安

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (安):
* → Japanese: 安(あん) (an)
* → Korean: 안(安) (an)
* → Vietnamese: an (安)

Characters in the same phonetic series (安) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 宀 (“house”) + 女 (“a kneeling woman”) – to be at ease, to be safe.
; calm; peaceful
: Cognate with 按 (OC *qaːns, “to push down with hand”), an exoactive derivative, literally “to cause to be settled; calmed” (ibid.).
: Starostin reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ʔɨāɫ (“rest”), comparing it to Mizo âwl (“to rest”) (and also noting Dhimal [script needed] (el-ka, “good”)). STEDT, however, traces the Mizo word to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-grwal ~ *ʔwal (“finish, loose, relax”) and did not list 安 (OC *qaːn) among its comparanda: namely 完 (OC *ɦŋoːn), 緩 (OC *ɢʷaːnʔ), 諼 (OC *qʰʷan, *qʰʷanʔ), 援 (OC *ɢʷans, *ɢʷan).
; where; how

cog

(physics) Short for 安培 (ānpéi, “ampere”).

吸安

安非他命 安非他命#Chinese

Short for 安非他命 (ānfēitāmìng, “amphetamine”).

安那其主義 安那其主義#Chinese

安那其主义 安那其主义#Chinese

Short for 安那其主義／安那其主义 (ānnàqí zhǔyì, “anarchism”).

(historical) a surname. Given to people from the Arsacid or Parthian Empire (安息 or 安國／安国)


幣

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *beds): phonetic 敝 (OC *beds, *bed) + semantic 巾 (“towel”) to indicate silk given as a gift or sacrificed. The phonetic component contains as well a reference to a cloth.
Wang (1982) relates this to 帛 (OC *braːɡ, “silk”).


幫

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *paːŋ): phonetic 封 (OC *poŋ, *poŋs) + semantic 帛 (“silk”) – originally, the upper part of a shoe (鞋幫).

Han compound

帮
幇
幚
鞤
縍
䩷
㿶

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 幫 (MC pang)


彩

/t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯³⁵/

/t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰɯːʔ): phonetic 采 (OC *sʰɯːʔ) + semantic 彡.
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-tsəw-s/t (“colour; dye”); compare Tibetan ཚོས (tshos, “dye”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007).
Alternatively, 色 (OC *s.rək, “colour”) may be a dialectal variant (Baxter, 1992; Baxter and Sagart, 2014).

inh

literary or artistic grace or talent; variety; gracefulness; brilliance

好彩


市

Oracle bone script and bronze inscriptions: Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djɯʔ): semantic 兮 (“bustling”) + phonetic 之 (OC *tjɯ).
Possibly related to Proto-Tai *z.ɟɯːꟲ (“to buy”), whence Thai ซื้อ (sʉ́ʉ) (Schuessler, 2007).

cog

Thai ซื้อ (sʉ́ʉ)


待

→ Vietnamese: đợi (“to wait for”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *dɯːʔ): semantic 彳 + phonetic 寺 (OC *ljɯs).
Probably related to 等 (MC tongX, “to wait”) (Wang, 1982).
Karlgren (1956) relates this word to 侍 (OC *djɯs, “to serve; to wait upon”).


宵

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sew): semantic 宀 (“roof”) + phonetic 肖 (OC *slew, *slews).


孫

→ English: Sun, Suen, Soon

→ Tagalog: Suan (via Hokkien), Soon (via Hokkien)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 子 (“son”) + 系 (“continue”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sju(w)-n (“grandchild”) (STEDT). Cognate with Bodo (India) sou (“grandchild”), Jingpho shu (“grandchild”).


守

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 宀 (“roof; building”) + 寸 (“hand”); to guard, keep, or defend a place (e.g., a building whose roof is visible on top of the character). It's possible that 寸 (original form of 肘 (OC *tkuʔ)) is also a phonetic component. A more conservative version is 㝊, in which 又 is not a phonetic component.

57th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "guardedness" (𝌾)


巧

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰruːʔ, *kʰruːs): semantic 工 + phonetic 丂 (OC *kʰluːʔ)


恭

Shuowen: Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kloŋ): phonetic 共 (OC *kloŋ, *ɡloŋs, “heart”) + semantic 心


引

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (引):
* → Japanese: 引(いん) (in)
* → Korean: 인(引) (in)
* → Vietnamese: dẫn (引)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 弓 (“bow”) + 丨 (“line”) – the line radical represents a bow string which is pulled.


悼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *deːwɢs): semantic 忄 + phonetic 卓 (OC *rteːwɢ).

Han compound

𠺛
𡄒
𢛂
𣫜
𦒺
𦓃
⿰忄到


愜

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


愆

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰran): phonetic 衍 (OC *lanʔ, *lans) + semantic 心 (“heart”).

Han compound

䇂
㥶
諐
𠍴
𠐨
𢝐
𢡊
𧗭
𧗺
𠏘
𠎱
𫺛

(literary) fault; mistake; error; transgression

(literary) to exceed; to surpass; to pass (time); to delay

(obsolete) to suffer an intractable illness


悉

Sino-Xenic (悉):
* → Vietnamese: tất (悉)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 釆 (“to distinguish”) + 心 (“heart”) – detailed.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sjej-s (“to know; to understand”) (STEDT). Compare with Tibetan ཤེས་པ (shes pa, “to understand; to know”), Burmese သိ (si., “to know”), Mizo thei (“can; to be able”), Chepang चीःसा (ciʔ‑, “to know; to understand”).


徵

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 彳 (“movement”) + 𭖒 (“knife”) + 攵 (“to strike”) – originally meaning punishment.
Originally written as 𭖒 in oracle bone script; pictogram (象形) of a knife with tooth-shaped protrusions on the back. Variants which added 止 (“foot”) were common. In bronze inscriptions, 彳 was often added to the character as well. In bamboo slips, 止 was replaced with 攵, arriving at the modern form.
Related to 證 (OC *tjɯŋs).


役

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 彳 (“movement; action”) + semantic 殳 (“a weapon, like a spear”). The character originally depicted guarding a border with a weapon in hand, and by extension, it came to represent the idea of performing a duty or task.
From 為 (OC *ɢʷal, “to do”) with k-extension (Schuessler, 2007).


悅

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lod, *lod): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 兌 (OC *l'oːds).
Often written as 說 in pre-Qin texts.
STEDT compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-lwat (“free; release; slip; dislocate”). Cognate with 愉 (OC *lo, “happy; pleased”), 說 (OC *hljods, “to speak; to explain”), 脫 (OC *l̥ʰoːd, *l'oːd, “to take off (clothes); to escape”), 偷 (OC *l̥ʰoː, “to steal”).

och-l

The earl of Qin was pleased, and made a covenant with the people of Zheng.

秦伯說，與鄭人盟。

秦伯说，与郑人盟。

If the people of Yan will be pleased with your taking possession of it, then do so.

取之而燕民悅，則取之。

取之而燕民悦，则取之。


座

→ Vietnamese: toà

/t͡sɔː²²⁻³⁵/

/t͡sɔː²²⁻³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zoːls): semantic 广 (“house on cliff”) + phonetic 坐 (OC *zoːlʔ, *zoːls).
Exopassive of 坐 (OC *zoːlʔ, “to sit; to be situated”), literally "that which is sat on" (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

天蠍座／天蝎座

Short for 星座 (xīngzuò, “constellation”).


彌

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mnel): semantic 弓 + phonetic 爾 (OC *njelʔ).


悠

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lɯw): phonetic 攸 (OC *lɯw) + semantic 心 (“heart; mind”)
Uncertain. Compare with Burmese ယော်ယမ်း (yauyam:, “to yearn for a distant thing”).


恐

In the Shuowen Jiezi appears as phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰoŋʔ, *kʰoŋs): phonetic 𢀜 () + semantic 心 (“heart”). The modern form can be interpreted as phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰoŋʔ, *kʰoŋs): phonetic 巩 (OC *koŋʔ) + semantic 心 (“heart”)

Han compound

𢖶
𢙷
𢝭
𢟃
鞏
⿱⿰工几心


恙

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *laŋs): phonetic 羊 (OC *laŋ) + semantic 心.


忙

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maːŋ): semantic 忄 + phonetic 亡 (OC *maŋ). Doublet of 忘 (OC *maŋ, *maŋs).

Han compound

你最近忙嗎？

你最近忙吗？


彈

Characters in the same phonetic series (單) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *daːn, *daːns): semantic 弓 + phonetic 單 (OC *taːn, *djan, *djanʔ, *djans).


庵

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qoːm, *qoːb): semantic 广 (“house”) + phonetic 奄 (OC *qromʔ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *k-jim ~ k-jum (“house; pit; womb”). Cognate with Tibetan ཁྱིམ (khyim, “house”) and Burmese အိမ် (im, “house”).


忌

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

Han compound

to abstain; to drop; to stop; to give up (a bad habit)


悖

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯːds, *bɯːd): semantic 忄 + phonetic 孛 (OC *bɯːds, *bɯːd).

Han compound

誖
𢨋
哱
愂
怫
孛
𢟥
𢠜
𢚦


尊

Sino-Xenic (尊):
* → Vietnamese: tôn (尊)

Shuowen: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 酋 (“wine”) + 寸 (“hand”) – to give 寸 (cùn) an offering such as a vessel of wine 酋 (qiú) – to show respect, veneration.
However per small seal script, it may instead be a variant of 𢍜, which is Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 酋 (“wine”) + 廾 (“two hands”).
Cognate to Tibetan བཙུན (btsun), བཙུན་པ (btsun pa, “respectable, venerable”), མཚུན (mtshun, “ancestor god”). The "vessel" sense is because it was used in ritual ceremonies (Schuessler, 2007).
; "glorious; marvelous; wonderful"

alt. forms: 樽 (zūn), 鐏／𨱔 (zūn), 罇／樽 (zūn)

(historical) zun (a type of container for alcoholic beverage in historical China)

一尊巨像

一尊大炮

Classifier for heavy and chiefly immobile artificial objects; colossuses. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier


往

According to the version on bronzes, originally phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷaŋ): semantic 止 (“foot”) + phonetic 王 (OC *ɢʷaŋ, *ɢʷaŋs), hence the original version is 㞷; see also the top component of 出 and 岁. Later 彳 was added to form phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷaŋ): semantic 彳 (“walk”) + semantic 止 (“foot”) + phonetic 王 (OC *ɢʷaŋ, *ɢʷaŋs). Hence, the new character 𢓸 was coined.
Eventually, the right component was stylized into the unrelated 主. The fooprint pointing upwards on top became a point as in the character 之.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-wa-ŋ (“to go; to come”). Cognate with Burmese ဝင် (wang, “to come in; to enter”), Tibetan འོང ('ong, “to come”), ཡོང (yong, “to come”). Related to 于 (OC *ɢʷa, “to go”).

cog

徃
𢓸
㞷
𢔎
迬
𨓹
徍
𧗧
矼

往返


恆

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (恆):
* → Vietnamese: hằng (恆)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡɯːŋ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 亙 (OC *kɯːŋs, “partial moon”).
May have originally been written 亙.
In Small Seal Script, the 月 in 亙 was written 舟.

Han compound

32nd hexagram of the I Ching; “endurance” (䷟)


妹

→ Khmer: មួយ (muəy, “you”) (used with people of Chinese ethnicity)

→ Thai: หมวย (mǔai, “younger sister”) (said by Chinese ethnicity)

/muːi̯²²⁻⁵⁵/

/muːi̯²²⁻³⁵/

/muːi̯²²⁻⁵⁵/

/muːi̯²²⁻³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mɯːds): semantic 女 (“female, woman”) + phonetic 未 (OC *mɯds).
Probably Sino-Tibetan. Proposed etymologies:
* STEDT relates it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mi (“girl; female; feminine suffix”), whence Apatani nyimii (“girl; woman; female”), Proto-Loloish *C-mi² (“woman”), Proto-Karen *hmɨᴮ (“female; woman”).
* Schuessler (2007) compares it to Burmese မ (ma., “sister”) (whence အစ်မ (acma., “elder sister”), ညီမ (nyima., “younger sister”)), Miju ku-mai- (“woman”), Tibetan བུད་མེད (bud med, “woman”), and also Mizo hmei (“concubine”) (> Mizo hmei-chhia (“woman; wife”)), which STEDT relates to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-maj (“widow, widower”) instead.


夢

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (夢):
* → Vietnamese: mộng (夢)

Bronze inscriptions
Oracle bone script
Shuowen

In the Oracle bone script, a pictogram (象形) or ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) – a person (人) lying on a bed (爿), sometimes with restless hands (compare the oracle-bone character for 丮) and sometimes with the eye (目) emphasized.
In the Bronze inscriptions, the eye (目) has eyebrows above it (compare 眉), and the person's body is attached underneath, now written as two dots on either side. The bed is no longer present, and instead 夕 (“moon; night”) has been added.
In the modern form 夢, the eyebrows are written 卝, the eyes are written 罒, and the person's body has become 冖, while 夕 remains on the bottom.
According to Shuowen, it is a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mɯŋ, *mɯŋs): phonetic 瞢 (OC *mɯːŋ, *mɯŋ, *mɯŋs) + semantic 夕.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(s/r)-ma(ŋ/k) (“dream”); compare Tibetan རྨང་ལམ (rmang lam, “dream”), Chepang माङः (“dream”), Proto-Lolo-Burmese *s-makᴴ ~ *s-maŋ¹ (“dream”), Mizo mang (“dream”), Japhug tɯ-jmŋo (“dream”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007; Zhang, Jacques and Lai, 2019).


惑

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷɯːɡ): phonetic 或 (OC *ɡʷɯːɡ) + semantic 心 (“heart”).


慷

Originally written as 忼. Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰlaːŋʔ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 康 (OC *kʰlaːŋ).


店

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (店):
* → Japanese: 店(てん) (ten)
* → Korean: 점(店) (jeom)

→ Bouyei: diams

→ Sogdian: [script needed] (tym /tēm/)

desc

→ Classical Persian: تیم (tēm, “caravanserai”)

⇒ Persian: تیمچه (timče, “small market”)

→ Thai: เตี๊ยม (dtíiam)

→ Vietnamese: tiệm

→ Zhuang: diemq

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tiːms): semantic 广 (“lean-to”) + phonetic 占 (OC *ʔljem, *tjems)

Han compound

I got a new coat in that store last week.

Shàng lǐbài wǒ zài nà jiā diàn mǎi le yī jiàn xīn wàitào.

上禮拜我在那家店買了一件新外套。

上礼拜我在那家店买了一件新外套。

That store has a good selection of furniture.

Nà jiā diàn yǒu hěn duō jiājù kě gōng tiǎoxuǎn.

那家店有很多家具可供挑選。

那家店有很多家具可供挑选。

駐馬店

驻马店


彗

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 甡 (“broom”) + 又 (“hand”) – to hold a broom which is made of bamboo.
Sagart (2021) modifies Baxter and Sagart's (2014) reconstruction to *sə-m-pʰˤut-s, deriving it from a root *pʰˤut (“dust”), with the iambic form of the prefix *s-, which derives circumstantial nouns, and the prefix *m-, which derives verbs of volitional action from nouns, and relates it to 勃 (OC *bɯːd) and 孛 (OC *bɯːds, *bɯːd).


必

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (必):
* → Japanese: 必(ひつ) (hitsu)
* → Korean: 필(必) (pil)
* → Vietnamese: tất (必)

Characters in the same phonetic series (必) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Likely a pictogram (象形) – weapon handle made of bamboo strips; the original character for 柲 (OC *priɡs, *bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ). The character was phonetically borrowed for the senses of "certainly" and "must".
Unrelated to 心, as bronze script makes clear, but in current form very similar.
Unclear (Schuessler, 2007).

Han etyl

As for legal trials petty or serious, even if I could not judge with perfect justice, I always decide according to the facts.

Xiǎodà zhī yù, suī bù néng chá, bì yǐ qíng.

小大之獄，雖不能察，必以情。

小大之狱，虽不能察，必以情。

surely; most certainly; always; invariably


慎

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djins): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 真 (OC *ʔljin) – a behavior trait (heart), care, caution. Note that 真 means “truth, genuine, sincerity”, hence connotations of “acting sincerely, with care”.

Han compound

愼
㥲
昚
眘
𡴜
𦚉
𡸱

If he is one worth accompanying, accompany him and reach the subtlest Way; if he is one not worth accompanying and you do not know his Way, take care to not accompany him, and you will have no blame.

Kě yǔ wǎng zhě yǔ zhī, zhì yú miàodào; bù kě yǔ wǎng zhě, bù zhī qí dào, shèn wù yǔ zhī, shēn nǎi wú jiù.

可與往者與之，至於妙道；不可與往者，不知其道，慎勿與之，身乃無咎。

可与往者与之，至于妙道；不可与往者，不知其道，慎勿与之，身乃无咎。

(Classical) take care to...; used with negative imperative particles, e.g. 勿, to emphasize the order.


忽

Historically and academically considered a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hmɯːd): phonetic 勿 (OC *mɯd) + semantic 心 (“heart”). Incorrectly colloquially explained as an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 勿 (“not”) + 心 (“heart”).

Han compound

Obsolete. 皮 is used for SI prefix pico-.

(dated) the number 10⁻⁵; 1/100000th of certain units of measure

(Mainland China) traditional unit of length equal to 1/100000th of 寸 (cùn, “Chinese inch, ¹/₃ decimeter”) ≈ 0.33 micron

(Mainland China) traditional unit of weight equal to 1/100000th of 錢／钱 (qián, “mace”) = 50 microgram

忽米


師

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (師):
* → Japanese: 師(し) (shi)
* → Korean: 사(師) (sa)
* → Vietnamese: sư (師)

→ Vietnamese: thầy

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 𠂤 (“mound, hill”) + 帀 – ancient troops were usually stationed at a hill.
Each of the two components can be used as 師 on their own in preclassical scripts. The significance of 帀 is debated. See also 官 and 追.
Starostin derives this word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *rij (“many”), cognate with 皆 (OC *kriːj, “all”), 偕 (OC *kriːj, “together with”), as well as Tibetan ཁྲི (khri, “ten thousand”) and Burmese ရဲ (rai:, “police”).

Han compound

师
𠦵
𠵀
𢂖
𢃋
𨸲
𨸴
𩇱

“Army” (䷆): the seventh hexagram of the I Ching


式

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hljɯɡ): phonetic 弋 (OC *lɯɡ) + semantic 工 (“work”).


惰

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'oːlʔ, *l'oːls): semantic 心 (“heart; mind”) + abbreviated phonetic 隋 (OC *l̥ʰoːlʔ, *l'oːlʔ, *ljol).
May be from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(d/n)waj (“to hang from; to cling to; creeper”); see 垂 (OC *djol, “to hang down”) for more (STEDT).

inh

To teach, without severity, is the teacher's laziness.

Three Character Classic, circa 13ᵗʰ century CE

教不嚴，師之惰。

教不严，师之惰。


恥

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *n̥ʰɯʔ): phonetic 耳 (OC *njɯʔ) + semantic 心 (“heart”)
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-ni (“red”) (STEDT). Cognate with Burmese နီ (ni, “red”), 怩 (OC *nil, “ashamed”).

Han compound

(literary) to humiliate; to put to shame


慨

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰɯːds): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 既 (OC *kɯds).


憤

→ Thai: ฟุน (fun)

→ Isan: ฟุน

→ Lao: ຟຸນ (fun)


悔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hmɯːʔ, *hmɯːs): semantic 忄 + phonetic 每 (OC *mɯːʔ).

Han compound

(literary, or in compounds) to repent; to show remorse; to regret


憐

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *riːn): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 粦 (OC *rins).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-rin (“compassion; love”). Cognate with Tibetan དྲིན (drin, “kindness; favour; grace”) and Burmese ရည်ငံ (ranyngam, “to fall in love”) and Burmese ရည်းစား (rany:ca:, “lover”).


愁

Sino-Xenic (愁):
* → Vietnamese: sầu (愁)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zrɯw): phonetic 秋 (OC *sʰɯw) + semantic 心 (“heart”)

Han compound

to worry about; to be anxious; to be grieved


島

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (島):
* → Japanese: 島(とう) (tō)
* → Korean: 도(島) (do)
* → Vietnamese: đảo (島)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tuːwʔ): phonetic 鳥 (OC *tɯːwʔ) + semantic 山 (“mountain”).
Reminiscent of Mon လ္ကံ (from Proto-Mon-Khmer *tkɔɔʔ), but probably not related (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

岛
㠀
嶋
嶌
隝
嶹
隯


恨

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (恨):
* → Japanese: 恨(こん) (kon)
* → Korean: 한(恨) (han)
* → Vietnamese: hận (恨)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡɯːns): semantic 忄 (“heart; thought; emotion”) + phonetic 艮 (OC *kɯːns).

Han compound

GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

Taking a break from the work, he went up a raised slope by the fields. Full of care and discontent with himself for quite a while, he burst out, "Lest we forget one another when greatness is achieved!"

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

Chuò gēng zhī lǒng shàng, chànghèn jiǔzhī, yuē: “Gǒu fùguì, wú xiāngwàng.”

輟耕之壟上，悵恨久之，曰：「苟富貴，無相忘。」

辍耕之垄上，怅恨久之，曰：「苟富贵，无相忘。」

Vanquished are the endless longings of love

c. the early 740s, Li Bai (李白), Qing Ping Diao (《清平調》). English translation by Shigeyoshi Obata (小畑薫良), 1922.

解釋春風無限恨

解释春风无限恨

(chiefly literary) to pine; to long for; to miss; to suffer from intense desire


忘

Characters in the same phonetic series (亡) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maŋ, *maŋs) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): phonetic 亡 (OC *maŋ, “to lose, disappear, flee”) + semantic 心 (“heart”). Doublet of 忙 (OC *maːŋ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma (“not”). Originally the same word as 亡 (OC *maŋ, “to lose, disappear, flee”) as suggested by Shijing rimes, but it was later suffixed with a perfective suffix *-s (or *-h), literally "it has disappeared (from mind)" (Schuessler, 2007).


弟

→ Thai: ตี๋ (dtǐi, “younger brother”) (said by Chinese race)

Pictogram (象形) of a spear handle wrapped in a leather strap. The wrapping signified order or sequence, which extended to "younger brother".


惹

Characters in the same phonetic series (若) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

Han etyl

惹烏蠅

惹乌蝇

(Mandarin, Internet slang, usually women's speech) Alternative form of 了


慧

Sino-Xenic (慧):
* → Korean: 혜(慧) (hye)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷeːds): phonetic 彗 (OC *sɢʷeds, *ɢʷeds, *sɢʷids) + semantic 心 (“heart”).


娘

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (娘):
* → Japanese: 嬢(にょう) (nyō); 嬢(じょう) (jō); 嬢(にゃん) (nyan)
* → Korean: 낭(娘) (nang)
* → Vietnamese: nương (娘)

desc

→ Khmer: នាង (niəng, “young woman; girl”)

→ Lao: ນາງ (nāng, “woman; girl; lady; Mrs.”)

→ Thai: นาง (naang, “woman; wife; female lover”)

→ Vietnamese: nàng (“lady; young woman; she”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *naŋ): semantic 女 + phonetic 良 (OC *raŋ).
Not attested in pre-Tang texts. It may ultimately have been a fusion of 女郎 (MC nrjoX lang, “lady”) (Coblin, 1994).
Alternatively, from 女 (OC *naʔ, *nas, “woman”) with an attached suffix *-ŋ also found in 卬 (OC *ŋaːŋ, *ŋaŋʔ, “I for my part”) as against 我 (OC *ŋaːlʔ, “I”) (Sagart, 1999: 134). However, evidence for this suffix is sparse; Sagart only adduces these two pairs of words.
As yet another suggestion, it may be a loan from Proto-Turkic *ana ~ *eńe (“mother”); compare Turkish ana and Uyghur ئانا (ana) (Vovin and McCraw, 2011).

Han compound

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 娘 (MC nrjang)


微

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (微):
* → Japanese: 微(み) (mi); 微(び) (bi)
* → Korean: 미(微) (mi)
* → Vietnamese: vi (微)

In oracle bone script, it may be written as 𡵂 or 𢼸.
The former is a variant of 美 (OC *mriʔ), borrowed for sound, pictogram (象形) of a person with long hair.
The latter an ideogrammic (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mɯl): phonetic 𡵂 (OC *mriʔ) + semantic 攵 (“hand with tool”) – splitting or combing hairs; minute. Possibly the original form of 媺 (OC *mrɯlʔ).
彳 (OC *tʰeɡ) was added to emphasize action to create the modern form.
; "not; no"
; "small"

Han compound

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 微 (MC mj+j)


幹

→ Proto-Tai: *kaːnꟲ

Lao: ກ້ານ (kān)

Shan: ၵၢၼ်ႈ (kāan)

Thai: ก้าน (gâan)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kaːns): semantic 倝 + phonetic 干 (OC *kaːn).
The vulgar sense entered Mandarin from Hokkien 姦／奸 (kàn), as 姦 shares the same pronunciation with 幹 in Hokkien.

Han compound

幹恁娘！

干恁娘！

幹你媽！

干你妈！

Cao Xueqin, Dream of the Red Chamber, mid-18ᵗʰ century CE

Jīn Róng zhǐ yīkǒu yǎodìng shuō: “Fāngcái míngmíng de zhuàngjiàn tā liǎng ge zài hòuyuànzi lǐ qīnzuǐ mō pìgǔ, yīduìyī cào, juē cǎogēnr chōu chángduǎn, shéi cháng shéi xiān gàn.”

金榮只一口咬定說：「方才明明的撞見他兩個在後院子里親嘴摸屁股，一對一肏，撅草根兒抽長短，誰長誰先幹。」

金荣只一口咬定说：「方才明明的撞见他两个在后院子里亲嘴摸屁股，一对一肏，撅草根儿抽长短，谁长谁先干。」

(vulgar) to fuck; to engage in sexual intercourse

公幹

公干

(vulgar, chiefly Taiwan) to blame; to condemn


延

Originally 㢟, an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 彳 (“walking”) + 止 (“foot”) – "to travel far". The stroke at the top started being added as a distinguishing mark at the end of the Warring States period, as a way to distinguish its usage from 㢟 as an adverb to mean "prolonged", making it an Ideogram (指事).
Shuowen Jiezi interprets it as phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *lan, *lans): phonetic 丿 (OC *pʰleːd, *leds) + semantic 㢟.
Within Chinese, cognate with 筵 (OC *lan, “bamboo mat”), 梴 (OC *l̥ʰan, “long (of wood)”) and 誕 (OC *l'aːnʔ, “wide; ludicrous”) (Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Burmese လှန်း (hlan:, “to dry (things) in the sun”). Probably unrelated to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *jaːr (“spread; extend; sail”), whence Tibetan གཡོར་མོ (g.yor mo, “sail”), Mizo zâr (“to spread; to spread out”), Jingpho yàn (“spread; unrolled”).
Pan (1987) suggests Vietnamese lan (“to spread”) is borrowed from Old Chinese 延 (OC *lan, *lans).


憾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡɯːms): semantic 忄 + phonetic 感 (OC *kɯːmʔ).

Han compound

憾事

[T]his enables the people to nourish their living and mourn for their dead, without any feeling against any.

Mencius, c. 4ᵗʰ century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Shì shǐ mín yǎng shēng sàng sǐ wú hàn yě.

是使民養生喪死無憾也。

是使民养生丧死无憾也。


恰

t͡sʰouŋ⁵³ pa³³ kʰaʔ²⁴⁻²¹ ɛiŋ⁵³

Have nothing else to do. / Don't you have nothing else to do? / Mind your own concerns/business.

Chòng bā kák-èng. / [t͡sʰouŋ⁵³ pa³³ kʰaʔ²⁴⁻²¹ ɛiŋ⁵³]

噇飽恰閒。

t͡sʰouŋ⁵³ pa³³ kʰaʔ²⁴⁻²¹ ɛiŋ⁵³

噇饱恰闲。


悟

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋaːs): semantic 忄 + phonetic 吾 (OC *ŋraː, *ŋaː).


左

Originally written 𠂇 and 䶹 in the oracle bone script: Pictogram (象形) – a left hand. Compare 又 (“right hand”).
Late bronze inscription forms show an added 工 (“work; to assist?”) component, making the current form a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): phonetic 𠂇 (, “left hand”) + semantic 工 (“work”), representing the original form of 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist”).
Cognate with 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist”) (< be on one's left side); mirror of the semantic relationship between 右 (OC *ɢʷɯʔ, “right”) and 佑 (OC *ɢʷɯs, “to assist”) (Schuessler, 2007).
Unrelated to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *b(w)aj (“left (hand)”) (STEDT).
; “(politics) left-wing”

ncog

area east of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River

江左

你想左了。

左多巴

Zuo Zongtang (Qing dynasty Chinese statesman and military leader)

左宗棠


弱

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 弓 (“bow”) + 彡 (“hair, meaning "decoration" in this case”) - a decorative bow that is functionally inferior. Or it might be indicating that the bow is shaking, which implies a worn-out bow.
An alternate etymology is 𢎥 + 𢎥, 𢎥 being a variant of 卷.
Probably cognate with 柔 (OC *mlju, “soft”), see there for more (STEDT).

Han compound

軟弱

软弱


懾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔnjeb): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 聶 (OC *neb).

Han compound

(literary or Cantonese, Hokkien) to frighten; to scare


態

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *n̥ʰɯːs): phonetic 能 (OC *nɯː, *nɯːs, *nɯːŋ, *nɯːŋʔ) + semantic 心 (“heart”) – one’s heart-felt attitude.
Probably from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-nyaŋ (“can; be able to”); see 能 (OC *nɯː, *nɯːs, *nɯːŋ, *nɯːŋʔ, “able, capable”) for more.


復

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *buɡs, *buɡ): semantic 彳 (“walk”) + phonetic 复 (OC *buɡ, “repeat”).
Walk back and forth.
Compare Proto-Tibeto-Burman *m-p(j)up, whence Tibetan འབུབ་པ ('bub pa, “turned over or upside down”), Proto-Lolo-Burmese *pup (“to turn over; to search for”) (STEDT, Schuessler, 2007).
Within Chinese, cognate with 複 (OC *puɡ, “lined (garment); double”), 覆 (OC *pʰuɡs, “to cover”), 覆 (OC *pʰuɡ, “to turn over”) (Schuessler, 2007).


德

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tɯːɡ): semantic 彳 (“road”) + phonetic 惪 (OC *tɯːɡ, “virtue”). 惪 is corrupted into 𢛳.
; “virtue; morality; favour”
; “Germany”

Han compound

徳
惪
悳
㥁
恴
㥀
㤫
𢛳
𢜖
𢠀
𢤊
𨗌
𨗤

德語

德语

德美關係

德美关系

德蘇條約

德苏条约


志

Sino-Xenic (志):
* → Vietnamese: chí (志)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjɯs): phonetic 之 (OC *tjɯ) + semantic 心.
Note that the top has been simplified and is now graphically 士.
From 之 (OC *tjɯ, “to go; to proceed”) + endopassive suffix *-s, literally “what is being proceeded to” (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

𢖽
𢗍
*誌
*識
痣
䏯


律

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (律):
* → Japanese: 律(りつ) (ritsu)
* → Korean: 률(律) (ryul), 율(律) (yul)
* → Vietnamese: luật (律)

→ Manchu: ᠯᡳᠣᡳ (lioi)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rud): semantic 彳 + phonetic 聿 (OC *b·lud).
Perhaps from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *rus (“bone”); see there for more (Hill 2019). The original sense was "pitch pipe", and appears to have developed into the modern senses via semantic shift "pitch pipe" > "to supply a pitch" > "to tune, control" > "controlling principle" > "law".


恩

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (恩):
* → Japanese: 恩(おん) (on)

→ Vietnamese: ơn

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qɯːn): phonetic 因 (OC *qin) + semantic 心 (“heart”).

Han compound

(Mainland China) Short for 恩格斯 (Ēngésī, “Engels”).


憲

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hŋans) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 𡩜 (, “a form of punishment involving tattooing the eyes”). The character conveys the meaning of "law" or "rule."

Han compound

Short for 憲法／宪法 (xiànfǎ, “constitution”).


字

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (字):
* → Japanese: 字(じ) (ji)
* → Korean: 자(字) (ja)
* → Vietnamese: tự (字)

→ Proto-Tai: *ɟɤ:ᴮ (“name”)

Lao: ຊື່ (sư̄, “name”)

Thai: ชื่อ (chʉ̂ʉ, “name”)

Zhuang: coh (“name”)

desc

→ Vietnamese: chữ (“script; letter; writing; word”), chửa (“to be pregnant”)

Characters in the same phonetic series (子) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zlɯs): semantic 宀 (“roof”) + phonetic 子 (OC *ʔslɯʔ, “child”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsa ~ za (“child; to give birth; to take care; to be kind”). Related to:
* 子 (OC *ʔslɯʔ, “child, son”) (also its phonetic component)
* 慈 (OC *zɯ, “to be kind, loving”)
* 滋 (OC *ʔsɯ, “to nourish, to grow”)
* 詞 (OC *ljɯ, “word, term”)
* 辭 (OC *ljɯ, “word, from testimony”)
Original sense (1): “to become pregnant, to give birth to, to nurture, to love” has essentially become obsolete. The sense (2) “letter, character” is either from a different root or a derivation from the sense “to produce, to generate”.
Cognate with Tibetan ཚ་བོ (tsha bo, “nephew”), Tibetan ཚ་རུས (tsha rus, “descendant”), Tibetan བཙའ (btsa', “to give birth to; to guard”), Tibetan མཛའ (mdza', “kind, peaceful, friendly”) (Quan, 1996), Burmese စာ (ca, “writing, letter”).

cog

(historical) courtesy name; Chinese-style name (a name traditionally given to Chinese males at the age of 20 and females at the age of 15)


慣

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kroːns): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 貫 (OC *koːn, *koːns) – habit is what one does by heart.


憎

→ Thai: ชัง (chang)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsɯːŋ): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 曾 (OC *ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯːŋ).
Possibly the same word as 增 (OC *ʔsɯːŋ, “to increase”), as in emotional accumulation (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

(literary or Cantonese) to hate; to detest; to abhor


戈

Pictogram (象形) ― an ancient weapon with a single blade. The vertical handle developed into the long upper-left to lower-right diagonal stroke.
See also 我, which is the same weapon but with three blades instead of one, making it similar to a trident.

(historical) dagger-axe (an ancient Chinese weapon similar to a halberd)


惠

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷiːds): phonetic 叀 () + semantic 心 (“heart”). Originally also written 叀.
Related to 唯 (OC *ɢʷi, “to be”). Its usual meaning "kind, compliant" could be semantically extended from "should be" > "to consider / treat as it should / ought to be, as expected" as copulas tend to expand into full verb (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

僡
恵
𠅤
叀
𢞯
𢡘
𢥁
𢞨
𦻇
𢠞
𦣽
㥣


憶

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qɯɡ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 意 (OC *qɯɡs, “thought”).

緬懷

to cherish the memory of, especially the deceased

回憶

回忆

to recall; to recollect; to think back; to remember

記憶

记忆

to bear in mind; to memorize; to remember


屋

Originally phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qoːɡ): phonetic 𡉉 () + semantic 室 (“room”). The upper part have been corrupted into 尸, and Shuowen describe this character as Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意).

Han compound

there is not a single window in the entire house

全屋冇窗

Bāyuè qiūgāo fēng nùhào, juǎn wǒ wū shàng sān chóng máo.

八月秋高風怒號，卷我屋上三重茅。

八月秋高风怒号，卷我屋上三重茅。


廚

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (廚):
* → Japanese: 厨(ちゅう) (chū)

/t͡sʰyː²¹⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰɵy̯²¹⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰui²²⁻²²⁵/

/t͡sʰyː²¹⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰɵy̯²¹⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰui²²⁻²²⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *do): semantic 广 + phonetic 尌 (OC *djos).

Han compound

名廚／名厨

我細佬做廚㗎。

我细佬做厨㗎。


抒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ljaʔ, *hlja, *ɦljaʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 予 (OC *la, *laʔ).


忍

→ Vietnamese: nhịn

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *njɯnʔ): phonetic 刃 (OC *njɯns, “blade”) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
; “to bear, to endure, to suffer”
; “cruel”

Han compound

to have the heart to; to be hardhearted enough to


戎

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 盾 (“shield”) + 戈 (“halberd; weapons”) – weaponry, arms.
; “you”
; “bellicose, warlike”

See also: 西戎

So Qin used the Rong man Youyu and established hegemony over the central states, Qi used the Yue man Meng and strengthened (kings) Wei and Xuan.

Shìyǐ Qín yòng Róngrén Yóuyú ér bà Zhōngguó, Qí yòng Yuèrén Méng ér qiáng Wēi, Xuān.

是以秦用戎人由余而霸中國，齊用越人蒙而彊威、宣。

是以秦用戎人由余而霸中国，齐用越人蒙而强威、宣。

(historical) a general term for ethnic groups in the west of China


廁

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰrɯɡs, *sʰrɯɡ): semantic 广 + phonetic 則 (OC *ʔsɯːɡ).
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-ts(j)i-t/n (“urine; to urinate”) (Schuessler, 2007).


好

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (好):
* → Japanese: 好(こう) (kō)
* → Korean: 호(好) (ho)
* → Vietnamese: hảo (好)

desc

→ Vietnamese: hẩu (“kind, good, delicious”)

Characters in the same phonetic series (好) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 女 (“woman”) + 子 (“child”).
The widely accepted meaning of this character is that the characters for “female” (女) and “child” (子) were put together to form a compound because it was good for a woman to have a child. Similarly, it has been proposed that the compound originally refers to the mutual affection between the mother and child, which then extended to mean “good”. These theories are supported by the smaller 子 found in some oracle bones and bronze inscriptions. See also 保 and the original version of 乳.
However, broader interpretations of the second character 子 could lead to other theories. 子 could also mean “son”, so it may have meant two children, a boy and a girl next to each other, which is a good fortune to have a boy and a girl. 子 could also mean “man”, so it may have referred to the love between a man and a woman, which is good. Duan Yucai, in his annotated version of Shuowen, interpreted it as originally referring to the beauty of woman. Lastly, it could mean that the “attitude” of a girl was considered good.
The two pronunciations are cognate – pronunciation 2 is the *-s suffixed form, or exoactive/putative of pronunciation 1, literally “to consider good”. Compare 惡 (OC *qaːɡ, “bad; evil”) > 惡 (OC *qaːɡs, “to consider bad; to hate”).
This word has been compared with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hu (“to raise; to rear; to nourish”): Proto-Lolo-Burmese *hu³, Abor-Miri (Tani) u, Mawo Northern Qiang χu, which is only attested in a limited number of languages. If this is correct, it may be related to 畜 (OC *l̥ʰuɡs, *l̥ʰuɡ, *hluɡ, “to raise; to rear; domesticated animal”). Alternatively, compare Tibetan མཁོ (mkho, “necessary, important”).
Cognate with Central Bai hux (“good”), which may be a loanword from Chinese.

cog

⿰女人
㚥
⿱女子
𡥃
𰠗
㝀
𡚽
𡥆
𢑒
𤫧
𩐔

我就要好了。

(Hokkien) Particle denoting that the listener is still listening or is still interested with what the speaker is saying. (backchanneling cue)

3道、調兩，信號好

3道、调两，信号好


悲

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *prɯl): phonetic 非 (OC *pɯl) + semantic 心 (“heart; thought; emotion”).


廣

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (廣):
* → Japanese: 広(こう) (kō)
* → Korean: 광(廣) (gwang)
* → Vietnamese: quảng (廣)

→ Ahom: 𑜀𑜡𑜂𑜫 (kāṅ, “width,measure”)

→ Bouyei: gvaangs

→ Lao: ກວ້າງ (kuāng, “wide, broad”)

→ Thai: กว้าง (gwâang, “wide, broad”)

→ Northern Thai: ᨠ᩠ᩅ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨦ

→ Lü: ᦦᦱᧂᧉ (k̇waang²)

→ Shan: ၵႂၢင်ႈ (kwāang)

→ Zhuang: gvangq

Characters in the same phonetic series (黃) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʷaːŋʔ): semantic 广 + phonetic 黃 (OC *ɡʷaːŋ).

Han compound

Short for 廣州／广州 (Guǎngzhōu, “Guangzhou”).

c. 1733, 藍鼎元, 論南洋事宜書; quoted in 魏源 [Wei Yuan], 賀長齡 [He Changling], editors, 皇朝經世文編, 1826:

Mǐn Guǎng rén chóu dì xiá, tiányuán bù zú yú gēng. Wàng hǎi móushēng, shí jū wǔ liù.

閩廣人稠地狹，田園不足於耕。望海謀生，十居五六。

闽广人稠地狭，田园不足于耕。望海谋生，十居五六。

Short for 廣東／广东 (Guǎngdōng, “Guangdong”).

(Sichuanese) overseas; foreign; western; imported


快

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰʷraːds): semantic 忄 + phonetic 夬 (OC *kʷraːds).
Unknown (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

Shīfu, néng bùnéng zài kāi kuài yī diǎn?

師傅，能不能再開快一點？

师傅，能不能再开快一点？

快啲啦！


怒

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (怒):
* → Korean: 노(怒) (no)
* → Vietnamese: nộ (怒)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *naːʔ, *naːs): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 奴 (OC *naː, “slave”) – angry.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan, perhaps from the same word family as 努 (OC *naːʔ, “effort”). Compare Proto-Kuki-Chin *nuar (“to sulk; to agitate”), whence e.g. Mizo nàwrh (“to sulk; to be displeased”) (Schuessler 2007).

cog

When your parents reproach you, do not be indignant and do not talk back. When you sit beside your parents, do not squat and do not lie down.

Fùmǔ zé zhī, wù nù wù dá. Shìzuò qīn qián, wù jù wù wò.

父母責之，勿怒勿答。侍坐親前，勿踞勿臥。

父母责之，勿怒勿答。侍坐亲前，勿踞勿卧。

(literary, or in compounds) to burst into anger; to be indignant


戴

In the oracle bone script, a pictogram (象形) of a person holding something on their head with both hands. Possibly originally the same character as 異 (“person wearing a mask” or “person carrying something on their head”), see there for more.
Later, a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声), with 異 (OC *lɯɡs) serving as the semantic (and also possibly phonetic) component, and either 弋 (OC *lɯɡ), 𢦏 (OC *ʔslɯː), or 之 (OC *tjɯ) acting as a phonetic component.

to wear something on the head; to carry on the head

to put on; to wear (a hat, scarf, jewelry, wristwatch, glasses, flower or other object that is “attached” to the body)

戴季陶


憂

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qu): phonetic 㥑 () + semantic 夊.

Han compound

忧
懮
㥑
𢝊
𢟜
𢚧
𠮕
𨗫
𩕂
𠪍
懮


念

Characters in the same phonetic series (今) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Shuowen: Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *nɯːms): phonetic 今 (OC *krɯm) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
Alternatively: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 今 + 心 (see: 張富海：《利用諧聲構擬上古音應該註意的幾個問題》，《出土文獻》，2021年第1期，頁134。)
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-njam. Cognate with Tibetan ཉམ (nyam), ཉམས (nyams, “soul, mind, heart”), སྙམ (snyam, “to think, to feel”) (Quan, 1996). Related to 恁 (OC *njɯm, *njɯmʔ, “to think, to miss”).
Schuessler (2007) notes it may be an area word; compare Khmer ចំណាំ (cɑmnam, “memory; recollection”), Proto-Austronesian *nemnem (“to think”).

cog

to commemorate; to memorialise; to pay tribute to


抬

Considered a 後起字／后起字 (hòuqǐzì). Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'ɯː): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 台 (OC *l̥ʰɯː, *l'ɯː, *l'ɯː, *lɯ)

zh-l

後起字／后起字 (hòuqǐzì)

Han compound

Classifier for things carried by several people.


挸

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

挸身


將

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 爿 (“bed; small table”) + semantic ⺼ (“meat”) + semantic 寸 (“hand”) – to offer meat as tribute by putting it on a small cutting board and/or sacrifical table. 爿 partly indicates pronunciation and doesn't represent a bed in this character. The sacrifical meat and the hand together form the shape 𪧷, which is similar but unrelated to 有.
The ⺼ component is on its side, hence resembles 夕 with an added dot; compare 祭, 然.
Shuowen erroneously considers the phonetic component of 將 to be 醬 (OC *ʔsaŋs, “sauce”) (abbreviated).
A conflation of two roots: “to take; to hold” and “will; be going to; near”.
; “to take; to hold” (Pronunciations 1, 2 and 3)
; “will; be going to; near” (Pronunciation 1)
; anteposed object introductory particle

(figurative) dab hand (at something); capable person


抄

/ʈ͡ʂʰaʊ̯ɻʷ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰaːu̯⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰaʊ̯ɻʷ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰaːu̯⁵⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sm̥ʰreːw, *sm̥ʰreːws): semantic 手 + phonetic 少 (OC *hmjewʔ, *hmjews).


技

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡreʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 支 (OC *kje) – skill with one’s hands, artisan.

Han compound

skill; ability; talent; artistry; technique


帶

/taːi̯³³⁻³⁵/

/taːi̯³³⁻³⁵/

Pictogram (象形).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-daːj (“waist; belt; zone; flat expanse”). Cognate with Tibetan སྡེ (sde, “part; portion; district”) and Proto-Lolo-Burmese *N-day³ (“level expanse; plain”). Also compare the phonologically similar Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-taj (“naval; abdomen; center; self”).

inh

带
帯
带
地
塊
處
带

(Internet slang, sarcastic) British empire

帶英

带英

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(neologism, Internet slang) Pronunciation spelling of 大.


抑

Pictogram (象形): A hand suppressing a kneeling person. For contrast, see 印 (yìn).


怕

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰraːɡs, *pʰraːɡ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 白 (OC *braːɡ).
Cognate with 怖 (OC *pʰaːs) (Wang, 1982; Schuessler, 2007). Compare Proto-Kuki-Chin *phoo(k/ŋ) (“to startle; to alarm; to wake up”), whence Mizo phâwk (“to startle; to frighten”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007). Also compare Proto-Monic *phiic (“to be afraid”), whence Mon ဖေက် (“to fear”) (Schuessler, 2007).


戌

Pictogram (象形) of an axe or halberd, almost identical to 戊 and similar to 戈.
Smith (2011) proposes that 戌 (OC *smid), graphically depicting an ax or halberd, is a nominal derivative of the verb 滅 (OC *med) "to annihilate" "by the multivalent prefix *s- (‘annihilate’ > ‘annihilator’ and thus ‘axe’)", and it was used to name the late, broad waxing crescent moon.
Association with the dog was possibly arbitrary; just as how 辰 was associated arbitarily with the dragon (see Ferlus, 2013).

eleventh of twelve earthly branches (十二支)


想

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (想):
* → Vietnamese: tưởng (想)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *slaŋʔ): phonetic 相 (OC *slaŋ, *slaŋs) + semantic 心 (“heart, mind”) – to think, to consider. The phonetic component has a reference as well to the act of thinking, hence "visualizing" in one's own mind.
From 相 (OC *slaŋ, *slaŋs, “to observe; appearance”) (“appearance > to visualise > to think”).

少年袂曉想，食老毋成樣／少年袂晓想，食老毋成样

siàu-liân bē-hiáu siūⁿ, chia̍h-lāu m̄-chiâⁿ-iūⁿ


抨

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰreːŋ): semantic 扌 + phonetic 平 (OC *ben, *beŋ).


戊

→ Zhuang: fouh


懂

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *toːŋʔ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 董 (OC *toːŋʔ).
Perhaps cognate with 黨 (OC *taːŋʔ, “to know”), an ancient Chu dialect word (Schuessler, 2007).


或

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (或):
* → Vietnamese: hoặc (或)

Characters in the same phonetic series (或) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 戈 (“dagger-axe (used to defend the territory)”) + 囗 (“city wall”) + 一, “territory”. The most ancient version is 戓, then modified into 或; the stroke was added perhaps when the pronounciation of the character evolved.
Borrowed for abstract meanings. The derivative 國 (OC *kʷɯːɡ), 域 (OC *ɢʷrɯɡ), and perhaps 淢 refer to the original word. The last character can be seen in the ancient name of the Han river, 㵄.
或 (OC *ɡʷɯːɡ, “someone; some”) is the result of the distributive suffix *-k being added to 有 (OC *ɢʷɯʔ, “there is”).
Cognate with 又 (OC *ɢʷɯs, “again”) (Schuessler, 2007).


差

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 來 (“wheat”) + 𠂇 (“left hand”) – to hull wheat by rubbing grains inside hands. Original form of 搓 (OC *sʰlaːl, “to rub with hands; to scrub; to twist”).
工 or 口 was later added under 𠂇 to form 左 (OC *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls, “left”), which is also this character's phonetic component.


拄

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *toʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 主 (OC *tjoʔ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *duːŋ (“post; column”). Cognate with 柱 (OC *toʔ, *doʔ, “post; column”); see there for more.

inh

to lean on; to be propped up (with a stick, etc.)


戀

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *b·rons): phonetic 䜌 (OC *b·roːn, *b·ron, *b·rons) + semantic 心 (“heart”).

Han compound

留戀

留恋

A cageling cherishes the memory of its old forest while pond fish miss their quondam deep pool.

羈鳥戀舊林，池魚思故淵。

羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。

(literary, or in compounds) to long for; to yearn for; to feel attached to


慘

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰluːmʔ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 參 (OC *sʰluːm, *sʰluːms, *sloːm, *sʰrum, *srum)

Han compound

(literary, or in compounds) gloomy; dim; dismal


拯

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kljɯŋʔ): semantic 手 + phonetic 丞 (OC *ɡljɯŋ, *ɡljɯŋs).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-tjaŋ (“upper part; to rise; to raise”). Related to 承 (OC *ɡljɯŋ, “to receive”), 烝 (OC *kljɯŋ, “to offer (gifts, sacrifices, etc.)”), 登 (OC *tɯːŋ, “to mount; to rise”), 升 (OC *hljɯŋ, “to rise”) (Schuessler, 2007; Sagart and Baxter, 2012).

och-l

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

勿導入試、拯我出惡

勿导入试、拯我出恶


挫

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsoːls): semantic 扌 + phonetic 坐 (OC *zoːlʔ, *zoːls).

Han compound

to break (something); to crush; to smash; to push down


幾

→ Thai: กี่ (gìi, “how many; how much”)

→ Northern Thai: ᨠᩦ᩵

→ Khün: ᨠᩦ᩵

desc

→ Lü: ᦂᦲᧈ (k̇ii¹)

→ Lü: ᦂᦲᧈ (k̇ii¹)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 𢆶 (“silk threads; little things”) + 戍 (“to guard against”) – watching over the fine details.
Note that the simplified form 几 (OC *krilʔ, “small table”) is also a traditional character on its own.

Han compound

I browsed through some magazines while I waited.

我邊等邊瀏覽幾本雜誌。

我边等边浏览几本杂志。

幾天後他將回來。

几天后他将回来。

同幾首歌

同几首歌


扁

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 戶 (“door”) + 冊 (“bamboo tablets”) – to inscribe on the door, or two things that are flat and thin.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pyar (“flat, thin”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007).

Original form of 匾 (biǎn, “horizontal inscribed board; tablet; signboard”).


扁

Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China

Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong

Alternative form of 偏 (piān, “out-of-the-way; remote; one-sided”)


徒

Small seal script: Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'aː): semantic 辵 (“walk”) + phonetic 土 (OC *l̥ʰaːʔ, *l'aːʔ). Later corrupted into 彳 + 走.

Han compound

𢓂
𨑒
𨑡
𢔗
𣥲
𧺔
𧺑
𬾉
𠫠
𠫮

無期徒刑

无期徒刑


抗

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰaːŋs, *ɡaːŋ): semantic 扌 + phonetic 亢 (OC *kaːŋ, *kʰaːŋs).

Han compound

The great target is set up;
The bows and arrows are made ready for the shooting.

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

大侯既抗，弓矢斯張。

大侯既抗，弓矢斯张。

The self-deprecating people, the encumbered and sluggish, and the pettily covetous ones — we elevate them with a high spirit.

Bēishī, zhòngchí, tānlì, zé kàng zhī yǐ gāozhì.

卑溼、重遲、貪利，則抗之以高志。

卑湿、重迟、贪利，则抗之以高志。

Shall I rather hold myself aloft in the yoke of Pegasus, or waste away after the tracks of a Rocinante?

The Verses of Chu, 4ᵗʰ century BCE – 2ⁿᵈ century CE

Nìng yǔ qíjì kàng'è hū? Jiāng suí númǎ zhījì hū?

寧與騏驥亢軛乎？將隨駑馬之跡乎？

宁与骐骥亢轭乎？将随驽马之迹乎？

(obsolete) to raise; to lift; to elevate; to hold high


捆

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰuːnʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 困 (OC *kʰuːns).


挖

挖井

挖耳屎 [Cantonese] ― waat³ ji⁵ si² [Jyutping] ― to remove ear wax

to dig; to dig out; to gouge out; to scoop


戳

蓋戳子／盖戳子


懼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷas): semantic 忄 + phonetic 瞿 (OC *kʷas, *ɡʷa).


挃

For pronunciation and definitions of 挃 – see 𢲼.
(This character is a variant form of 𢲼).

zh-see

值/値
碟
治
置
池
遲
纒
擇


拘

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ko): semantic 扌 + phonetic 句 (OC *koː, *koːs, *kos, *ɡo).


惜

→ Vietnamese: tiếc (“to regret”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sjaːɡ): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 昔 (OC *sjaːɡ) – a feeling (of the heart).
Note that 昔 has meaning of “past, ending”, hence connotations of “feelings for the past, feeling about an ending – regret, rue”.

Han compound

take into consideration
take into consideration

(Mainland China Hokkien) to take into consideration; to take into account; to give consideration to


戒

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 戈 (“halberd”) + 廾 (“hands”) – to hold up a weapon as warning.


慢

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mroːns): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 曼 (OC *moːn, *mons) – a character trait or behavior (of the heart), sluggish. Note that 曼 also means “long, extended”, so connotations of “take a long time, leisurely, sluggish”.

Han compound

227 CE. 諸葛亮 (Zhūgě Liàng) (Zhuge Liang), 出師表

Ruò wú xìngdé zhī yán, zé zé Yōuzhī, Yī, Yǔn děng zhī màn.

若無興德之言，則責攸之、禕、允等之慢。

若无兴德之言，则责攸之、祎、允等之慢。

(literary) slack; sluggish; remiss; idle


慶

→ Old Turkic:

Turkmen: geň

Xiezhi
bronze inscriptions
oracle bone inscriptions

In oracle bone inscriptions Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 廌 (“Xiezhi”) + 心. The component 心 represented the beautiful markings of the mythical beast, signifying goodness, blessings and auspiciousness.
In bronze inscriptions 心 is often also written as 文. During the Warring states period, the tail of 廌 corrupted into 个, then further into 夂 during the Qin dynasty. Based on the overlap between the many ancient variants of the character Ji, Xusheng (2004) suggests that 麕, 廌, 麐, 鹿 all refer to kinds of deer – beautiful and therefore worth celebrating when obtained. He also concludes that there is enough evidence that 慶 and 麐 were once the same character. Since 麐 was the most precious among deer, its character was used to express celebration.
Uncertain. Schuessler (2007) sees possible cognacy to Tibetan གཡང (g.yang, “happiness, blessing, prosperity”), which Bodman (1980) relates instead to 祥 (OC *ljaŋ).


戇

Characters in the same phonetic series (夅) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kr'oːms, *qʰloːms): phonetic 贛 (OC *kluːmʔ, *kluːms, *kromʔ, *kloːms) + semantic 心.
“Stupid”. Attested abundantly in Old Chinese, but obsolete in modern varieties. Compared with Proto-Mon *trɔɔʔ (> Mon သ္ဒိုဟ် (tɜ̀h, “foolish, stupid”)) by Schuessler (2007).

Han compound

戆
戅
𢥹
𢦀
贛
戆
戅
怣
憨
慐
惷


憑

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (憑):
* → Vietnamese: bằng (憑)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯŋ): phonetic 馮 (OC *brɯŋ, *bɯŋ) + semantic 心.

Han compound

凭
凭
凴
凭
凭
凭
屏
拼

獨自莫憑欄，無限江山。

独自莫凭栏，无限江山。


慌

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hmaːŋ, *hmaːŋʔ): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 荒 (OC *hmaːŋ, *hmaːŋs).


夜

Characters in the same phonetic series (亦) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *laːɡs): phonetic 亦 (OC *laːɡ) + semantic 夕 (“moon”). 夕 (OC *ljaːɡ) may also serve as another phonetic component.
The lower-right portion is a corruption/graphical variant of 夕 (xī); the remainder (亠 + 亻) is a reduced and distorted form of 亦 (yì), used phonetically.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ja-n (“night”) (STEDT); cognate with Mizo zân (“night”), Burmese ည (nya., “night”).
Schuessler (2007) believes 夜 (OC *laːɡs) and 夕 (OC *ljaːɡ) are distinct as Tibeto-Burman keeps the etyma *ja-n (“night”) and *s-r(j)ak (“day; day (24 hours); night”) strictly separate. However, Baxter and Sagart (2014) suggest that 夜 (yè) and 夕 (xī) have clear etymological connections and thus reconstructs similar finals in both words.


己

→ Zhuang: geij

Pictogram (象形) – silk rope for binding objects. Original form of 紀 (OC *kɯʔ). The character must not be confused with 已 and 巳.
Unknown (Schuessler, 2007).


懶

→ Proto-Tai: *ɡraːnꟲ² (“lazy”)

Thai: คร้าน (kráan, “lazy”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raːnʔ): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 賴 (OC *raːds).

Han compound

懒
嬾/𰌙
孏
㦨
⿰忄阑

My younger brother is really lazy; he doesn't do any chores.

Wǒ de dìdi fēicháng lǎn, yīdiǎn jiāwù dōu bùhuì zuò.

我的弟弟非常懶，一點家務都不會做。

我的弟弟非常懒，一点家务都不会做。

你唔好咁懶啦。

你唔好咁懒啦。


持

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'ɯ): semantic 手 + phonetic 寺 (OC *ljɯs).

Han compound

持刀搶劫

持刀抢劫

Married women wear high topknot decorated with jewellery of gold, silver and pearl, blue-green skirts of polo satin, as well as grosgrain drapes. They always hold fans when walking.

Tang Dynasty, Fan Chuo, Manshu, chapter 10, part 2

Fùrén dàng dǐng wéi gāojì, yǐ jīn yín zhēnzhū wéi shì, zhuó qīng póluó qún, yòu pī luóduàn, xíng bì chí shàn.

婦人當頂為高髻，以金銀真珠為飾，著青婆羅裙，又披羅緞，行必持扇。

妇人当顶为高髻，以金银真珠为饰，着青婆罗裙，又披罗缎，行必持扇。

持不同看法

持反對態度

持反对态度

持家

維持

维持

持之以恆

持之以恒

Heavenly King who Upholds the Nation (calque of Sanskrit धृतराष्ट्र Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

持國天王

持国天王

僵持

相持不下

劫持


押

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kraːb, *qraːb): semantic 扌 + phonetic 甲 (OC *kraːb).
Cognate with 壓 (OC *qreːb) (Schuessler, 2007).


抱

Characters in the same phonetic series (勹) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *buːʔ): semantic 扌 + phonetic 包 (OC *pruː) – hold in one’s hands. Note that 包 has the meaning of “wrap”, hence connotations of “wrap in one’s hands, embrace”, thereby also making it an ideogrammic compound.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bəw (“to carry (on back or shoulders)”). Cognate with 保 (OC *puːʔ, “to protect, rear”), Manipuri ꯄꯨ (poo, “to carry”), Mizo [Term?] (pu, “to carry (on the back / shoulders)”), Burmese ပိုး (pui:, “to carry on the back, add onto”) (STEDT).

cog

Classifier for things held or encircled with both arms (books, hay, firewood, trees, etc.).


幸

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (幸):
* → Japanese: 幸(こう) (kō)
* → Korean: 행(幸) (haeng)
* → Vietnamese: hạnh (幸)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡreːŋʔ): phonetic 犬 (OC *kʰʷeːnʔ) + semantic 羊. Original meaning is unclear. 羊 often appears as a component with a positive meaning. See 祥, 善 and 義.
Shuowen interprets it as an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 屰 (“opposite”) + 夭 (“death”) – lucky to be alive; fortunate.


患

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡroːns): phonetic 串 (OC *kroːns, *kʰjons) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
Since Shuowen does not have the character 串, it interprets the character as phonetic 吅 (OC *qʰon, *sqʰon, *sɢoŋs) + semantic 丨 + semantic 心 (“heart”) – to pierce through something from the heart. Duan Yucai claims in his commentary that older copies of Shuowen actually have phonetic 毌 (OC *koːn, *koːns, “to pierce through”) + semantic 心 (“heart”) instead.

Han compound

to contract (an illness); to suffer from; to be afflicted with


括

→ Thai: กวด (gùuat)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *koːd): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 𠯑 (OC *ɡroːd).


巴

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (巴):
* → Japanese: 巴(は) (Ha)
* → Korean: 파(巴) (Pa)
* → Vietnamese: Ba (巴)

Pictogram (象形) — a huge snake. However, in 邑 and 色 (both Kangxi radicals) it represents a person kneeling.
; "huge snake"
; "bar"

(Sichuanese) to kiss up; to curry favour

小巴 ― xiǎobā ― minibus

Used in transcription.
Short for 巴士 (bāshì, “bus”).

Short for 巴哈馬／巴哈马 (Bāhāmǎ, “The Bahamas”).


掄

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ruːn, *run): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 侖 (OC *run).


掙

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 爭.

掙面子／挣面子

你每個月掙多少錢？

你每个月挣多少钱？


拆

→ Thai: ฉีก (chìik, “tear”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tŋ̊ʰraːɡ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 斥 (OC *ŋ̊ʰjaːɡs, *ŋ̊ʰjaːɡ).


揠

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qreːd): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 匽 (OC *qanʔ).


措

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰaːɡs): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 昔 (OC *sjaːɡ).


拖

Variant form of 拕／拖 (tuō), phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l̥ʰaːl, *l̥ʰaːls): semantic 手 + phonetic 它 (OC *l̥ʰaːl).

Han compound

手拖手


布

→ Lao: ຜ້າ (phā, “cloth”)

→ Thai: ผ้า (pâa, “cloth”)

Characters in the same phonetic series (父) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *paːs): phonetic 父 (OC *paʔ, *baʔ) + semantic 巾.
;"to spread out" (tr.)
;"cloth"
:Additionally, Schuessler suggests that the Austroasiatic word was the source of Sanskrit कर्पास (karpāsa) & Ancient Greek κάρπασος (kárpasos). Still, earlier Johnson & Decker (1980) stated that "the problem of etymological origin of karpāsa has not been resolved".

布拉提斯拉瓦

Bùlātísīlāwǎ

布拉迪斯拉發

Bùlādísīlāfā

布拉迪斯拉发

Bùlādísīlāfā

布署

布下圈套


捵

(Cantonese) to hold between the fingers and thumb


息

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 自 (“nose”) + 心 (“heart”) – to breathe (life) through one’s nose. Note that 自 originally meant “nose” and was later borrowed for “self”.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-sak (“breath; life; to breathe”). Cognate with Jingpho sa' (“to breathe”), Burmese အသက် (a.sak).


床

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (床):
* → Japanese: 床(しょう) (shō)
* → Korean: 상(床) (sang)

→ Bouyei: xaangz (“bed”)

→ Zhuang: congz (“bed”)

→ Proto-Vietic: *k-ɟəːŋ (“bed”)

Vietnamese: giường

Chut: kəcɨːŋ²

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ³⁵/

Originally an unorthodox variant of 牀. Now made up of 广 (“house”) + 木 (“tree”), an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) representing a wooden furniture item (a bed) in a house.
Schuessler (2007) suggests that it may be related to Khmer រង (rɔɔng, “to support from below”), Old Mon [script needed] (joṅ, “couch; bedstead”). Compare also Burmese စင် (cang, “platform, stage”) (Luce, 1981).

cog

一床棉被


拜

Originally 𢱭. Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 扌 (“hand”) + 𠦪 (“herbs”), a hand holding herbs as a gift. 𣬓 and 𢫶 are variant forms showing the hands at the bottom.
; "to bow"
; "byte"
; "bye"
; "day of the week"

Han compound

拝
𢷎
𢳎
𢴽
𢰛
𡴬
𢱭
𣬓
𣬊
𢫶


掏

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l̥ʰuː, *l'uː): phonetic 匋 (OC *bl'uː) + semantic 扌 (“hand”)

Han compound

把錢包掏出來

把钱包掏出来


急

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *krɯb): phonetic 及 (OC *ɡrɯb) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
Etymology not clear. Not a variant of 亟 (OC *kɯɡ, “urgent”) (Schuessler, 2007).
Old Burmese ခုပ် (hkup, “swift, quick, urgent”) bears a resemblance to the Old Chinese lemma.

cog

急尿 [Cantonese] ― gap¹ niu⁶ [Jyutping] ― to need to urinate

我好急啊！

(specifically) to need to use the toilet urgently

to hurry; to hasten
to need to use the toilet urgently

急性子


拒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡaʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 巨 (OC *ɡaʔ)

Han compound

拒收

(formal, or in compounds) to refuse; to reject


拼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *preːŋ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 并 (OC *peŋ, *peŋs).

Han compound

拼音

to be ready to risk one's life; to go all out; to disregard


徛

徛 (Kangxi radical 60, 彳+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 竹人大一口 (HOKMR), four-corner 2422₁, composition ⿰彳奇)


捕

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *baːs): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 甫 (OC *paʔ).

Han compound

捕魚

捕鱼


捨

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hljaːʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 舍 (OC *hljaːʔ, *hljaːs) – to discard with the hand.
;to give up
:舍 (OC *hljaːs) is perhaps its exoactive derivative with suffix *-s/*-h (ibid.)
:Schuessler also notes this word-family's parallel to 釋 (OC *hljaɡ) (whose derivative 赦 (OC *hljaɡs) is related by Wang (1982) to 捨 (OC *hljaːʔ) > 舍 (OC *hljaːs)), even though the different phonetics imply different Old Chinese pronuncations; the roots *lhaʔ ~ *lhak ~ *lhaiʔ (> 弛 (OC *l̥ajʔ) (B-S)) are probably variants with parallel morphological and semantic developments.

Han compound

捨棄／舍弃

四捨五入／四舍五入


投

Characters in the same phonetic series (殳) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *doː): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 殳 (OC *djo).
Compare Tibetan འདོར་བ ('dor ba, “to throw away; to eject; to reject”), Tibetan གཏོར་བ (gtor ba, “to strew; to scatter”) (Unger, 1986).

cog

投井


弄

Possibly from an ancient regional variant of 巷 (OC *ɡroːŋs, “alley”).

安遠路一八弄

安远路一八弄

(regional) alleyway; lane; apartment complex (especially in Shanghai)


捲

/t͡ɕy̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕy̯ɑɻ²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕy̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕy̯ɑɻ²¹⁴/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kronʔ, *krons, *ɡron): semantic 扌 + phonetic 卷 (OC *ɡron, *kronʔ, *krons, *ɡonʔ).


從

/t͡sʰi̯uŋ¹¹/

/t͡sʰi̯uŋ¹¹/

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 辵 (“walk”) + 从 (“follow”).
Etymology not certain. Perhaps cognate with Tibetan རྫོང་བ (rdzong ba, “to dispatch; to dismiss”) (Schuessler, 2007). Alternatively, compare Tibetan སྟོངས་པ (stongs pa, “to accompany”), or perhaps 送 (OC *sloːŋs, “to escort; to send”).
Pronunciation 2 is a derivation of pronunciation 1.

cog

盲從

盲从

to follow a teacher and learn from him/her

從師

从师

19th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "following" (𝌘)


從

→ Korean: 종 (jong, “servant; slave”)

paternal male cousin elder than oneself with the same surname

從兄

从兄

(of relatives) paternal (with the same surname)


抵

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tiːlʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 氐 (OC *tiːl, *til).
Possibly related to 擠 (OC *ʔsliːl, *ʔsliːls, “to push; to squeeze”) (Schuessler, 2007).

och-l

唔抵買

唔抵买

呢個抵啲

呢个抵啲

This shop is having a big sale. Everything is a great deal.

nei¹ gaan¹ pou³ tau⁴⁻² zou⁶ gan² daai⁶ dak⁶ gaa³, mat¹ dou¹ hou² dai² aa³.

呢間鋪頭做緊大特價，乜都好抵啊。

呢间铺头做紧大特价，乜都好抵啊。

Has Danny Chan truly come? Wow, tonight truly is worthwhile.

1985, 張國榮, https://web.archive.org/web/20070903121840/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEtXfcfQ0lc 3m25s

can⁴ baak³ koeng⁴ zan¹ hai⁶ lei⁴ zo² aa³? waa³, gam¹ maan⁵ dai² tai² lo³.

陳百強真係嚟咗呀？嘩，今晚抵睇囉。

陈百强真系嚟咗呀？哗，今晚抵睇啰。

(Cantonese) being a great bargain or deal; worth every penny; worthwhile


授

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djus): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 受 (OC *tuːs, *djuʔ).
There are actually three “hands” in this character, as 爫 also means “hand”. As does 又 graphically.
Derived from 受 (OC *djuʔ, “to accept”).

Han compound

I wish to give Mencius a house, somewhere in the middle of the kingdom.

我欲中國而授孟子室。

我欲中国而授孟子室。


摣

(archaic or Eastern Min) to grasp with the fingers


影

→ Zhuang: ingj (“to take (a picture)”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qraŋʔ): phonetic 景 (OC *kraŋʔ) + semantic 彡. The original meaning is "shadow". The left component indicates both the pronunciation and the concept of image, hence the shadow is the ornament of something concrete or an ornament that shapes an image (e.g., on the ground).
Unclear. Various etymologies have been proposed:
* Cognate with 景 (OC *kraŋʔ, “image”), 鏡 (OC *kraŋs, “mirror”) (Wang, 1982; Baxter and Sagart, 2014), which STEDT compares to Proto-Kuki-Chin *klaaŋ-I, *klaan-II (“to shine; light; bright”);
* Cognate with 英 (OC *qraŋ, “brilliant; flower”) or rather its Austroasiatic comparanda, including Proto-Bahnaric *ʔaːŋ (“bright (light)”) (Schuessler, 2007);
* Related to 苑 (OC *qonʔ, *qons, “garden”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 影 (MC 'jaengX)


扒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *preːds, *preːd, *pred): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 八 (OC *preːd).

Han compound

2004, Derrick Lian (medicus.tk), Excue Me, U Spik Inglish?

會癢袂？有扒無？

会痒袂？有扒无？


承

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 卩 (“kneeling person”) + 廾 (“both hands”) – to hold; to carry. Compare 丞. In the seal script, an additional hand 手 was added.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-tjaŋ (“upper part; rise; raise”) (STEDT).


揢

(Eastern Min) Particle introducing the object of the verb


感

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (感):
* → Japanese: 感(かん) (kan); 感(こん) (kon)
* → Vietnamese: cảm (感)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kɯːmʔ): phonetic 咸 (OC *ɡrɯːm) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
Etymology not clear (Schuessler, 2007). Note similarities to Burmese ခံ (hkam, “to endure, accept, catch”) (Luce, 1981).

cog

to move (someone); to affect; to touch; to arouse

traditional Chinese medicine
traditional Chinese medicine

(traditional Chinese medicine) to be affected by wind-cold


戶

Sino-Xenic (戶):
* → Vietnamese: hộ (戶)

→ Vietnamese: họ (戶)

Pictogram (象形): one-half of 門 (“gate”). The character in its original form is similar to 𠁣.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-k(w)a-j (“mouth; opening; spread; door; face; jaw”). Cognate with Tibetan སྒོ (sgo, “door”).


搓

t͡sʰo⁵⁵ si⁵³ t͡sʰi⁵⁵ t͡sʰo⁵⁵ t͡sʰo⁵⁵

chŏ̤ sì chĭ chŏ̤ chŏ̤ / [t͡sʰo⁵⁵ si⁵³ t͡sʰi⁵⁵ t͡sʰo⁵⁵ t͡sʰo⁵⁵]

搓𥻵之搓搓

搓小姑娘

(Shanghainese) to flirt with; to pick up


形

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (形):
* → Vietnamese: hình (形)

Characters in the same phonetic series (井) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 幵 + 彡. In current form 幵 has been simplified to 开.
It may also be interpreted as a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡeːŋ): phonetic 井 (OC *skeŋʔ) + semantic 彡, if the original character was 𢒈.

Han compound

(grammar) Short for 形容詞／形容词 (xíngróngcí, “adjective”).


工

Pictogram (象形) – a bladed tool to plow the ground to mark a border. As an alternative, a carpenter's square; according to the second interpretation, the character is related to the original meaning of 巨.
Unrelated to 巠 > 𢀖 and 壬.
An area word; compare Burmese ခိုင်း (hkuing:, “to order or ask someone to do something”), Old Mon kloñ (kloɲ, “to work”), Old Mon klon (klon, “to have charge of cultivation”) (Schuessler, 2007).
Cognate with 功 (OC *koːŋ, “merit; achievement”), 攻 (OC *koːŋ, *kuːŋ, “to attack”). The senses evolved in the following manner: 工 (“work artisan”) > 功 (“merit; achievement”) > 攻 (“to attack”) (ibid.).

cog

(Northern Min, Eastern Min, Southern Min) working day; daytime; a day (24 hours)


對

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (對):
* → Japanese: 対(たい) (tai); 対(つい) (tsui)
* → Korean: 대(對) (dae)
* → Vietnamese: đối (對)

→ Ai-Cham: toi⁵

→ Vietnamese: đôi (“double”)

→ Old Turkic: tāy (“pair , side”)

→ Azerbaijani: tay

→ Turkmen: taý

In the oracle bone and bronze scripts, it was an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 丵 (“tool for digging”) + 土 (“earth”) + 又 (“hand”). The original meaning of the character is unclear, but it may be “to develop (land)”. It was later borrowed for “to reply”. Compare 封, 邦.
In the seal script, 又 has become the related 寸. Shuowen has two seal script forms for this character: 𡭊 (main form) and 對 (alternative form). The main form, which has a 口 (“mouth”), was probably created to specialize the character to signify “to reply”, but this form was not inherited in later scripts. Shuowen interprets the latter form (shown above) as a form that Emperor Wen of Han created by replacing 口 with 士 (“soldier; warrior”) because many of the replies were untruthful (just lip service), but it is more likely that 士 is a corruption of 土.
Exoactive of 答 (OC *tkuːb, “to reply; to answer”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

對調

对调

對立

对立

對照

对照

中日對譯

中日对译


情

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (情):
* → Japanese: 情(じょう) (jō)
* → Korean: 정(情) (jeong)
* → Vietnamese: tình (情)

→ Zhuang: cingz

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zleŋ): semantic 心 (“heart”) + phonetic 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ).
Its meaning "feeling" prompts Benedict (1976) to connect it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-niŋ (“heart; brain; mind”); while its other meaning "proper nature, situation" suggests cognacy to 生 (shēng, “to live, life”) (Boltz, 1976), though the initials of 情 (OC *dzeŋ) vs. 生 (OC *srêŋ) are difficult to reconcile (Schuessler, 2007) – not withstanding Zhengzhang (2003)'s reconstructions 情 (OC *zleŋ) vs. 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ).

cog

感情

情不自禁

The Peach-Blossom Pool's water – one-thousand-chi deep – can't match the feelings of Wang Lun, who saw me off.

Táohuā Tán shuǐ shēn qiān chǐ, bùjí Wāng Lún sòng wǒ qíng.

桃花潭水深千尺，不及汪倫送我情。

桃花潭水深千尺，不及汪伦送我情。

情書

情书

人情

求情

病情


捐

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (捐):
* → Vietnamese: quyên (捐)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷen): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 肙 (OC *qʷeːns).
The pronunciations in many varieties with velar plosive or palatal affricate initial are from 蠲 (MC kwen) (Li, 1988).


換

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷaːns): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 奐 (OC *qʰʷaːns).

Han compound

換衣服／换衣服

OK, the head of government has changed; so what?

政府換咗人又點啫？

政府换咗人又点啫？

to change; to swap; to switch; to substitute


抹

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maːd): semantic 扌 + phonetic 末 (OC *maːd).

Han compound

抹藥

抹药


抹

抹桌子

抹屎窟


懸

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷeːn): phonetic 縣 (OC *ɡʷeːn, *ɡʷeːns) + semantic 心 (“heart”) – to be concerned (in one’s heart).

Han compound

悬
𢝝
悬
𢝝
高
峘
危

(Southern Min) of high level; above average


按

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (按):
* → Japanese: 按(あん) (an)
* → Korean: 안(按) (an)
* → Vietnamese: án (按)

→ Vietnamese: ấn (按, “to press”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qaːns): semantic 扌 + phonetic 安 (OC *qaːn). The phonetic component however indicates the concept to be at ease, hence it is linked with the meaning "to restrain; to push down".
Exoactive of 安 (OC *qaːn, “be calm”), lit. "cause to be settled, calmed".

Han compound

按鈕

按钮


性

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (性):
* → Japanese: 性(せい) (sei); 性(しょう) (shō)
* → Korean: 성(性) (seong)
* → Vietnamese: tính (性)

→ Tangut: 𗵤 (*sjij¹)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sleŋs): semantic 忄 (“heart”) + phonetic 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs) – nature, personal quality, hence of the heart.
Derived from 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs, “to live; to be born; innate”).

och-l

-ness; -ity (suffix forming nouns and adjectives, denoting qualities)


揮

Characters in the same phonetic series (軍) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qʰul): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 軍 (OC *kun).
Compare perhaps Burmese ရွေ့ (rwe., “to move”).


握

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qroːɡ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 屋 (OC *qoːɡ).


搞

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kruːʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 高.


搦

/d͡ziɔk̚¹²¹/

/d͡ziɔk̚¹²¹/

Cantonese 搦 (nik1) has a nasal-stop alternant in 拎 (ning1) (Kwok et al., 2008).

搦塗糜

搦涂糜

(Mainland China Hokkien) to tread on; to step on; to trample on


拔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bruːd, *boːd, *bod): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 犮 (OC *boːd) – a hand pulls.
Compare perhaps Burmese ပြုတ် (prut, “to be dislocated; to lose”).


意

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (意):
* → Japanese: 意(い) (i)
* → Korean: 의(意) (ui)
* → Vietnamese: ý (意)

Modern form is a compound of 音 and 心 (“heart”). However, the top component is etymologically unrelated to 音. According to Lin (1920), 𠶷 (a compound of 言 and 中) found in bronze inscriptions is the same character as 意 (yì).

好意

隨意／随意

(Mainland China) Short for 意大利 (Yìdàlì, “Italy; Italian”).

乾炒叉燒意／干炒叉烧意 [Cantonese] ― gon¹ caau² caa¹ siu¹ ji³ [Jyutping] ― fried spaghetti with barbecue pork

(Hong Kong Cantonese) Short for 意粉 (ji3 fan2, “spaghetti”).


捷

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zeb): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 疌 (OC *zeb).
Austroasiatic; compare Khmer ចាប់ (cap, “to catch, capture, seize, grasp, get”), Chong [script needed] (chap) & Pear [script needed] (chap, “catch”) (Schuessler, 2007).
Related to 妾 (OC *sʰeb, “slave woman, concubine”)

cog

Alternative form of 插 (chā, “to insert; to stick into”)


弓

Characters in the same phonetic series (弓) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – a bow. See also the original version of 射.
Possibly related to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *kuːŋ (“tree, branch, stem”) (Coblin, 1986), semantically connected with the shape of a bent tree branch. Cognate with Burmese ကိုင်း (kuing:, “to bend over; to be bent”), အကိုင်း (a.kuing:, “stalk; branch”), Tedim Chin [script needed] (kung¹, “tree”), Jingpho kung (“to branch; to grow”), lakung (“branch; limb”), Lepcha ᰀᰩᰵ (kóng, “branch”), ᰀᰫᰵ (kúng, “tree”) (STEDT).
Schuessler (2007) proposes that both Old Chinese 弓 (OC *kʷɯŋ) and Proto-Tibeto-Burman *kuːŋ are derived from Proto-Mon-Khmer *koŋ, whence Nyah Kur [script needed] (kóoŋ, “bent (in the middle)”), Mon ကိုၚ် (“to be bent”), Khmer កោង (kaong, “to bend; to be bent”), Khasi pyrkhung (“to bend; to arch”), Pear kuŋ (“bend”), Vietnamese cong (“to be bent, curved”).
Also compare Proto-Tibeto-Burman *ku(ː)m (“arched; vaulted”)
Derivatives are 肱 (OC *kʷɯːŋ, “(upper) arm”) and 穹 (OC *kʰʷɯŋ, “arched; vault; sky”).


找

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsruːʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 戈 (OC *koːl).
Originally a variant form of 划. Borrowed to mean a similar action.
The popular interpretation as a hand (扌) looking for a halberd (戈) is a mnemonic and not the origin of the character.
Both “to seek” and “to give change” senses are attested since the Ming dynasty. The etymology is uncertain and it is unclear whether both senses are of the same origin. Compare 爪 (zhuǎ) and 抓 (zhuā).

Han compound

找對象

找对象

(Northern Wu, specifically) to look for; to search for (a job, a partner, etc.)


擴

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷlaːŋs, *kʰʷaːɡ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 廣 (OC *kʷaːŋʔ) – to stretch or enlarge with hands.
Compared by Luce (1981) to Burmese ခင်း (hkang:, “to spread, roll out”), though there are phonetic problems, particularly with the final consonants.

cog

擴充

扩充


援

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷans, *ɢʷan): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 爰 (OC *ɢʷan).

Han compound

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

Gǒu lì guójiā bù qiú fùguì, qí jǔ xián yuán néng yǒu rúcǐ zhě.

苟利國家不求富貴，其舉賢援能有如此者。

苟利国家不求富贵，其举贤援能有如此者。

Yuán xián bó shī, chú yuàn ér wú fánghài rén.

援賢博施，除怨而無妨害人。

援贤博施，除怨而无妨害人。


思

Original form was 恖 (OC *snɯ), considered by Shuowen to be a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *snɯ, *snɯs): phonetic 囟 (OC *snɯns) + semantic 心 (“heart”). It may also be a ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 囟 (“fontanel”) + 心 (“heart”).
囟 started to corrupt into the unrelated 田 as early as the silk script.

Han compound

(obsolete) sentence-final interjectional particle


採

/t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯³⁵/

/t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰɯːʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 采 (OC *sʰɯːʔ, “to pick”). Originally written 采.
See 采 (OC *sʰɯːʔ).


捏

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *niːɡ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + abbreviated phonetic 涅 (OC *niːɡ).


探

→ Vietnamese: thăm

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l̥ʰuːm, *l̥ʰuːms): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 𥥍 ().
As the initial of the 罙 phonetic series is uncertain, 探 (tàn) may be related to 深 (shēn) (provided the initial was *nh-) (Schuessler, 2007).
Alternatively, this agrees with Mizo tham (“to feel (especially with the hand)”).


扇

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 戶 (“door”) + 羽 (“feather”).

Han compound

Classifier for doors, windows and folding screens.


強

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ³⁵/

Zhengzhang (2003): Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ): phonetic 彊 (OC *kaŋs, *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ) + semantic 虫 (“insect”).
Shuowen: Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ): phonetic 弘 (OC *ɡʷɯːŋ) + semantic 虫 (“insect”).
The character 強 likely originally referred to the rice weevil, an insect that attacks rice and several other crops, before being phonetically borrowed to represent the sense of "strong; powerful", which was previously represented by the character 彊 (OC *kaŋs, *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ).
(egg): Typo of 蛋; they have the same keystrokes in Simplified Cangjie.

Han compound

强
强
*彊
强
强
*彊
强
强
犟
勥
*彊

to forcefully drag a passenger off the plane

強拖乘客下機

强拖乘客下机

八強

八强

final contestants in a competition; finalist


拗

(Hokkien) to shortchange; to skimp; to scrimp; to give insufficiently


成

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (成):
* → Vietnamese: thành (成)

→ Zhuang: cingz (“tenth”)

Characters in the same phonetic series (成) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djeŋ): semantic 戊 + phonetic 丁 (OC *rteːŋ, *teːŋ). The phonetic component is not 囗 or 口, as folk etymology states. According to Xi Jusheng 季旭昇, its original meaning was "city walls", with a reference to something protected conveyed by the weapon. Its original meaning is preserved in 城.
Cognate with 盛 (OC *djeŋ, “to hold with a receptacle”), 城 (OC *djeŋ, “city wall; city”), 盛 (OC *djeŋs, “abundant; flourishing”) (Schuessler, 2007).
According to Bodman (1980), cognate with Tibetan གྱང (gyang, “wall”), Tibetan འགེངས་པ ('gengs pa, “to fill”), Tibetan བཀང (bkang, “to fill to the brim”), Tibetan སྐོང་བ (skong ba, “to fulfill”).

cog

73rd tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "completion" (𝍎)


摜

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kroːns): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 貫 (OC *koːn, *koːns)

Han compound

摜物事

掼物事

摜麥

掼麦

28 August 1991, Kuo Cheng 郭箏, God's Dice 上帝的骰子, China Times 中國時報

Nǐ cóng tā shǒu zhōng duó xià yī kuài qián, rútóng pěngzhe bǎobèi sìde zhíbēn kòngdì, zhènghǎo lúndào Āhǎi zuòzhuāng, nǐ zuānjìn rénduī, bǎ yī kuài qián guàn zài dìxià, dàjiā dōu xiào le qǐlái.

你從她手中奪下一塊錢，如同捧著寶貝似的直奔空地，正好輪到阿海坐莊，你鑽進人堆，把一塊錢摜在地下，大家都笑了起來。

你从她手中夺下一块钱，如同捧着宝贝似的直奔空地，正好轮到阿海坐庄，你钻进人堆，把一块钱掼在地下，大家都笑了起来。

拿搿垃圾摜脫伊。

拿搿垃圾掼脱伊。

to pick up the basket and go buy groceries

làng-làng guâng-kó̤ mā̤-chái / [l̃aŋ⁵³⁻³³ ⁽ˡ⁻⁾nˡaŋ⁵³ kuaŋ²⁴²⁻⁵³ ^((kʰ-))ŋɔ²¹³ mɛ³³⁻⁵⁵ ^((t͡sʰ-))ʒɑi²¹³]

籃籃摜去買菜

篮篮掼去买菜


拿

Compound of 合手.
A later alternative glyph of 拏／拿 (ná) and 挐 for senses related to “to take with hand”. Originally regarded as unorthodox by Zhengzitong and Zihui.

我拿著一杯水

我拿着一杯水

別把書拿走。

别把书拿走。


搜

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sru): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 叟 (OC *suːʔ).
叟 is the original character, also meaning “to search”, and depicting a hand holding a torch indoors.
Compare perhaps Burmese ရှာ (hra, “to look for”) (Luce 1981).

Han compound

Alternative form of 獀 (sōu, “spring hunt”)


夫

→ Proto-Southwestern Tai: *pʰuəᴬ

Thai: ผัว (pǔua, “husband”)

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 大 (“man”) + 一 (“hairpin”) – a man with a hairpin in his hair.
In ancient times, when men reached the age of 20, they bound their hair with a hairpin during the Guan Li ceremony. The hairpin is the sign of “a grownup man”.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pʷa (“male, father, third-person pronoun”). Cognate with Tibetan ཕ། (pha, “father”), Burmese ဘ (bha., “father”). Possibly related to 父 (OC *paʔ, *baʔ, “father”).


敕

(literary) to warn; to caution; to command


摩

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (摩):
* → Japanese: 摩(ま) (ma)
* → Korean: 마(摩) (ma)
* → Vietnamese: ma (摩)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maːl, *maːls): phonetic 麻 (OC *mraːl) + semantic 手 (“hand”).

Han compound

(chemistry) Short for 摩爾／摩尔 (mó'ěr, “mole”).


招

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjew): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 召 (OC *dews, *djews) – to beckon with the hand.

Han compound

Alternative form of 韶 (sháo, “ancient music at the time of Emperor Shun”)


搶

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰi̯oŋ³¹/

/t͡sʰiɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiaŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiãu⁴⁴⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰi̯oŋ³¹/

/t͡sʰiɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiaŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiãu⁴⁴⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰaŋ, *sʰaŋʔ, *sʰraŋʔ): semantic 扌 + phonetic 倉 (OC *sʰaːŋ).

Han compound

搶錢

抢钱

我的手機被搶走了。

我的手机被抢走了。

to fight over; to scramble for; to compete for


搶

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ²¹⁴/

alt. forms: 戧／戗


掃

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) – a 手 (“hand”) with a 帚 (“broomstick”).

to offer sacrifices and pay respect to a dead person at the tomb


幼

Characters in the same phonetic series (幼) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 幺 (“tiny”) + 力 (“strength”). 幺 (OC *qiːw) may also act as a phonetic component.


扯

→ Vietnamese: xé

Originally written as 撦. Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰjaːʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 止 (OC *kjɯʔ).

Han compound

唔好扯住我件衫。

to pull; to tug (usually something that is flexible)

胡扯

(dialectal) to play (a stringed instrument)

Grabbing his manboobs, hugging his huge belly, and pinching his cheeks; just remembering it makes me a little hard.

2015, 少少肥, 《自修室‧學界嘅蘭桂坊》, page 30

zaa¹ zyu⁶ deoi³ fei⁴ zai² bo¹, laam² zyu⁶ keoi⁵ go³ daai⁶ tou⁵ naam⁵, mit¹ keoi⁵ faai³ min⁶, zan¹ hai⁶ nam² hei² dou¹ ce² ce² dei⁶⁻².

渣住對肥仔波，攬住佢個大肚腩，搣佢塊面，真係諗起都扯扯地。

2015, 少少肥, 《自修室‧學界嘅蘭桂坊》, page 30

渣住对肥仔波，揽住佢个大肚腩，搣佢块面，真系谂起都扯扯地。

I'll repeat: Firework is none other than Ah Wai. His dick's dark, short, and hairy, and looks as if nothing happened even when it's clearly hard. His pubes are long enough to cover the tip, and you need to look carefully before faintly being able to see the hole at the top.

2016 September 30, 于日辰, 倫敦金2之《潛龍勿用》, page 80

zoi³ gong² do¹ ci³, Firework zik¹ hai⁶ aa³ wai¹, luk¹ gau¹ jau⁶ hak¹ jau⁶ dyun² jau⁶ do¹ mou⁴, ming⁴ ming⁴ ce² zo² dou¹ hou² ci⁵ mei⁶ ce² gam², di¹ gau¹ mou⁴ coeng⁴ dou³ ze¹ zyu⁶ go³ gwai¹ tau⁴, jiu³ sai³ sam¹ di¹ tai² sin¹ jan² joek³ gin³ dou³⁻² tau⁴ deng² go³ zeoi² zai².

再講多次，Firework即係阿威，碌鳩又黑又短又多毛，明明扯咗都好似未扯咁，啲鳩毛長到遮住個龜頭，要細心啲睇先隱約見到頭頂個嘴仔。

再讲多次，Firework即系阿威，碌鸠又黑又短又多毛，明明扯咗都好似未扯咁，啲鸠毛长到遮住个龟头，要细心啲睇先隐约见到头顶个嘴仔。

(Cantonese) Short for 扯旗 (“to have an erection”).


批

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰiː): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 比 (OC *piʔ, *pis, *bi, *bis, *biɡ).
; “to pare”
; “pie”
; “pipe”
; “vulva; cunt”

Han compound

電批／电批 [Cantonese] ― din⁶ pai¹ [Jyutping] ― electric screwdriver

(Cantonese) screwdriver (Classifier: 支 c)


才

纔
裁
乍
則
即
者
隻


撫

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *m̥ʰaʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 無 (OC *ma).

Han compound

撫面

抚面


敞

/t͡sʰiɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

Compare Tibetan ཐང (thang, “plain; flatland”) (Coblin, 1986).

to be open; to leave (something) wide open


攀

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰraːn): phonetic 樊 (OC *ban) + semantic 手 (“hand”).

Han compound

攀親戚

攀亲戚


擋

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *taːŋʔ, *taːŋs): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 當 (OC *taːŋ, *taːŋs).
From 當 (OC *taːŋ, “to have the value of; to be equal of; to face; vis-à-vis; to match”) and originally written as 當 (Wang, 1982).

och-l

to hold a pair of chopsticks steady; (broadly) to use chopsticks

擋筷兒

挡筷儿

Now everybody gets anxious at the sight of this of course; they rush and run to support granny and keep her on there; it'd be a disaster if she actually fell.

2017, 胡寶談 [Hu Baotan],上海人門檻 [The Shanghainese Way of Passing]

⁶da-ka ¹khoe-ci-tsy ⁶viau ⁷haq-iq-haq-gheq-a ¹iau-cin ¹pen-zaon-le ⁵hau-bu ⁵taon-taon ⁶lau ⁶ve-iq ⁷tiq-gho-le ⁵tshaon-jion-wu-le

大家看見仔覅嚇一嚇個啊，要緊奔上來好婆擋擋牢，萬一跌下來闖窮禍唻。

大家看见仔覅吓一吓个啊，要紧奔上来好婆挡挡牢，万一跌下来闯穷祸𫪁。

(Northern Wu) to handle; to keep in place; to hold fast; to hold and shield with hand


效

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡreːws): phonetic 交 (OC *kreːw) + semantic 攵 (“to strike; action”)


度

Originally an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 石 (“rock”) + 又 (“hand”) — hand measuring a piece of rock. Also a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声), with 石 (OC *djaɡ) as a phonetic component. 石 is then corrupted into ⿸广廿.
Shuowen considers it to be a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *daːɡs, *daːɡ): phonetic 庶 (OC *hljaɡs) + semantic 又.
Compare 庶 (OC *hljaɡs) and 席 (OC *ljaːɡ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-twa (“handspan”). Cognate with Tibetan མཐོ (mtho, “span; span of thumb and middle finger”), Burmese ထွာ (htwa, “to measure by a handspan; a quarter yard”), အထွာ (a.htwa, “handspan; quarter yard”), တွက် (twak, “to consider, to reckon; to calculate; to refuse to do things because others would not”), အတွက် (a.twak, “calculation; because of; for the sake of”). It is unclear whether Proto-Mon-Khmer *cɗaʔ (“span; handspan”) (whence Mon ဍ (daˀ, “to measure by spans of thumb and middle finger”)) is related. Related to 圖 (OC *daː, “to plan; to consider; plan; map”).

och-l

52nd tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "measure" (𝌹)


怪

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (怪):
* → Japanese: 怪(かい) (kai)
* → Vietnamese: quái (怪)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kruːds): semantic 忄 + phonetic 圣 (OC *kʰuːd).
怪 (OC *kwrêh; *kwêh) seemingly had the same OC rhyme as 傀 (OC *kûi); They may be variants (Schuessler, 2007).


掌

→ Mongolian: зан (zan, “sole”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjaŋʔ): phonetic 尚 (OC *djaŋ, *djaŋs) + semantic 手.

Han compound

(Hakka, Teochew) to watch over; to look after


折

Characters in the same phonetic series (折) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Originally 㪿, an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): ⿱屮屮 (“a tree 木 cut in half”) + 斤 (“axe”) – an axe cutting a tree in half.
In the current form, the left side has become 扌 (“hand”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsjat (“to cut off; to sever; to break”).


撒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *saːd): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 散 (OC *saːnʔ, *saːns) – to scatter with the hand.‘
Cognate with 散 (OC *saːnʔ, *saːns, “to disperse; scattered”). See there for more.


戰

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (戰):
* → Vietnamese: chiến (戰)

/t͡sʰiɛŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰiɛŋ²¹³/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjans): phonetic 單 (OC *taːn, *djan, *djanʔ, *djans) + semantic 戈 (“halberd”) – battling with a halberd.
Benedict (1972) thinks it a cognate to Tibetan རལ་གྲི (ral gri, “sword”), Mizo râl (“enemy”), both from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *g-raːl ~ *g-ran ~ *ray (“enemy, quarrel, strife, fight, war, sword”), yet Schuessler (2007) thinks it unlikely that Old Chinese *t- corresponds to Tibeto-Burman *r-.
Instead he proposes that "war, battle" is semantically extended from "tremble, fear" and so 戰 (OC *tjans) is cognate with 憚 (OC *daːns) (ibid.); STEDT in turn derives them both from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *dar ~ d(u/i)r (“tremble, shiver”).


撇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pʰeːd): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 敝 (OC *beds, *bed).


揭

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰrads, *ked, *kʰrad, *ɡrad, *kad, *ɡad): semantic 扌 + phonetic 曷 (OC *ɡaːd).


揀

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kreːnʔ, *ɡ·reːns): semantic 扌 (“hands”) + phonetic 柬 (OC *kreːnʔ, “to choose”). Originally written 柬.
Compare Thai กลั่น (glàn, “to distill; to extract”) (Schuessler, 2007).

揀啊揀，揀著一個賣龍眼／揀啊揀，揀著一個賣龍眼／拣啊拣，拣着一个卖龙眼

kéng--ah kéng, kéng-tio̍h chi̍t ê bē lêng-géng


攬

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·raːmʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 覽 (OC *ɡ·raːmʔ) – to grasp with the hand.
Note similarities with 欄 (OC *ɡ·raːn, “railing, balustrade”); see there for more.


摸

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maː, *maːɡ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 莫 (OC *maːɡ).

Han compound

我簡直摸不透他。

我简直摸不透他。


撞

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rdoːŋ, *rdoːŋs): semantic 扌 + phonetic 童 (OC *doːŋ).

Han compound

她被車撞了。

她被车撞了。

Wǒ zài hēi'àn zhōng zhuàng shàng le yī bǎ yǐzǐ.

我在黑暗中撞上了一把椅子。

瓶子撞到了牆上。

瓶子撞到了墙上。

He bumped into a lamppost on the street.

keoi⁵ hai² tiu⁴ gaai¹ dou³ zong⁶ dou³⁻² tiu⁴ dang¹ cyu⁵.

佢喺條街到撞到條燈柱。

佢喺条街到撞到条灯柱。

to hit; to bump against; to strike; to run into; to collide

Zài pèngdào nǐ zhīqián, wǒ gānggāng zhuàng shàng tā.

在碰到你之前，我剛剛撞上他。

在碰到你之前，我刚刚撞上他。

to meet by chance; to bump into; to come across; to encounter


得

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意). The ancient form of 得 is 㝵, composed of 貝 (“cowry”) + 又 (“hand”) — to pick up a cowry > to obtain valuables. A component 彳 was sometimes added to show that the cowry was picked up on the road.
In the Qin Bamboo and Slip script:
* a horizontal line was added to the 又, which means it is replaced with the related 寸. This is a feature of Qin script, and many characters that used to compound with 又 now compound with 寸.
In the Shuowen seal script:
* the 貝 corrupts into something resembling 見. However, this should be an error of Shuowen because it can only be only found in Shuowen and not in historical Qin Seal script, Qin Bamboo, and Slip script.
In the clerical script:
* the 貝 is simplified as 目 (“eye”); such simplification can be seen in its early form in Spring and Autumn and Warring States bronze inscriptions, Chu Bamboo, and Silk script, as well as other characters such as 具. Then it corrupts into 旦 (“dawn”) in later clerical script, and Regular script inherited it.
Pulleyblank (1991) relates it to Tibetan ཐུབ (thub, “to be able to; to withstand”).

cog

㝵
淂
𠭁
𧴫
䙷
㝶
𮙮

佢好食得。

呢本書都幾賣得。

呢本书都几卖得。

There's no one who could be worse than him.

冇邊個衰得過佢。

冇边个衰得过佢。

(Cantonese) Used after a verb to form an adjectival phrase expressing capability.


掣

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɛt̚³²/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰjeds, *kʰjed): phonetic 制 (OC *kjeds) + semantic 手 (“hand”).

Han compound

掣咧等

(Southern Min) to be afraid; to be scared; to be frightened


捌

Min dialectal word for "to know".
Austroasiatic substrate influence (Norman and Mei, 1976); may be related to 別 (“to split; to differentiate”). Cognate with Vietnamese biết (“to know”), Muong mắt (“to know”), Proto-Bahnaric *băt (“to remember, to know”), Proto-Hmong-Mien *pei (“to know”) (White Hmong paub (“to know, to understand”)).
Many variant written forms exist, but 捌 is recommended in the Taiwanese Hokkien Recommended Characters lists (《臺灣閩南語推薦用字》) published by Taiwan's Ministry of Education.

cog

別
八
仈
白
𧧸
識
曾

(Hainanese) to know how to (do something)


撤

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰed, *ded): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + abbreviated phonetic 徹 (OC *tʰed) – to remove by hand.
Cognate with 徹 (OC *tʰed, “to remove”). See there for more.


摘

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *rteːɡ, *tʰeːɡ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 啇 (OC *teːɡ).

Han compound

摘棉花

摘蘋果／摘苹果 [Cantonese] ― zaak⁶ ping⁴ gwo² [Jyutping] ― to pick apples

to pluck; to pick (flowers, fruits, leaves etc.)

摘眼鏡／摘眼镜

摘下口罩

摘錄／摘录

摘名 [Cantonese] ― zaak⁶ meng⁴⁻² [Jyutping]


推

Sino-Xenic (推):
* → Vietnamese: suy (推)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰuːl, *tʰjul): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 隹 (OC *tjul) – push with the hand.
Middle Chinese distinguishes 推 (MC thwoj, “to push”) and 推 (MC tsrhwij, “to proceed; to promote; to deduce”).
Older Mandarin dictionaries give chuī (the Mandarin reflex of 推 (MC tsrhwij)) as a variant reading for all senses, while Cantonese dictionaries only assign ceoi1 to the "to deduce" sense (e.g. in 推測 (“to surmise”)). Most modern Sinitic varieties use the reflexes of 推 (MC thwoj) for all meanings, while Sino-Xenic use the reflexes of 推 (MC tsrhwij) (in Korean, however, the reflex of 推 (MC thwoj) is also used in a few words). Some varieties (including certain Hakka, Min, and sometimes Yue dialects) preserve both readings, but not necessarily disambiguate them by meaning.
See also 揣 (MC tsrhjweX|twaX).
; “to support”; “oshi”

ref

Samuel Wells Williams, 1874; Herbert Allen Giles, 1892

John Chalmers, 1855; Samuel Wells Williams, 1856; 廣話國語一貫未定稿, 1916

推諉

推诿

推辭

推辞

to decline a gathering, to decline interviews, to decline responsibility

tuīdiào jùhuì, tuīdiào cǎifǎng, tuīdiào zérèn

推掉聚會、推掉採訪、推掉責任

推掉聚会、推掉采访、推掉责任

(figurative) to put aside; to push away; to dismiss; to explain away


擁

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qoŋ, *qoŋʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 雍 (OC *qoŋ, *qoŋs).

Han compound

拥
𢹬
𢹭
𢺠
𢶜
㨣
雍
拥
㧬
𢫨
𢶜

擁車仔

拥车仔


晡

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *paː): semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 甫 (OC *paʔ)


掛

挂
挂
罣
𦊱
絓
𫭳
𭁹

被難

to be killed in a disaster, political incident


撮

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsoːd, *sʰoːd): semantic 扌 + phonetic 最 (OC *zloːds).

Han compound

to gather up; to collect together; to assemble


女

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (女):
* → Japanese: 女(じょ) (jo)
* → Korean: 여(女) (yeo)
* → Vietnamese: nữ (女)

Pictogram (象形): a woman with breasts kneeling or standing. In modern form turned on left side: enclosed area is remnant of left breast (character's left, depicted woman's right), while right breast has disappeared.
Graphically cognate to 母 (mǔ, “mother”) and 毋, which has developed similarly, but also includes dots for nipples and has retained both breasts. Compare Egyptian 𓁐.
Similar but unrelated to 卩, in which the person kneeling has unspecified gender.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *nja-ŋ/k (“woman”). Compare Tibetan ཉག་མོ (nyag mo, “woman”) (Hill, 2019).
Pronunciation 2 is an exoactive derivation of pronunciation 1 (Schuessler, 2007).

女人

女的

一個女演員

一个女演员

一個女士兵

一个女士兵

Excuse me, where is the ladies' lavatory?; Excuse me, where is the women's bathroom?

請問女衛生間在哪兒？

请问女卫生间在哪儿？

Coordinate term: 男 (nán)

See also: 母, 雌

woman; (only of humans in Standard Chinese) female


斂

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·ramʔ, *ɡ·rams): phonetic 僉 (OC *skʰlam) + semantic 攴.

Han compound

35th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "gathering" (𝌨)


攤

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *n̥ʰaːn, *naːnʔ, *naːns): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 難 (OC *n̥ʰaːn, *naːns).

Han compound

碗湯攤到凍晒喇。

碗汤摊到冻晒喇。

bui¹ caa⁴ hou² jit⁶ gaa³, taan¹ jat¹ zan⁶ sin¹ hou² jam² aa³.

杯茶好熱㗎，攤一陣先好飲呀。

杯茶好热㗎，摊一阵先好饮呀。


旨

Characters in the same phonetic series (旨) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 匕 a spoon (匙) to eat or drink something delicious. The original version is 𠤔. See 嘗. Similar but unrelated to 皀.
According to the Shuowen: phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kjiʔ): phonetic 匕 (OC *pilʔ) + semantic 甘 (“delicious”).

Han compound

㫑
𠤔
𠩊
𠮛
𡱔
𣅀
𣅌
𤮻
𭥍


晬

/t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

(literary or Min, Waxiang) first birthday of a child


播

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *paːls): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 番 (OC *paːl, *paːls, *pʰaːn, *pʰan, *ban).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bwar (“to throw away; to cast; to sow; to toss”); cognate with Tibetan འབོར ('bor, “to throw”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007, 2024; Sagart, 2018).

inh

(literary) to move about; to remove; to migrate; to go into exile


暅

暅 (Kangxi radical 72, 日+9, 13 strokes, cangjie input 日心一一 (APMM) or 難日心一一 (XAPMM), composition ⿰日恒)


惡

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (惡):
* → Japanese: 悪(あく) (aku)
* → Korean: 악(惡) (ak)
* → Vietnamese: ác (惡)

desc

Old Uyghur: 𐽰𐽰𐽵𐾄 (ak, “hateful, despicable”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qaː, *qaːɡs, *qaːɡ): phonetic 亞 (OC *qraːɡs) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ʔak (“bad”); cognate with Tibetan ཨག་པོ (ag po, “bad”) (Coblin, 1986; Schuessler, 2007). Also related to Thai ยาก (yâak, “difficult”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

恶
僫
悪
𢛫
𢝏
䜑
䛩
恶
僫
悪
𢛫
𢝏
䜑
䛩
恶
僫
悪
𢛫
𢝏
䜑
䛩
恶
污
屙
涴

(Quanzhou, Xiamen and Philippine Hokkien) to verbally abuse; to reprimand; to curse; to rebuke


晟

For pronunciation and definitions of 晟 – see 晶 (“brilliant; glittering; crystal; quartz; etc.”).
(This character is a variant form of 晶).


摟

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *roː, *ro): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 婁 (OC *ɡ·roː, *ɡ·ro).


收

→ Thai: ซิว (siu)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qʰljɯw, *qʰljɯws): semantic 攴 + phonetic 丩 (OC *kɯw, *krɯw) – to arrest.

Han compound

deoi³ m⁴ zyu⁶, ngo⁵ dei⁶ m⁴ sau¹ seon³ jung⁶ kaat¹.

對唔住，我哋唔收信用卡。

对唔住，我哋唔收信用卡。

Short for 收購／收购 (shōugòu); to buy; to purchase


撲

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *broːɡ, *pʰoːɡ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 菐 (OC *boːɡ, *puɡ).


後

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (後):
* → Japanese: 後(こう) (kō); 後(ご) (go)
* → Korean: 후(後) (hu)
* → Vietnamese: hậu (後)

In oracle bone script, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 幺 (“thread”) + 夊 (“foot”) – a foot bound by a rope, thus lagging behind. The component 彳 was added afterwards to emphasize this action.
Note that the simplified form 后 is also a traditional character on its own, with a different meaning.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hwak (“below”) (STEDT). Cognate with Tibetan འོག ('og, “below”), Burmese အောက် (auk, “under; below”), Burmese နောက် (nauk, “behind”) (from Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔok (“lower side; below”)).

cog

無後

无后


擬

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋɯʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 疑 (OC *ŋɯ).

Han compound

to presuppose; to hypothesise; to assert


昂

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋaːŋ): semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 卬 (OC *ŋaːŋ, *ŋaŋʔ, “man standing and man kneeling”).


晾

在陽臺晾衣服

在阳台晾衣服

give the cold shoulder
give the cold shoulder

to treat coldly; to give the cold shoulder


敢

→ Zhuang: gamj

In oracle bone script, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): Two hands 廾 holding a weapon 干 hunting a wild boar 豕.
In the Zhou dynasty one of the hands was removed and a phonetic component 甘 (OC *kaːm) was added. The boar shape got progressively corrupted until it looked like a hand 彐, thus obtaining the very old and rather conservative variant 𢼿.
The sound component 甘 and the weapon 干 stylized and merged into 古, leading to the seal script form 𢽤. Then, the wild boar on top stylized into 爫, thus obtaining 𠭖.
Eventually, the left half corrupted further into the traditional version ⿱丅耳, which was then stylized.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/m-wam (“to dare”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

敢肯定

敢說

敢说

Wǒ gǎn shuō nǐ jiějuébuliǎo zhè ge nántí.

我敢說你解決不了這個難題。

我敢说你解决不了这个难题。

to be sure; to be certain; to bet; to presume

Alternative form: 豈／岂

敢通按呢？

(literary or Hokkien, Teochew, Taiwanese Hakka, rhetorical question) can it be possible that; how

Alternative forms: 咁, 甘, 干

你敢有閒？

你敢有闲？

(Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka) Interrogative adverb, placed before the verb to create a yes-no question.


據

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kas): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 豦 (OC *kas, *ɡa).


昨

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *zaːɡ): semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 乍 (OC *zraːɡs). However, the phonetic component could add part of the meaning since it was borrowed phonetically to mean "at first".
Related to 昔 (OC *sjaːɡ, “the past”) (Sagart, 1999).


既

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): 皀 (“bowl of rice”) + 旡 (“kneeling figure”) – person kneeling at bowl of rice – sitting down to eat (rice already finished cooking), turning away (already finished eating) or abstaining from eating or consuming.
Note the stroke order in the right component 旡, which may not be clear in the compressed form of this character: the left vertical and second horizontal are one stroke with a corner, while the upper right vertical continues in a diagonal stroke to lower left.
Maybe Sino-Tibetan (Schuessler, 2007). Exopassive (perfective) of 訖／讫 (qì, “to finish”); possibly cognate to 暨 (jì, “to reach”), yet see there.
Löffler (1966) compares this to Mru ki (“complete”).

In autumn, in the seventh month, on [the day] Renchen, the first day of the moon, the sun was totally eclipsed.

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

Qiū qīyuè rénchén shuò, rì yǒu shí zhī, jì.

秋七月壬辰朔，日有食之，既。

(obsolete) to have a total solar eclipse or lunar eclipse


擔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *taːm, *taːms): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 詹 (OC *tjam) – to carry by hand.
According to STEDT, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tam (“to carry on shoulder”), whence Burmese ထမ်း (htam:, “to carry on the shoulder”). Schuessler (2007), on the other hand, notes 擔 (OC *taːm) is an area word whose source is probably Austroasiatic; compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *klam ~ *kləm (“to carry on shoulder”), whence Khmu klam (“to carry on shoulder”). An alternative form with initial *t which agrees with later Old Chinese is widespread; compare also Khmer ទាំ (tŏəm, “to tire of; to bear”), Khmer ទ្រាំ (trŏəm, “to bear; to endure”), Proto-Hmong-Mien *ntam (“to carry on shoulder”), whence Iu Mien daːm¹, and Proto-Tai *trwaːmᴬ (“to carry on the back”), whence Thai หาม (hǎam, “to carry”).
The softened initial in Northern Min points to OC pre-nasalization which is supported by Iu Mien daːm¹ (Schuessler, 2007), an early Chinese loan into Hmong-Mien (Baxter and Sagart, 2014).
擔 (OC *taːms) is 擔 (OC *taːm) with the passive s/h-suffix, literally "what is carried".


昧

→ Proto-Tai: *mɯːtᴰ

Thai: มืด (mʉ̂ʉt, “dark”)


敏

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mrɯʔ, *mrɯŋʔ): phonetic 每 (OC *mɯːʔ) + semantic 攴 (“hand; action”). The 攴 component was sometimes written as 又 (“hand”) in early writing.
Compare Burmese မြန် (mran, “quick, fast”) (Luce, 1981).


擘

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *preːɡ): phonetic 辟 (OC *peɡ, *pʰeɡ, *beɡ) + semantic 手 (“hand”).


曖

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qɯːds, *qaːds): semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 愛 (OC *qɯːds).


旬

Characters in the same phonetic series (匀) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sɢʷin): phonetic 螾 (OC *lin, *linʔ) + semantic 日 (“sun; day”).
The pictographic protoform of 螾 was borrowed to represent "period of days" in oracle bone script. In bronze inscriptions, the semantic component 日 (“sun/day”) was added to this character. In the Warring States period, the phonetic component was mistaken as 勹 (“bow down”), hence the incorrect analysis in Shuowen Jiezi of this character as 勹 + 日.


應

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (應):
* → Japanese: 応(おう) (ō)
* → Vietnamese: ứng (應)

→ English: Ying

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qɯŋ, *qɯŋs): phonetic 䧹 (OC *qɯŋ) + semantic 心 (“heart”).
Related to 膺 (OC *qɯŋ, “breastplate; to oppose”); see there for more (STEDT).

Han compound

应
譍
噟
応
𢈀
𢇭
𠩍
𤻮
𧭭
𡄖

叫天天不應，叫地地不靈／叫天天不应，叫地地不灵

jiào tiān tiān bù yìng, jiào dì dì bù líng

應驗／应验

(of words, etc.) to come true; to be confirmed

41st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "response" (𝌮)

(～縣) Ying County (a county of Shuozhou, Shanxi, China)


扶

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pa, *ba): semantic 扌 + phonetic 夫 (OC *pa, *ba).
Probably from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *p(l)a-n ~ *p(w)a-n (“palm, sole”), whence also 蹯 (OC *ban, “paw”), Burmese ဝါး (wa:, “handsbreath; palm of hand”) (STEDT).

cog

(Southern Min) to brownnose; to suck up; to kiss someone's ass


整

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tjeŋʔ): semantic 敕 + phonetic 正 (OC *tjeŋ, *tjeŋs)
Endoactive of 正 (OC *tjeŋ) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

The people in the entire building are sleeping.

整棟樓的人都在睡覺。

整栋楼的人都在睡觉。