + abbreviated phonetic 唯 (OC *ɢʷi, *ɢʷiʔ).
The original pronunciation of 隹 (OC *ɢʷi) was lost after the classical period, but can still be seen in other characters of the phonetic series:
* 惟 (OC *ɢʷi, “to think”),
* 唯 (OC *ɢʷi, *ɢʷiʔ, “only”),
* 雖 (OC *sqʰʷi, “although”),
* 帷 (OC *ɢʷril, “curtain, screen”) and
* 淮 (OC *ɡʷriːl, “Huai River”).

Han compound

維A

维A

Short for 維生素／维生素 (wéishēngsù, “vitamin”).

維語

维语

Used in transcription.
Short for 維吾爾／维吾尔 (Wéiwú'ěr, “Uyghur”).


維

Only used in 盧維／卢维 (“ancient river in the Yan Province”).


聰

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰloːŋ): semantic 耳 (“ear”) + phonetic 悤 ().


聳

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sloŋʔ): phonetic 從 (OC *zloŋ, *zloŋ, *zloŋs) + semantic 耳.


翅

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qʰjes): phonetic 支 (OC *kje) + semantic 羽 (“feathers”).
According to STEDT, related to 支 (OC *kje, “branch (of tree), limb; to support”); see there for more.


肅

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 𦘒 (“hand holding brush”) + 𣶒 (“abyss”). Uncertain. One interpretation says it depicts a person sweeping or walking with a staff near an abyss, conveying solemnity or respectful handling of affairs.

Han compound

肃
粛
𦘛
𦘡
䏋
𦘜
𦘝
𢙻


結

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kiːd): semantic 糸 + phonetic 吉 (OC *klid).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(g/k)(j)i(t/k) (“to tie; to bind”); cognate with Tibetan ཁྱིག (khyig, “to bind”), Burmese ကျစ် (kyac, “to twist”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).


縫

→ Isan: ฝุง

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *boŋ, *boŋs): semantic 糹 + phonetic 逢 (OC *boŋ).

Han compound

縫個扣子／缝个扣子

傷口縫了七針／伤口缝了七针

the wound was closed with seven stitches


糞

→ Vietnamese: phân

Oracle bone: pictogram (象形): 3 dots + 𠀠 + 廾 + optional 帚 (zhǒu).
Small seal: pictogram (象形): 釆 + 𠦒 + 廾.
The current glyph is from the small seal script.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *brun (“excrement”) (STEDT). Cognate with Tibetan བྲུན (brun, “dung”).

粪
𨤝
𥻔
𥽒
𨤘
𥻰
𥻪
𡐢
𥼇
𥼈
𥹻
𢍨
𥻎
𤲲
𡊅
𡊄


罰

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 詈 (“abuse verbally”) + semantic 刀 (“knife”). To abuse verbally and to use a knife improperly represent a crime. The original version is 𠟑, in which the left component is 𧧧.


習

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (習):
* → Japanese: 習(しゅう) (shū)
* → Korean: 습(習) (seup)
* → Vietnamese: tập (習)

→ English: Hsi, Xi

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 羽 (“wings”) + 日 (“sun”) – to learn to fly, to practice flying.
In the current form, 日 (rì, “sun”) has changed to 白 (bái, “white”), so the present form is 羽 (“wings”) + 白 (“white”).
Alternatively, the original form may have been a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ljub): phonetic 彗 (OC *sɢʷeds, *ɢʷeds, *sɢʷids) + semantic 日 (“sun”).
Two general semantic fields are found in the senses: "to flap the wings; to flutter" and "to practice". They are generally considered to be the same word, with the link being "to repeatedly flap the wings (in order to learn to fly)", a sense attested in Liji.
Area word:
* Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-lwap (“to learn”): Tibetan སློབ (slob, “to learn”), སློབས (slobs, “exercise; training”); Mizo tlip (“to repeat; to do again; to perfect”),
* Mon-Khmer: Khmer ធ្លាប់ (thlŏəp, “to become accustomed to; to have the habit of; marker of continuous action in the past”); Proto-Mon *le̤p ("to know how to, be skilled in") > Mon လေပ် (lèp, “to be versed in”).

cog

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China

習近平

习近平


素

Characters in the same phonetic series (素) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – hands 廾 braiding thread 糸.
In modern form, top component looks like 生 without the diagonal stroke – compare 責, 青.
Austroasiatic in origin; compare Khmer ស (sɑɑ, “white; to show something clearly”) (Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with 索 (OC *sraːɡ, *sreːɡ, “to search”).

cog

素材

素質

素质


糜

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mral): phonetic 麻 (OC *mraːl) + semantic 米 (“rice”).

Han compound

type of millet that is not sticky See also: 穄子


群

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (群):
* → Japanese: 群(ぐん) (gun)

/t͡ɕʰyə̯ɻ³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰyə̯ɻ³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡlun): phonetic 君 (OC *klun) + semantic 羊.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-kul (“twenty; all”); cognate with 昆 (OC *kuːn, “swarming”), Tibetan ཀུན (kun, “all”), Burmese အကုန် (a.kun, “all”) (Benedict, 1972; STEDT).

inh

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 群 (MC gjun)


紙

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (紙):
* → Japanese: 紙(し) (shi)
* → Korean: 지(紙) (ji)
* → Vietnamese: chỉ (紙)

→ Lao: ເຈ້ຍ (chīa, “paper”)

→ Shan: ၸေႈ (tsēe, “paper”)

→ Zhuang: ceij (“paper”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kjeʔ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 氏 (OC *skeŋ, *kje, *ɡjeʔ).
Unknown. It has been connected to Vietnamese giấy (< Proto-Vietic *k-cajʔ).

Han compound

妹紙／妹纸

胖紙／胖纸

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(Mandarin, neologism, slang) Pronunciation spelling of 子 (zǐ).


署

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djas): semantic 罒 + phonetic 者 (OC *tjaːʔ); the upper component is a web, not an eye.
Baxter and Sagart (2014) derive it from a root *taʔ (“to place”), from which they also derive 緒 (OC *s-m-taʔ, “to arrange in order”). The root also has a velar variant *tak, whence 著 (OC *tak, “to place”), 著 (OC *tak-s, “visible”), 席 (OC *s-m-tAk, “mat”) (Baxter and Sagart, 2014; Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

部署


耙

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *braːs): semantic 耒 (“plow”) + phonetic 巴 (OC *praː)
Sea of Writings (《篇海》), apud Kangxi dictionary https://kangxizidian.com/search/index.php?stype=Word&sword=%E8%80%99&detail=y, gives its pronunciation as 必駕切，音埧.


繩

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɦbljɯŋ): semantic 糸 + phonetic 黽 (OC *mlenʔ, *mliŋʔ, *mreːŋʔ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bliŋ (“string; thread; cord”); compare Japhug tɯmbri (“rope”), Burmese အမျှင် (a.hmyang, “string”), Tangut 𘘫 (*bji², “rope”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007; Jacques, 2014; Zhang, Jacques and Lai, 2019).

inh

General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)


粉

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (粉):
* → Vietnamese: phấn (粉)

Characters in the same phonetic series (分) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pɯnʔ): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 分 (OC *pɯn, *bɯns) – face powder made of rice.
The earliest sense is believed to be "face powder". The term is then used for the color of this powder, "white", and later also the color of a face with this cosmetic, "pink". In early modern Chinese, the ancient "face powder" sense is partly reinforced by 粉底 (fěndǐ) (from English foundation).

Han compound

粉墨登場／粉墨登场


肇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *dawʔ): phonetic 肁 (OC *dawʔ) + semantic 攵 (“hand action”)

Han compound

廣肇會館

广肇会馆


翔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ljaŋ): phonetic 羊 (OC *laŋ) + semantic 羽 (“feathers”)
Iterative of 徉 (OC *laŋ) (Schuessler, 2007).


考

→ Guiqiong: kʰɐu (“to sit exams”)

Characters in the same phonetic series (丂) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Variant of 老 (OC *ruːʔ) – Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 耂 (“an old man with long hair, bent over”) + 丂 (“a walking cane”) originally drawn as 匕 – an old man, leaning on a cane. Compare top component to 孝 (OC *qʰruːs).
Structurally related to 老 (OC *ruːʔ); the most commonly cited example of 轉注 (“reciprocal meaning”).

Han compound

先考

In sacrificing to them, a grandfather is called 'the sovereign grandfather'; a grandmother, 'the sovereign grandmother'; a father, 'the sovereign father'; a mother, 'the sovereign mother; a husband, 'the sovereign pattern.' While alive, the names of 'father', 'mother', and 'wife' are used; when they are dead, those of 'the completed one', 'the corresponding one', and 'the honored one'.

The Book of Rites, c. 4ᵗʰ – 2ⁿᵈ century BCE

Jì wángfù yuē huángzǔkǎo, wángmǔ yuē huángzǔbǐ. Fù yuē huángkǎo, mǔ yuē huángbǐ. Fū yuē huángpì. Shēng yuē fù, yuē mǔ, yuē qī, sǐ yuē kǎo, yuē bǐ, yuē pín.

祭王父曰皇祖考，王母曰皇祖妣。父曰皇考，母曰皇妣。夫曰皇辟。生曰父、曰母、曰妻，死曰考、曰妣、曰嬪。

祭王父曰皇祖考，王母曰皇祖妣。父曰皇考，母曰皇妣。夫曰皇辟。生曰父、曰母、曰妻，死曰考、曰妣、曰嫔。

(literary) deceased father; posthumous name for male relations


線

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sqʰeːns): semantic 糹 + phonetic 泉 (OC *sɡʷen).

Han compound

demarcation line; boundary; border; brink


罪

/t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 罒 (“net”) + 非 (“mistake”). The original version is 𦋛 and its original meaning was a net for fishing, then used instead of 辠 due to the similarity of the latter character to 皇, which represents the Emperor.
Unclear. Possibly of Sino-Tibetan origin and cognate with Mizo sual (“(adj.) bad, evil, vile, corrupt; (v. tr.) (to attempt) to criminally assault, to rape (a woman)”) (Schuessler, 2007).

cog

If you in the myriad regions commit offenses, these offenses must rest on my person.

萬方有罪，罪在朕躬。

万方有罪，罪在朕躬。


翻

→ Lü: ᦝᦱᧃᧈ (faan¹, “to translate”)

→ Thai: พัน (pan, “fasten around”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰan): phonetic 番 (OC *paːl, *paːls, *pʰaːn, *pʰan, *ban) + semantic 羽 (“wings”) – to flutter.


耀

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lewɢs): semantic 光 (“light; beam; ray”) + phonetic 翟 (OC *r'aːwɢ, *l'eːwɢ).
Probably related to 曜 (OC *lewɢs, “to shine; daylight”); see there for more (STEDT).


脂

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kji): semantic 月 (“meat”) + phonetic 旨 (OC *kjiʔ).
It is thought to descend from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsil (“fat, grease”), although the initial does not match the one of the Old Chinese reconstruction (Matisoff, STEDT; Schuessler, 2007).

inh

脂粉


網

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mlaŋʔ): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 罔 (OC *mlaŋʔ).
Compare Thai มุ้ง (múng, “mosquito net”), มอง (mɔɔng, “a kind of fishing net”) (Manomaiviboon, 1975). Perhaps the same word as 罔 (OC *mlaŋʔ, “to deceive”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

上網

上网

我整咗個網。

我整咗个网。

(Mainland China Hokkien) to meticulously patch (a sewing technique)


網

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (網):
* → Japanese: 網(もう) (mō)
* → Korean: 망(網) (mang)
* → Vietnamese: võng (網)

→ Zhuang: muengx

(Quanzhou Hokkien) to catch someone; to arrest


繳

/t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kleːwʔ, *kljewɢ, *ɡreːɡ): semantic 糸 (“silk”) + phonetic 敫 (OC *kleːwɢs, *ɢlewɢ, *kleːwɢ) – raw silk thread.
Probably related to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *kyak (“navel, umbilical cord, rope”), the latter whence Burmese ချက် (hkyak, “navel”), particularly based on the pronunciation for the "arrow string" sense (STEDT).

cog

缴
缴
筊
徼
賭
檄
儌
九
局


耐

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *nɯːs): phonetic 而 (OC *njɯ) + semantic 寸.
STEDT compares this to 難 (OC *n̥ʰaːn, *naːns) and Proto-Tibeto-Burman *na-n/t (“ill, pain, sore, ache, difficult, evil spirit”)

cog

我已經等咗好耐呀！

我已经等咗好耐呀！

Why is the bus taking so long to arrive?

gaa³ baa¹ si⁶⁻² gam³ noi⁶ dou¹ mei⁶ lai⁴ gaa³?

架巴士咁耐都未嚟㗎？

(Cantonese, of time) long; taking a long time to happen


肌

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kril): semantic ⺼ + phonetic 几 (OC *krilʔ).
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-k-rəj (“skin”), and cognate with Burmese ရေ (re, “skin, hide”).

Han compound

腹肌

騷肌／骚肌 [Cantonese] ― sou¹ gei¹ [Jyutping] ― to show one's muscles


耗

to reduce; to decrease; to cut; to minimise


脊

Originally a pictogram (象形) of a fish spine. 肉 was added later to distinguish it. The top component corrupted into 𠦬, making it a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔseɡ): phonetic 朿 (OC *sʰeɡs) + semantic 肉 (“flesh”).

Han compound

(of terrain, rooms, etc.) ridgeline; ridge; spine; ridge beam


石

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (石):
* → Japanese: 石(せき) (seki)
* → Korean: 석(石) (seok)
* → Vietnamese: thạch (石)

→ Tocharian B: cāk

Characters in the same phonetic series (石) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形): a stone beneath a cliff (厂). The cliff was subsequently distorted into 丆; compare 叚, 段 as well as 度, 席.
Alternatively, a cave set into the side of a cliff or mountain.
Unknown. Probably related to Proto-Vietic *l-taːʔ (“stone”) (whence Vietnamese đá and Khmer ដា (daa, “rock; stone”)) (Schuessler, 2007), to which Chinese would have added the familiar final -k.


脆

/t͡sʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡sʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

Originally 脃. Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰods): semantic ⺼ (“meat”) + abbreviated phonetic 絕 (OC *zod).
;“Threads”

Han compound

(Taiwan, neologism, slang) Threads (a social media platform under Meta Platforms)


給

Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *krub): semantic 糸 + phonetic 合 (OC *kuːb, *ɡuːb).
Starostin reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *qǝ̆p (“to give; to supply”), comparing it to Burmese အပ် (ap, “to commit; to deliver; to hand over”), Jingpho ap (“to hand over”), Lepcha ᰀᰤᰬᰱ (kjep, “to add to; to multiply”), ᰃᰤᰱ (gjap, “many”).
In Mandarin, Jin and Xiang, pronunciations 1 and 2 are generally thought of as colloquial and literary readings respectively, from the same Middle Chinese etymon (Zhengzhang, 2002; Liu, 2021; among others). Pronunciation 2, the literary reading, is a regular reflex from Middle Chinese. However, since pronunciation 1 is highly irregular, others have proposed alternative etymologies for it:
* From the contraction of 過與 (MC kwaH yoX, “to pass to”) (Ikeda, 1962; Hirayama, 2000, 2010; Wang, 2022);
* From 乞 (MC khj+t|khj+jH, “to give”) (Zhang, 1989); and
* From 饋 (MC gwijH, “to gift”) (Shimura, 1995).

cog

Here are the words I've always wanted to say to you.

Zhèlǐ yǒu wǒ yīzhí xiǎng shuō gěi nǐ tīng de huà.

這裡有我一直想說給你聽的話。

这里有我一直想说给你听的话。

to; with (following verbs to indicate the handing over or passing of something)


脰

→ Proto-Vietic: *k-ɗɔːk (“nape”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *doːs): semantic ⺼ (“meat; flesh”) + phonetic 豆 (OC *doːs).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tuk ~ *twak (“head; skull; neck”); cognate with Jingpho du (“neck”), Burmese လည်တိုင် (lanytuing), Nuosu ꆽꄿ (lie dda).


經

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *keːŋ, *keːŋs): semantic 糸 (“silk; thread”) + phonetic 巠 (OC *keːŋ).

Han compound

經線

经线

Coordinate term: 緯／纬 (wěi)


肘

Originally an ideogram (指事): a hand (又) with a stroke outlining the elbow. This character was distinct from 寸; however, their shapes were too similar, so the radical 肉/⺼ was added to distinguish it, making it an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-g(r)u (“elbow, cubit”).


職

Characters in the same phonetic series (戠) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjɯɡ): semantic 耳 (“ear”) + phonetic 戠 (OC *tjɯɡ).


索

Ultimately Austroasiatic; compare Khmer ស (sɑɑ, “white; to show something clearly”); cognate with 素 (OC *saːs, “colourless; plain”) (Schuessler, 2007).


臒

臒 (Kangxi radical 130, 肉+14, 18 strokes, cangjie input 月廿人水 (BTOE), four-corner 7424₇, composition ⿰月蒦)


舀

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 爪 (“hand”) + 臼 (“mortar, vessel”).
Related to 揄 (OC *l'oː, *l'oːʔ, *lu, *lo, “to scoop out”) (Schuessler, 2007). Compare Mizo lâwk, lawh (“to scoop up; to shovel up”), Mon ဂၠံက် (“to scoop up; to scoop out”) (Schuessler, 2007).

och-l

𦥝
𤔘
抌
抭
㧒
𦥟
𦥞
𦥨
𥦶
𦥵
𦦌

With an arbitrary swing of a club, a roe deer may get knocked down; fish can be ladled straight from the river. Frightened pheasants even sometimes fly into the wok while scurrying away. (a proverb depicting superior and plentiful natural resources)

bàng dǎ páozi piáo yǎo yú, yějī fēijìn fànguō lǐ

棒打麅子瓢舀魚，野雞飛進飯鍋裏

棒打狍子瓢舀鱼，野鸡飞进饭锅里


繞

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋjewʔ, *ŋjaws): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 堯 (OC *ŋeːw).


腫

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjoŋʔ): semantic 肉 (“meat, flesh”) + phonetic 重 (OC *doŋ, *doŋʔ, *doŋs).


約

Sino-Xenic (約):
* → Vietnamese: ước (約)

Characters in the same phonetic series (勺) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔlewɢs, *ʔlewɢ): semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 勺 (OC *pljewɢ, *bljewɢ).

Han compound

四環九約

四环九约

(Hong Kong, historical) district (of the City of Victoria)


胲

the flesh where hair grows on the big toe


等

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (等):
* → Japanese: 等(とう) (tō)
* → Korean: 등(等) (deung)
* → Vietnamese: đẳng (等)

→ Proto-Turkic: *teŋ (“equal”) (see there for further descendants)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tɯːʔ, *tɯːŋʔ): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 寺 (OC *ljɯs).
竹 here refers to the bamboo strips used for writing (e.g. grading, classification) in ancient times. 寺 (OC *ljɯs) was originally used phonetically; the character was subsequently borrowed for another word with the same meaning, but with no phonetic resemblance to 寺.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-tjaŋ (“top; to rise; to raise”) (STEDT). Endoactive of 登 (OC *tɯːŋ, “to rise; to ascend”) (Schuessler, 2007).

liushu

OC *tɯːʔ, *tɯːŋʔ

inh

the third division member of a rime doublet

重紐三等

重纽三等

Middle Chinese finals
w:Middle Chinese finals

(Chinese phonetics) one of the "divisions" of a rime table, encoding some phonological distinction; see Middle Chinese finals on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Tonight there are wonderful performances like drama, singing, dancing, and more.

Jīntiān wǎnshàng yǒu huàjù, chànggē, tiàowǔ děng jīngcǎi biǎoyǎn.

今天晚上有話劇、唱歌、跳舞等精彩表演。

今天晚上有话剧、唱歌、跳舞等精彩表演。

In the seventh month of the first year under Qin Er Shi's rule, Chen She, with others, rebelled in Dazexiang.

Qín èrshì yuánnián qīyuè, Chén Shè děng qǐ Dàzé zhōng.

秦二世元年七月，陳涉等起大澤中。

秦二世元年七月，陈涉等起大泽中。


等

A medieval word, probably related to 待 (OC *dɯːʔ, “to wait”) (Wang, 1982).

dang² ngo⁵ zou⁶ jyun⁴ je⁵ sin¹ tung⁴ nei⁵ king¹.

等我做完嘢先同你傾。

等我做完嘢先同你倾。

when (something happens at a point in time in the future)


脣

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɦljun): phonetic 辰 (OC *djɯn) + semantic 肉 (“flesh”).
Original meaning was apparently “edge”. Related to 漘 (OC *ɦljun, “bank of a river”), 宸 (OC *djɯn, “eave (i.e. edge of a roof)”) and 胗 (OC *kljɯnʔ, *klɯnʔ, “ulcer of the lip”) (Wang, 1982).
Further etymology is not clear. The various theories are:
* Schuessler (2007): Related to Lepcha ᰣᰌᰫᰯ (a-dul, “lips”) < root ᰌᰫᰯ (dul) (STEDT derives this from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-ts(j)ul (“lip; beak”)).
* Benedict (1972): Related to Tibetan མཆུ (mchu, “lips; beak of a bird”) (derived from the same Sino-Tibetan etymon in STEDT).


聯

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 耳 (“ear”) + 絲 (“silk”).
According to Duan Yucai, 聯 and 連／连 are two characters for the same word, with the former used in the Zhou dynasty and the latter in the Han dynasty.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-rjan (“equal; to place in a row; to align; row”); related to 連 (OC *ren) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007).

inh

联
聮
䏈
聫
聨
聠
𦕱

alt. forms: 連／连, 孿／孪 (luán), 縺／𦈐 (lián), 褳／裢 (lián)

聯衫／联衫 [Cantonese] ― lyun⁴ saam¹ [Jyutping] ― to sew clothes

聯咗四針／联咗四针 [Cantonese] ― lyun⁴ zo² sei³ zam¹ [Jyutping] ― to stitch four stitches

(literary or dialectal) to sew; to stitch


肖

/t͡sʰiːu̯³³/

/t͡sʰiːu̯³³/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *slew, *slews): phonetic 小 (OC *smewʔ) + semantic 肉 (“meat”).


膈

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kreːɡ): semantic ⺼ + phonetic 鬲 (OC *kreːɡ, *ɡ·reːɡ).


脾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *be): semantic ⺼ (“organ”) + phonetic 卑 (OC *pe).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-paj (“spleen”) (STEDT).

traditional Chinese medicine
traditional Chinese medicine

(～臟) (traditional Chinese medicine) a functionally defined organ of the digestive system, corresponding largely to the anatomical organ of the pancreas


籠

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (籠):
* → Korean: 농(籠) (nong), 롱(籠) (rong)

→ Vietnamese: lồng (Alves 2018)

→? Vietnamese: chuồng (Baxter & Sagart 2014)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *roːŋ, *roːŋʔ, *roŋ): semantic 𥫗 + phonetic 龍 (OC *b·roŋ, *mroːŋ).
Attested somewhat late, in Warring States period's texts.
A Southeast Asian area word (Alves 2015).
* Per Schuessler 2007, most likely of Austroasiatic origin. Compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *truŋ (“stable, sty, cage”) and *kruŋ (“to confine”) in Shorto 2006, whence Khmer ទ្រុង (trŭng, “cage”), ក្រុង (krŏng, “to confine”), Kuy thrùŋ (“cage”), potentially Vietnamese chuồng (“cage; shed; coop”), and so forth. The Vietnamese may possibly be an early Chinese loan instead (Alves 2018).
* STEDT reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kruːŋ (“cage”), based on e.g. Garo gring (“cage”), Burmese ချိုင့် (hkyuing.). Schuessler thinks these were also borrowed from Austroasiatic.
* Other forms include Proto-Tai [Term?], whence Thai กรง (grong, “cage”); and Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kuruŋ, whence Indonesian kurung (“cage”), Tagalog kulong (“caged”). Schuessler believes these are also ultimately from Austroasiatic.

cog

If a single sparrow came within Archer Yi's range, he was sure to bring it down—impressive shooting. But he might have made the whole world into a cage, and then the sparrows would have had no place to flee to.

Yī què shì Yì, Yì bì dé zhī, wēi yě; yǐ tiānxià wèi zhī lóng, zé què wú suǒ táo.

一雀適羿，羿必得之，威也；以天下為之籠，則雀無所逃。

一雀适羿，羿必得之，威也；以天下为之笼，则雀无所逃。

The sun and moon are birds in a coop; heaven and earth are duckweed on water.

衡州送李大夫七丈勉赴廣州 "At Hengzhou Seeing Off Censor-in-Chief Li Mian, the Seventh Gentleman, on his Way to Guangzhou", Du Fu, eighth century

Rìyuè lóng zhōng niǎo, qiánkūn shuǐshàng píng.

日月籠中鳥，乾坤水上萍。

日月笼中鸟，乾坤水上萍。

bamboo container, holder, hoop, basket, steamer (for buns, dumplings, etc.)


籠

(～竹) A kind of bamboo produced in the Lingnan region of China.


籠

內籠／内笼 [Cantonese] ― noi⁶ lung² [Jyutping] ― interior

(Cantonese) interior (Classifier: 個／个 c)

(Cantonese) Classifier for 嘢 (je5), used in combination to describe negative matters caused by or associated with someone.


舂

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 廾 (“both hands”) + 午 (“pestle”) + 臼 (“mortar”) – using both hands to pound with a mortar and pestle. See also the top component of 秦.

Han compound

(Cantonese, Hakka, Southern Min, Shanghainese) to hit with a fist; to punch


舔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l̥ʰiːmʔ): semantic 舌 (“tongue”) + phonetic 忝 (OC *l̥ʰiːmʔ, *l̥ʰiːms).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ljam (“tongue; flame”). The Cantonese vernacular reading (Guangzhou lim² or lem²; Taishan liam²) preserves the Old Chinese lateral initial *l̥-.

inh

舔共

to suck up to the Communist Party of China

舔日

舔美

(figurative, slang, transitive) to suck up to; to brownnose


脈

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mreːɡ): semantic ⺼ (“flesh”) + phonetic 𠂢 ().

Han compound

(traditional Chinese medicine) blood vessels; veins and arteries


聚

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zloʔ, *zlos): phonetic 取 (OC *sʰloːʔ, *sʰloʔ) + semantic 乑 (“three men”).
Compare Burmese စု (cu., “to accumulate”) (Luce, 1981).

Han compound

冣
𨛿
𦼈
𧅞
𣷗
𧚿
𬥁
𫮣
𦖰

59th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "massing" (𝍀)


臟

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zaːŋs): semantic ⺼ (“flesh”) + phonetic 藏 (OC *zaːŋ, *zaːŋs).
Specializational glyph of 藏 (OC *zaːŋs).

Han compound

心臟

心脏

all the human internal organs (lit. five viscera and six bowels)

五臟六腑

五脏六腑


紫

Characters in the same phonetic series (此) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔseʔ): phonetic 此 (OC *sʰeʔ) + semantic 糸.


舜

Hibiscus syriacus
Hibiscus syriacus#Translingual


臼

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

Pictogram (象形): a mortar. See the original version of 舂, in which a pestle is visible on top. Unrelated to the top component of 學, 兒, 䳔, 鼠, and 叟.

mortar (hollow vessel used to pound or crush ingredients)


膚

→ Thai: ผิว (pǐu)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 肉 (“meat”) + abbreviated 盧 (“vessel; rice bowl”) — skin, which covers the innards like the exterior of a rice bowl.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *p(r/j)a (“skin”) (STEDT). This form likely represents the root while 皮 (OC *bral) is its derivative with a voicing prefix, most likely PST *m-, found in several OC words for body parts like 鼻 (OC *m-bi[t]-s, “nose”), 肚 (OC *m-tˤaʔ, “belly”), 右 (OC *[ɢ]ʷəʔ-s (~ *m-qʷəʔ), “right-hand”) and 頭 (OC *[m-t]ˤo, “head”) (Baxter & Sagart, 2014).

och-l

(alt. form 扶) ancient unit of length equal to the width of four fingers


腐

→ Isan: ฟุย

→ Lao: ຟຸຍ (fu nya)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *boʔ): phonetic 府 (OC *poʔ) + semantic 肉 (“ribs, flesh, body”) – decay as aspect of the flesh.

Han compound

豆腐

腐乳

腐女 ― fǔnǚ ― fujoshi

(ACG, often attributive) yaoi; boys' love; BL


聊

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *m·rɯːw): semantic 耳 (“ear”) + phonetic 卯 (OC *mruːʔ).

Han compound

你和他聊了些什麼？

你和他聊了些什么？

Let's stop chatting, I'm going to sleep.

不聊了，我要睡覺了。

不聊了，我要睡觉了。

聊且

For the time being, I go along with nature's course when living the rest of my life.

聊乘化以歸盡。

聊乘化以归尽。

(literary, or in compounds) for the time being; tentatively


脅

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hlams, *hlab): phonetic 劦 (OC *ɦleːb) + semantic 肉.


芎

/t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ³⁵/


臀

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *duːn): phonetic 殿 (OC *tɯːns, *dɯːns) + semantic 肉 (“flesh”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-t(u/i)l (“buttocks; heel; dull; blunt; rounded part”). Compare Manipuri ꯊꯨꯟ (thoon, “buttocks”).


胃

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (胃):
* → Japanese: 胃(い) (i)
* → Korean: 위(胃) (wi)

According to Shuowen Jiezi, the 𡇒 character (note that this Unicode character has undergone libian simplification) atop 𦞅 is a pictogram (象形) of a stomach. While the bronze script form merely consisted of two concentric circles, an inner portion of the character was later added, namely a mutated form of the seal script character of 米 ("rice"), representing grains within the stomach (see also 鬯).
A 肉 component (modern radical form ⺼, not to be confused with the unrelated 月, a moon) was added to specialise the character. Upon transition to the clerical script form, the upper component was simplified to the unrelated 田, which however has a reference to rice and food.
The ancient form of the character can be seen within the lower component of 𦳊.

(～宿) (Chinese astronomy) Stomach Mansion (one of Twenty-Eight Mansions)


臾

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 𦥑 (“two hands”) + 人 (“person”) – two hands dragging a person. Compare 曳.


累

Simplified from 纍 (畾 → 田).
Folk etymology considers this character as an ideographic compound representing the tiredness after work. In ancient China, men were working in the field (田) while women sewed (糸).
Various semantic fields can be distinguished:
; “to add; to accumulate”
; “to damage; exhausted; tired”
; “to bind; to wind around”

我很累。

他會累得精疲力竭的。

他会累得精疲力竭的。


股

Originally written 夃 (OC *kaːʔ, “thigh”), according to 趙平安. Later the 夃 component came to be written 殳, and a 肉 component was added, making the modern form an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *klaːʔ): semantic 肉 (“body”) + phonetic 夃 (OC *kaːʔ, “thigh”).
Shuowen incorrectly considered it Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *klaːʔ): semantic 肉 (“body”) + phonetic 殳 (OC *djo, “action”) – the hips as an active part of the body.


腔

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑ̃ɻ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑ̃ɻ⁵⁵/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰroːŋ): semantic 肉 (“meat; flesh”) + phonetic 空 (OC *kʰoːŋ, *kʰoːŋs, “empty; hollow”).
Cognate with 空 (OC *kʰoːŋ, *kʰoːŋs, “empty; hollow”) (Wang, 1982).


臘

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raːb): semantic ⺼ (“meat”) + phonetic 巤 (OC *rab).
Uncertain.
* Bodde (1975) cites Zheng Xuan's comment on the relation between 臘 (OC *raːb, “year-end sacrifice”) and 獵 (OC *rab, “hunt”);
* Boltz (1979) instead relates it to a much later word written with the same phonetic & meaning "to cut off, to terminate" (of a year);
* Schuessler (2007) proposes an alternative Sino-Tibetan etymology: just as the 葉 (OC *hljeb, *leb) word-family encompasses the meanings "leaf > foliage, year, generation"; so the root *râp "new year, change of year" is apparently a parallel etymon, which also is cognate with Tibetan རབས། (rabs, “generation”) (Bodman, 1980).


腋

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *laːɡ): semantic 肉 (“flesh”) + phonetic 夜 (OC *laːɡs).
Originally written 亦, see there for more.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lak ~ *C-jak (“arm; hand; wing”), either via *jak (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007) or *lak (Shi, 2000; Handel, 2009). Compare Mizo zak (“armpit”), Tibetan ལག་པ (lag pa, “arm; hand”), Burmese လက် (lak, “arm; hand”).


縱

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsloŋ, *ʔsloŋs): semantic 糸 + phonetic 從 (OC *zloŋ, *zloŋ, *zloŋs).

Han compound

(obsolete, of hair worn in a bun) big and tall


膽

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *taːmʔ): semantic ⺼ (“body part”) + phonetic 詹 (OC *tjam).
Austroasiatic (Schuessler, 2007); compare Proto-Vietic *lɔːm, Proto-Katuic *lɔɔm, Proto-Bahnaric *kləːm, etc. from Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₁ləəm ~ *t₁luəm "liver".

Han compound

The Wei soldiers, craving vengeance, competed [to wreak it], and they sliced open [Jiang] Wei's belly; his gallbladder was as big as a hen's egg.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14ᵗʰ century CE

Wèibīng zhēng yù bàochóu, gòng pōu Wéi fù, qí dǎn dà rú jīluǎn.

魏兵爭欲報讎，共剖維腹，其膽大如雞卵。

魏兵争欲报雠，共剖维腹，其胆大如鸡卵。

膽囊

胆囊


肺

→ Proto-Tai: *pwɤtᴰ

Lao: ປອດ (pǭt)

Phake: ပွတ် (pot)

Shan: ပွတ်ႇ (pàut)

Thai: ปอด (bpɔ̀ɔt)

Zhuang: bwt

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰobs): semantic 肉 (“meat; flesh”) + phonetic 巿 (OC *pub).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *p-wap (“lung”).


精

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsleŋ, *ʔsleŋs): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ) – polished rice.

Han compound

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 精 (MC tsjeng)


艱

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *krɯːn): semantic 𦰩 + phonetic 艮 (OC *kɯːns).


腥

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *seːŋ, *seːŋs): semantic 肉 (“meat; flesh”) + phonetic 星 (OC *sleːŋ)


脖

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯːd): semantic ⺼ (“flesh”) + phonetic 孛 (OC *bɯːds, *bɯːd).
Attested since the Yuan dynasty. Zhengzhang (2002) proposes that it comes from 襮 (OC *poːwɢ, “embroidered collar”). Sheng (2010) points out that it is unlikely because of the rare literary usage of 襮 in the literature compared to the explosive vernacular usage of 脖 since the Yuan dynasty; he instead proposes that it may be from Proto-Turkic *bōń (“neck”), but also see Wang (2016) and Sun and Du (2022) for some difficulties with the Turkic hypothesis.


羨

Dai Kan-Wa Jiten
Guo Zhongshu
Hanyu Da Cidian
Hanyu Da Zidian
Zhongwen Da Cidian

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 羊 (“sheep”) + 㳄 (“saliva”) – to envy.
羊 may be interpreted as a beautiful sheep or good mutton (cf. 美 “beautiful” and 善 “good”).
The Kangxi Dictionary, following 《佩觿》, enters the word in etymology 2 as 羡, separating it from 羨 (etymology 1). This is also followed by dictionaries such as Hanyu Da Cidian and Dai Kan-Wa Jiten, but Zhongwen Da Cidian disagrees with this treatment. (Hanyu Da Zidian regards 羡 as the main form of all pronunciations.) According to 《說文解字羣經正字》:
Possibly related to 餘 (OC *la, “surplus”) (Wang, 1982).

羨, meaning "to covet", is now frequently written as 羡 in the classics. Guo Zhongshu's Peixi distinguishes 羨 and 羡 as separate characters. 羡, fanqie 以脂, name of a place in Jiangxia. 羨, fanqie 似面, to desire. This is not the case. There's no such character with the 次 element in character dictionaries. There is only one character but several pronunciations.

《說文解字羣經正字》, quoted from Zhongwen Da Cidian

羨 (Xiàn), tānyù yě, jīn jīngdiǎn wǎngwǎng zuò 羡. Guō Zhōngshù “Pèixī” fēn 羨 (xiàn), 羡 (yí) wéi èr zì. Yí, yǐ zhī fān, Jiāngxià dìmíng; xiàn, sì miàn fān, mù yě. Fēi yě, zìshū wú cóng 次 (cì) zhī zì, wéi yī zì ér shù yīn ěr.

羨，貪欲也，今經典往往作羡。郭忠恕《佩觿》分羨、羡爲二字。羡，以脂翻，江夏地名；羨，似面翻，慕也。非也，字書無从次之字，惟一字而數音耳。

羡，贪欲也，今经典往往作羡。郭忠恕《佩觿》分羡、羡为二字。羡，以脂翻，江夏地名；羡，似面翻，慕也。非也，字书无从次之字，惟一字而数音耳。


羊

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (羊):
* → Japanese: 羊(よう) (yō)
* → Korean: 양(羊) (yang)
* → Vietnamese: dương (羊)

Wutunhua: yang

Characters in the same phonetic series (羊) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – picture of a ram's head. See also the original version of 沈.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-jaŋ (“sheep; yak”). Cognate with Tibetan གཡག (g.yag, “yak”), Lepcha ᰚᰩᰭ (yók, “yak”), Tangut 𗇼 (*gjwã², “goat”), Northern Tujia zo³⁵ (“goat; sheep”).


肥

→ Proto-Tai: *bwiːᴬ (“fat”)

Thai: พี (pii)

Zhuang: biz

→ Thai: ปุ๋ย (bpǔi, “fertilizer”)

Shuowen Jiezi: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 肉 (“meat”) + 卪 (“person kneeling”).
Ji Xusheng (2004) posits that its actually a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯl): semantic 肉 + abbreviated phonetic 妃 (OC *pʰɯːls, *pʰɯl).
STEDT provisionally assigns this to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bu ~ bur.

Han compound

減肥／减肥

化肥

氮肥

施肥

2000s, 美国·圣地亚戈, an advertisement of the product 金氮丹

zhǐyào tǔ zài féi jiù zài / yī dài néng dǐng liǎng dài

只要土在肥就在 / 一袋能頂兩袋

只要土在肥就在 / 一袋能顶两袋