青

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (青):
* → Japanese: 青(せい) (sei)
* → Korean: 청(靑) (cheong)
* → Vietnamese: thanh (青)

→ Tocharian A: tseṃ (“blue”)

→ Tocharian B: tseṃ m (“blue”), tseñña f

→ Vietnamese: xanh (“green”)

/t͡sʰi̯aŋ²⁴/

/t͡sʰi̯aŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰi̯ɔ̃⁴⁴/

/t͡ɕʰi̯an⁴⁴⁵/

/t͡sʰi̯aŋ²⁴/

/t͡sʰi̯aŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰi̯ɔ̃⁴⁴/

/t͡ɕʰi̯an⁴⁴⁵/

Second round of simplified Chinese characters

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 生 (“growth of plants”) + 丹 (“cinnabar”); a more conservative variant is 𤯞. Cinnabar was used for dyeing, and by extension, came to imply “color” in general, giving the combined meaning “color of growing plants” → “blue-green”.
In the modern glyph, the top component is reduced to 龶, and the bottom component resembles the unrelated 月 (yuè, “moon”).
The second-round simplified form of the character is based on the calligraphic form of the character.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-riŋ ~ s-r(j)aŋ (“to live; to be alive; to give birth; raw; green”). Cognate with 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs, “to live”), 蒼 (OC *sʰaːŋ, “green; blue”), 性 (OC *sleŋs, “nature”), 姓 (OC *sleŋs, “surname”). Note 蒼 (OC *sʰaːŋ) may be an old dialect variant of 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ) (Schuessler, 2007).

inh

靑
寈
㞭
𡗡
𡴏
𡴑
𡷉
𤯝
𤯞

青BB [Cantonese] ― ceng¹ bi¹ bi¹ [Jyutping]


安心

/ˀän⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵/

/on²⁴⁻¹¹ sim²⁴/

/aŋ⁵⁵ ⁽ˢ⁻⁾niŋ⁵⁵/

/an⁴⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴/

/an⁴⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴/

/an⁴⁴⁻³³ sim⁴⁴/

/an⁴⁴⁻³³ sim⁴⁴/

/ũã³³⁻²³ sim³³/

/ˀän⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵/

/on²⁴⁻¹¹ sim²⁴/

/aŋ⁵⁵ ⁽ˢ⁻⁾niŋ⁵⁵/

/an⁴⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴/

/an⁴⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴/

/an⁴⁴⁻³³ sim⁴⁴/

/an⁴⁴⁻³³ sim⁴⁴/

/ũã³³⁻²³ sim³³/

Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West, 16ᵗʰ century CE

Wǒ qǐ yǒu ānxīn bù jiù zhī lǐ, kuài qǔshuǐ lái.

我豈有安心不救之理，快取水來。

我岂有安心不救之理，快取水来。


安全

/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/ᵘɔn³³ tʰun²²/

/ɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰiɛn¹¹/

/aŋ⁵³³⁻²¹ ^((t͡s-))nœŋ¹³/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰueŋ⁵⁵/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰuaŋ⁵⁵/

/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/ᵘɔn³³ tʰun²²/

/ɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰiɛn¹¹/

/aŋ⁵³³⁻²¹ ^((t͡s-))nœŋ¹³/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰueŋ⁵⁵/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰuaŋ⁵⁵/

2018 January 8, “三人行”, in 愛回家之開心速遞 [Come Home Love: Lo and Behold], episode 230:

Your sister's appearance is so unattractive, there's no need to worry.

nei⁵ go³ mui⁶⁻² go³ joeng⁶⁻² saang¹ dak¹ gam³ on¹ cyun⁴, sai² mat¹ gan² zoeng¹ wo³.

你個妹個樣生得咁安全，使乜緊張喎。

你个妹个样生得咁安全，使乜紧张㖞。

(neologism, of a person) unattractive; ugly


安全

/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/ᵘɔn³³ tʰun²²/

/ɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰiɛn¹¹/

/aŋ⁵³³⁻²¹ ^((t͡s-))nœŋ¹³/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰueŋ⁵⁵/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰuaŋ⁵⁵/

/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/ᵘɔn³³ tʰun²²/

/ɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰiɛn¹¹/

/aŋ⁵³³⁻²¹ ^((t͡s-))nœŋ¹³/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰueŋ⁵⁵/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰuaŋ⁵⁵/

(Classical) to keep in good repair; to maintain; to save from damage; to preserve


安全

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (安全):
* → Japanese: 安全(あんぜん) (anzen)
* → Korean: 안전(安全) (anjeon)
* → Vietnamese: an toàn (安全)

→ Zhuang: ancienz

/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/ᵘɔn³³ tʰun²²/

/ɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰiɛn¹¹/

/aŋ⁵³³⁻²¹ ^((t͡s-))nœŋ¹³/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰueŋ⁵⁵/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰuaŋ⁵⁵/

/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɔːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/ᵘɔn³³ tʰun²²/

/ɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰiɛn¹¹/

/aŋ⁵³³⁻²¹ ^((t͡s-))nœŋ¹³/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰueŋ⁵⁵/

/ũã³³⁻²³ t͡sʰuaŋ⁵⁵/

(～村) Anquan (a village in Wulipu, Shayang, Jingmen, Hubei, China)


狗

Wutunhua: gek

Characters in the same phonetic series (句) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *koːʔ): semantic 犬 (“dog”) + phonetic 句 (OC *koː, *koːs, *kos, *ɡo).
From some language ancestral to modern Hmong-Mien languages, from Proto-Hmong-Mien *qluwˣ (“dog”), perhaps from Proto-Austronesian *(u-)(ŋ)kuɣkuɣ (“dog”) (Norman, 1988; Benedict, 1996).
Alternatively, STEDT derives this from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-kʷəj-n (“dog”), whence also 犬 (OC *kʰʷeːnʔ).
Less likely, it may be related to 駒 (OC *ko, “foal”), 羔 (OC *kluː, “lamb”), 𤘽 (“calf”) (Wang, 1982).

Han compound

餵狗

喂狗

累成狗


蛇

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (蛇):
* → Japanese: 蛇(じゃ) (ja); 蛇(だ) (da)
* → Okinawan: 蛇(じゃー) (jā)
* → Korean: 사(蛇) (sa)
* → Vietnamese: xà (蛇)

Wutunhua: shai

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *l̥ʰaːl, *ɦljaːl, *lal): semantic 虫 + phonetic 它 (OC *l̥ʰaːl). 它 was also the original pictographic form of this character.
Unclear. Various theories have been proposed:
* Starostin sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lăj (“snake”), comparing this with Mizo hlai-ba (“a species of snake”) and Jingpho palai (“a species of iguana”). He also compares it to Proto-Kam-Sui *dzuːi² (“snake”). Schuessler (2007) considers these Tibeto-Burman forms to be unrelated.
* Matisoff (2003) relates it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-b/m-ruːl (“snake”), but this comparison is no longer held in STEDT.
* Sagart (2005) relates it to Proto-Loloish *lay¹/² (“python”), which STEDT derives from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-lja(ŋ/k) (“python”), as well as Proto-Austronesian *bulay (“snake”). Comparison with the Austronesian form has been challenged by Orlandi (2018).
* Schuessler (2007) notes similarity to Proto-Hlai *ljaːɦ (“snake”) (from Pre-Hlai *Cilaːɦ) as well as to Austronesian words, such as Rade ala (“snake”), but considers the Kra-Dai forms to be possible borrowings from Chinese. (He does not seem to address the Austronesian forms directly.) In his view, a more likely relationship is with the /-lé/ in Khmer រលេ (rɔlei, “sinuously, in a twisting or wiggling manner (as a snake swimming)”). In Old Chinese, this also provides the second syllable in 委蛇 (OC *qrol lal, “winding; compliant; graceful”). 蛇 (“the winding thing”) is then a euphemism for common Sino-Tibetan 虺 (OC *hŋlulʔ, “snake”) for taboo reasons.
* Zhengzhang (2011) relates it to Proto-Austronesian *SulaR (“snake”).

och-l

它
虵
𢕷
𣙛
𤜣
𥝀
𧉮

c. 3rd century BCE, 荀子 [Xunzi], 荀子 [Xunzi]:

1919, 《新舊約全書：官話和合譯本》 [Mandarin Bible, Union Version], Shanghai: American Bible Society, 創世記 [Genesis] 3:13:

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Yēhéhuá Shàngdì duì nǚrén shuō, nǐ zuò de shì shènme shì ne. Nǚrén shuō, nà shé yǐnyòu wǒ, wǒ jiù chī le.

耶和華上帝對女人說、你作的是甚麽事呢。女人說、那蛇引誘我、我就喫了。

耶和华上帝对女人说、你作的是什么事呢。女人说、那蛇引诱我、我就吃了。

snake; serpent (Classifier: 條／条 m c; 尾 mn)


花園

/xu̯ä⁵⁵ ɥɛn³⁵/

/xu̯ä⁵⁵ ɥɑɻ³⁵/

/xua²⁴ yæ̃²⁴/

/faː⁵⁵ jyːn²¹⁻³⁵/

/hua⁵⁵ ⁽ʰ⁻⁾uoŋ⁵³/

/hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hŋ̍²³/

/hue⁴⁴⁻²² hŋ̍²⁴/

/hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hŋ̍²⁴/

/hue³³ hŋ̍²⁴/

/hua⁴⁴⁻²² huĩ¹³/

/hue³³⁻²³ hŋ⁵⁵/

/ho⁵⁵ ɦyø²¹/

/xu̯ä⁵⁵ ɥɛn³⁵/

/xu̯ä⁵⁵ ɥɑɻ³⁵/

/xua²⁴ yæ̃²⁴/

/faː⁵⁵ jyːn²¹⁻³⁵/

/hua⁵⁵ ⁽ʰ⁻⁾uoŋ⁵³/

/hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hŋ̍²³/

/hue⁴⁴⁻²² hŋ̍²⁴/

/hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hŋ̍²⁴/

/hue³³ hŋ̍²⁴/

/hua⁴⁴⁻²² huĩ¹³/

/hue³³⁻²³ hŋ⁵⁵/

/ho⁵⁵ ɦyø²¹/

flower garden; garden (Classifier: 個／个 m; 座 m)


米

Characters in the same phonetic series (米) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – rice kernels without husk. The character 粟, by contrast, refers to rice kernels with husk. According to Li Xiaoding (李孝定), the horizontal stroke is a bamboo sieve (籭 or 篩子). See also the bottom component of 暴 in its original form.
Unrelated to 木, 禾, and 来.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma-j ~ mej (“rice; paddy”). Cognate with Garo mi (“rice”), Atong (India) mai (“rice”), Jingpho ma (“rice; paddy”), Rabha মাই (mai), Dimasa mai.

inh

hulled or husked uncooked rice (Classifier: 粒 m c mn; 顆／颗 m)

(Shanghainese, slang) ten thousand of a currency designation; ten grand (Classifier: 粒 w)

米芾 ― Mǐ Fú ― Mi Fu (Song artist)


米

Short for 米突 (mǐtū), from English metre.

米三

我有一米九高。

2020, “微光 [Glimmer]”, 唐小奕 (lyrics), 曹楊 [Young] (music)performed by 曹楊 [Young]:

[I] am just a tiny light; [I] cannot brighten up an area within a metre.

zhǐshì wēixiǎo de guāng, zhào bù liàng yī mǐ de dìfang

只是微小的光 照不亮一米的地方


位置

/weɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/weɪ̯⁵¹ ɖ͡ʐ̥ʐ̩¹/

/wɐi̯²² t͡siː³³/

/vi⁵⁵ t͡sɨ⁵⁵/

/ui³³⁻²¹ ti²¹/

/ui²²⁻²¹ ti²¹/

/ui³³⁻¹¹ ti¹¹/

/ui⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ ti⁴¹/

/ɦue²² t͡sz̩⁴⁴/

/weɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/weɪ̯⁵¹ ɖ͡ʐ̥ʐ̩¹/

/wɐi̯²² t͡siː³³/

/vi⁵⁵ t͡sɨ⁵⁵/

/ui³³⁻²¹ ti²¹/

/ui²²⁻²¹ ti²¹/

/ui³³⁻¹¹ ti¹¹/

/ui⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ ti⁴¹/

/ɦue²² t͡sz̩⁴⁴/

地理位置

具體位置

具体位置

您所在的位置。

location; position; place (Classifier: 個／个 m c)

post; office; position (Classifier: 個／个 m)


空

Jingpho language
Proto-Sino-Tibetan language

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kʰoːŋ, *kʰoːŋs): semantic 穴 (“cave, hole”) + phonetic 工 (OC *koːŋ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(g/k)uŋ (“hole; orifice; inner part”). 孔 (OC *kʰloːŋʔ, “hole”) is probably the endoactive derivation of 空 (OC *kʰoːŋ, “hollow; empty”) (Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Tibetan ཁུང (khung, “hole”), Jingpho ladi hku (“nostril”), Chepang घाङ् (gʰaŋ, “hole”), Burmese ခေါင်း (hkaung:, “cavity”), Naxi ko³³ (“cave; hole; pit”) (STEDT). See also 坑 (OC *kʰraːŋ, “pit”) and 肛 (OC *kroːŋ, *qʰroːŋ, “anus”), which may or may not be related.

inh-lite

太空

空間

空间


入

Ideogram (指事) - an arrowhead indicating "to enter".
Compare 人 (rén).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *nup ~ nip. Cognate with Tibetan ནུབ (nub, “to fall (gradually), sink, to set; to decay, to decline”) and Burmese နိပ် (nip, “to decline (e.g. price); to be suppressed, to settle, to be quelled”).
Chinese characters belonging to the same word family include:
* 納 (OC *nuːb, “to make enter”)
* 內 (OC *nuːbs, “inside”)
* 軜 (OC *nuːb, “reins on the inside of the horse”)
* 妠 (OC *nuːms, *nuːb, *rnoːd, “to marry (a girl)”)
* 躡 (OC *neb, “to tiptoe, tread”)
* 攝 (OC *neːb, *ʔnjeb, “to take in, photograph, grasp”)
* 鑷 (OC *neb, “tweezers, forceps”)
* and potentially Cantonese 擸 (laap3, “to bring together, to collect”)
The regular Mandarin pronunciation as predicted from Middle Chinese is rì. The irregular sound change is for taboo reasons - to avoid homophony with its derived vulgar meaning "to enter > to have sexual intercourse", nowadays represented by 日 (rì).

zh-m

(literary, dialectal Mandarin, dialectal Wu, vulgar) to fuck; to have sexual intercourse


章

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (章):
* → Japanese: 章(しょう) (shō)
* → Korean: 장(章) (jang)
* → Vietnamese: chương (章)

desc

→ English: Chang, Zhang, Cheung, Chiang, Cheang, Cheong

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): A chisel 辛 piercing a piece of untreated jade in the middle of the character (now 日). Originally meaning "to treat jade", likely the original character of 璋 or 彰.
STEDT compares the word to Proto-Kuki-Chin *klaaŋ-I, *klaan-II (“to shine; light; bright”); see 陽 (OC *laŋ, “sunshine”) for more.

文章

(alt. form 彰) to make manifest; to display; to express

章動

章动

[The cycle of] nineteen years constitute one zhang. Four zhang make one bu, which is seventy-six years.

c. early 3rd century, Zhao Shuang (趙爽), editor. Zhoubi Suanjing (《周髀算經》)

Shíjiǔ suì wéi yī zhāng. Sì zhāng wèi yī bù, qīshíliù suì.

十九歲為一章。四章為一蔀，七十六歲。

十九岁为一章。四章为一蔀，七十六岁。

(Chinese astronomy) the cycle of 19 years (approximate common multiple for the synodic month and tropical year, similar to the Metonic cycle)

章子怡


編

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *pen, *peːn, *peːnʔ): semantic 糸 (“thread”) + phonetic 扁 (OC *pʰen, *benʔ, *peːnʔ, *beːnʔ) – to knit together a book (with thread).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *p(r)an/t ~ b(r)an/t (“to braid; to plait; to interweave”).


神

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (神):
* → Japanese: 神(しん) (shin)
* → Korean: 신(神) (sin)
* → Vietnamese: thần (神)

→ Chadong: sən²

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *hlin): semantic 示 (“god; deity”) + phonetic 申 (OC *hlin, “lightning”).
Originally 申 in the oracle bone script and in some bronze inscriptions. The ancients feared the unpredictable lightning and considered it to be divine or of divine origin. 示 was added for specialization.
Possibly Sino-Tibetan; compare Chepang ग्लीङ्ह (gliŋh, “spirit, mind, soul”) (Schuessler, 2007).

cog-lite

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 創世記 (Genesis) 1:3

Shén shuō: “Yào yǒu guāng”, jiù yǒu le guāng.

神說：「要有光」，就有了光。

神说：「要有光」，就有了光。

God has taken his place in the divine council; …

和合本 (Héhéběn) (Chinese Union Version), 詩篇 (Psalms) 82:1

Shén zhàn zài yǒuquánlìzhě de huì zhōng,......

神站在有權力者的會中，……

神站在有权力者的会中，……

(religion) god; deity; spirit
(Protestantism, specifically) God

眼神


人造

/ʐən³⁵ t͡sɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/lin²⁴⁻²² t͡so²²/

/lin²⁴⁻²² t͡so²²/

/lin²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡so³³/

/d͡zin¹³⁻²² t͡so²²/

/zin²³⁻³³ t͡sɤ³³/

/zən²² zɔ⁴⁴/

/ʐən³⁵ t͡sɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/lin²⁴⁻²² t͡so²²/

/lin²⁴⁻²² t͡so²²/

/lin²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡so³³/

/d͡zin¹³⁻²² t͡so²²/

/zin²³⁻³³ t͡sɤ³³/

/zən²² zɔ⁴⁴/


白

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (白):
* → Japanese: 白(はく) (haku)
* → Korean: 백(白) (baek)
* → Jeju: 벡 (bek)
* → Vietnamese: bạch (白)

→ Proto-Southwestern Tai: *pʰɯəkᴰ¹ᴸ

Lao: ເຜືອກ (phư̄ak)

Thai: เผือก (pʉ̀ʉak)

→ Proto-Vietic: *baːk

Vietnamese: bạc

desc

→ Vietnamese: bệch (“chalky; sickly white”)

Characters in the same phonetic series (白) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Unclear; probably a pictogram (象形).
Guo (1954) suggests that it represents a thumb and is original form of 拇 (*mɯʔ) or, more probably, 擘 (*preːɡ).
Alternatively, Unger (apud Schuessler, 2007) suggests that it represents an acorn, noting its use in 樂 /乐 (“oak”) (= 櫟 /栎) and 皂 (zào, “acorn”). In this interpretation, the meaning of “white” is derived from the color of an acorn's inside. Unrelated to the top component of 原.
STEDT derives it from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bawk (“white”), whence also Proto-Bodo-Garo *bok (“white”), Limbu ᤑ (phô, “white”); also compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *kɓɔɔk (“white, grey”).
However, Schuessler (2007) finds it difficult to reconcile these forms with Middle Chinese due to the lack of medial r. Instead, he proposes a derivation from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bar (“white”) with -k extension, thus cognate with 皤 (OC *baːl, “white”) (Wang, 1982), Mizo vâr (“(to be) white”), Proto-Karen *ʔ(b)wa (“white”).

Han etyl

販仔白

贩仔白


火

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (火):
* → Japanese: 火(か) (ka)
* → Korean: 화(火) (hwa)
* → Vietnamese: hoả (火)

Characters in the same phonetic series (火) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – pictographic representation of a fire. Written as 灬 when at the bottom of a character, but still seen in the original form in the character 灸.
See also the top component of 叟 in its original form and the bottom part of 赤.
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mej (Schuessler 2007; STEDT). However, see there for phonological problems.


丈

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 十 (“ten”) + 又 (“hand”) – ten chi (尺) is one zhang (丈). Similar but unrelated to 支.
;"gentleman, older man, husband"
;"unit of measurement"

Han compound

The Taiwanese zhang, a unit of length standardized as 3 ¹/₃₃ meters, identical to the Japanese jō.


並

From the clerical script (隸書) of 竝 (OC *beːŋʔ), originally depicting two people standing side-by-side.

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 並 (MC bengX)


乘

Pictogram (象形) – a person 大 climbing a tree 木, with the feet visible. Etymology clearer in alternative form 椉. In this form, simplified to 禾 (“tree and top”) + 北 (“feet”).


仍

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (仍):
* → Vietnamese: nhưng (仍)

→ Vietnamese: những

→ Thai: ยัง (yang)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *njɯŋ): semantic 亻 + phonetic 乃 (OC *nɯːʔ).
; “to be done repeatedly; as before”


份

→ Thai: หุ้น (hûn)


伸

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *hlin): semantic 亻 (“man”) + phonetic 申 (OC *hlin).
STEDT derives the word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsjan ~ *dzjan (“to stretch out”), and compares Burmese ဆင်း (hcang:, “idem”), though the Old Chinese reconstructions make this somewhat problematic.


但

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *daːn, *daːnʔ, *daːns): semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 旦 (OC *taːns).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(d/t)a(n/j) (“single; one; whole; only”). Cognate with 單 (OC *taːn, “single”).

inh

但求


來

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (來):
* → Japanese: 来(らい) (rai)
* → Korean: 래(來) (rae)
* → Vietnamese: lai (來)

Shuowen
Warring States period
Western Zhou

Pictogram (象形) of wheat – original character of 麥 (OC *mrɯːɡ, “wheat”) or 麳 (OC *rɯː, “wheat”). The line in the middle represents the ear, the two lines pointing upwards represent leaves, and the lines pointing downwards represent the stem and roots. An additional horizontal line was often added at the top end of the character, possibly used to emphasize the ear of the wheat. Compare 禾; both are unrelated to 釆.
This character has been borrowed for “to come” since the oracle bone script. During the Western Zhou and Warring States periods, additional semantic components, such as 止 (“foot”) or 辵 (“to walk”), were added to differentiate the original sense from the borrowed sense. However, these additions were not inherited in later scripts.
Some consider the derivative 麥 from the addition of 夊 (“to walk slowly”) to be the original form for the meaning “to come”. If so, their meanings have interchanged due to frequent use of 來 for “to come”.
Shuowen connects “wheat” and “to come” from a mythological standpoint: 天所來也 (“it comes from the heavens”). This may be supported by archaeological evidence, which suggests that wheat is not native to China, but originated in the Fertile Crescent.
來 and 麥 have both been reconstructed to begin with *mr- in Old Chinese. The former retains the liquid as /l/, while the latter retains the nasal /m/.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *la-j ~ ra (“to come”) (STEDT). Cognate with 迨 (OC *l'ɯːʔ, “to reach; until”), 賚 (OC *rɯːs, “to bestow”), Burmese လာ (la, “to come”). Also cognate with 蒞 (OC *rɯbs, “to arrive”) according to Schuessler (2007).

inh

来
𧼛
倈
逨
徠
来
麳
䅘

(～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 來 (MC loj)


例

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *reds): semantic 亻 + phonetic 列 (OC *red).

Han compound

舉例／举例

以陳先生為例／以陈先生为例

to use the case of Mr. Chen as an example

病例

If there are fewer than ten cases, then a rule should not be established based on them.

例不十，法不立

條例／条例

唔啱例 [Cantonese] ― m⁴ ngaam¹ lai⁶ [Jyutping] ― to violate the regulations


供

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kloŋ, *kloŋs): semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 共 (OC *kloŋ, *ɡloŋs).


供

供述

to confess; to own up; to make a confession of


便

便宜


便

(Cantonese, non-productive) Suffix for locational nouns; side


保

In the oracle script, this character was an ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 人 (“person”) + 子 (“child”) – a person carrying a child on his back; to carry (a child) > to protect. See also 好.
In early bronze inscriptions, 爪 (“hand”) was added to the person to emphasize that the person was carrying the child. This was later simplified into one or two strokes. The current form has two.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bəw (“to carry (on back or shoulders)”). Cognate with 抱 (OC *buːʔ, “to heft, hug”); see there for more (STEDT).

inh

𠈃
𠊻
𠌀
𠍂
𰠀
㙅
𤞥
𠦀
𠫡
𡥀
𣎼
𤔍
葆


信

Sino-Xenic (信):
* → Vietnamese: tín (信)

→ Vietnamese: tin

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意) and
phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *hljins): phonetic 人 (OC *njin, “person”) + semantic 言 (“word”).
Schuessler (2007) reconstructs the Old Chinese minimally as *sin and suggests possible derivation from 允 (OC *winʔ, “to trust; to be true”).
Alternatively, Sagart and Baxter (2012) reconstruct *s-niŋ-s (*s-ni[ŋ]-s in Baxter and Sagart, 2014) and suggest a derivation from 仁 (OC *niŋ, “kind”) with the prefix *s-, probably used to increase its valency.

Han compound

letter (written communication) (Classifier: 封 m c mn)


修

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *slɯw): phonetic 攸 (OC *lɯw) + semantic 彡.

Han compound

修鐵路／修铁路

A thousand stalks of old cypress, ten thousand stems of tall bamboo.

千株老柏，萬節修篁。

千株老柏，万节修篁。

修正主義 修正主義#Chinese

修正主义 修正主义#Chinese

Short for 修正主義／修正主义 (xiūzhèng zhǔyì). revisionism


倒

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *taːwʔ, *taːws): semantic 亻 + phonetic 到 (OC *taːws).

Han compound

upside down; inverted; flipped; reversed


假

→ Lingao: ke¹ (via Hainanese)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kraːʔ, *kraːs): semantic 人 + phonetic 叚 (OC *kraːʔ).
; “to borrow; false”
: Cognate with Tibetan ཀར་སྐྱིན (kar skyin, “loan; thing borrowed”). An allofam is probably 雇 (OC *kʷaːs, *ɡʷaːʔ, “to hire”).


偷

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *l̥ʰoː): semantic 亻 + phonetic 俞 (OC *l̥ʰus, *lo).

細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛 / 细汉偷挽匏，大汉偷牵牛

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

我們的錢被偷了。

我们的钱被偷了。

The pickpocket pinched her purse and ran away.

扒手偷了她的皮夾子跑了。

扒手偷了她的皮夹子跑了。


傘

Pictogram (象形) – pictographic representation of an umbrella.

伞
繖
𢄻
伞
仐
𠋔
𠌂
𠍘
𠎃
𡙘
𡙫


催

/t͡sʰu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *sʰluːl): semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 崔 (OC *zluːl, *sʰluːl).


傷

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *hljaŋ, *hljaŋs): semantic 人 + phonetic 𥏻 ().
Current form resembles 从 + 昜. The top component of the character is unrelated to 旅, 每, 复, 乞 as well as 人.
Perhaps a causative of 瘍 (OC *laŋ, “ulcers”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

傷大

伤大


傻

Unclear. Possible early forms in Middle Chinese include 𧫝 (MC srwaeX) or 誜 (MC srwaeH), indicating "to speak carelessly; to talk nonsense".

(dialectal Mandarin, including Tianjin Mandarin) very; quite


僅

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɡrɯns): semantic 人 + phonetic 堇 (OC *ɡrɯn, *kɯnʔ).


光

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (光):
* → Japanese: 光(こう) (kō)
* → Korean: 광(光) (gwang)
* → Vietnamese: quang (光)

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 火 (“fire”) + 卩 (“kneeling person”) – fire over a person's head, emphasizing the shining of light (Shuowen).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hwaŋ (“shine; bright; yellow”). Cognate with 黃 (OC *ɡʷaːŋ, “yellow”), 曠 (OC *kʰʷaːŋs, “bright; well-lit”), Burmese ဝင်း (wang:, “bright”).

inh

㫕
灮
炗
炚
炛
烡
𠈑
𤉭
𤎫
𤐥
𰭧
㶢

燈光

灯光

聚光燈

聚光灯

一束光透過門縫射進來。

一束光透过门缝射进来。

(specifically, physics) ray (Classifier: 條／条)

light; beam; ray (Classifier: 束 m; 道 m)
ray (Classifier: 條／条)

光明

呢度好光。

這間房間真光。

这间房间真光。


共

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (共):
* → Vietnamese: cộng (共)

→ Vietnamese: cùng

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 廾 (“two hands”) + 口 (“an object”) – holding up an object with two hands. Eventually 口 (not “mouth”) came to be written 廿 (niàn) (not “twenty”), which later fused with 廾 to form the modern 共.
Possibly the original form of 供 (“to provide; to offer”).
Possibly related to 廾 (OC *k(r)oŋʔ, “to fold the hands in front of the breast”), with the stativizing prefix *N- (Baxter and Sagart, 2014). Schuessler (2007) also relates this word to 供 (OC *kloŋ, *kloŋs, “to provide”) and suggests the possibility of also relating it to 恭 (OC *kloŋ, “to respect”) and 貢 (OC *koːŋs, “tribute”).
The kā reading in Hokkien is from the weakening of kāng (Wu, 2017; Chappell et al., 2011).

och-l

國共／国共

Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China

Short for 共產黨／共产党 (gòngchǎndǎng, “communist party”).

(specifically) the Communist Party of China

1828, Robert Morrison, Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect, volume III, section XII:

A muscle cask, a belly (or mind) full of nothing but mud and water.

hin² juk⁶ tung² tou⁵ leoi⁵ cyun⁴ hai⁶ nai⁴ gung⁶ seoi²

蜆肉桶肚裡全係坭共水

蚬肉桶肚里全系泥共水

1841, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect, page 181:

Do the Chinese use milk and sugar with their tea?

tong⁴ jan⁴ jau⁵ kaai⁵ ngau⁴ jyu⁵ gung⁶ tong⁴ lai⁴ gaau² caa⁴ jau⁵ mou⁵ ne¹

唐人有𢬿牛乳共糖嚟攪茶有冇呢

唐人有𢬿牛乳共糖嚟搅茶有冇呢

1993, “海闊天空 [Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies]”, performed by Beyond:

not afraid that someday there's only you and me

naa⁵ wui⁵ paa³ jau⁵ jat¹ tin¹ zi² nei⁵ gung⁶ ngo⁵

那會怕有一天只你共我

那会怕有一天只你共我

你共我會記咧！

你共我会记咧！

(Hokkien) Used in imperative sentences for emphasis

給

used in imperative sentences for emphasis

共伊放袂記

共伊放袂记

(Eastern Min, Hokkien) Particle introducing the object of the verb

將

particle introducing the object of the verb


兵

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 斤 (“a short axe”) + 廾 (“2 hands”) – a pair of hands holding a weapon. Unrelated to 丘.

Han compound

GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

士兵


冊

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

Pictogram (象形) – bamboo slips strung together. See also 侖, 扁, and 典. Similar but unrelated to 龠. The contemporary stylized form 册 is unrelated to 朋.


冒

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *muːɡs, *mɯːɡ): phonetic 冃 (OC *muːɡs, “hat”) + semantic 目 (“eyes”).
See also 敖, 免, and 美.
Original meaning was “to cover”.
Sino-Tibetan. Schuessler (2007) connects it with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *muːŋ ~ r/s-muːk (“sky, clouds, fog, dark, covered”), whence Burmese မိုး (mui:, “sky; rain; to hold something over the head; roof”), Tibetan མུ (mu), དམུ (dmu), རྨུ (rmu), སྨུ (smu, “(archaic) sky”).
Derivative: 帽 (OC *muːɡs, “hat”).


冒

Transcription character, preserving the original pronunciation at the time of borrowing.

Only used in 冒頓／冒顿 (Mòdú, “name of a Xiongnu chieftain”).


凍

→ Old Turkic: dong (frozen)

Old Turkic: dong- (to freeze)

Turkish: donmak

Azerbaijani: donmaq

Turkmen: doňmak

Turkmen: doň ýürek (coldhearted)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *toːŋ, *toːŋs): semantic 冫 + phonetic 東 (OC *toːŋ).


凡

Pictogram (象形) – a plate, a flat dish. See also 風 and 同. Unrelated to 几.
Borrowed for abstract meanings. Another character 盤 (OC *baːn) was created to refer to the original word.
As an alternative, a bucket. If the character represents a bucket, part of its original meaning could be preserved in 同 and in turn in 筒 (OC *doːŋ, *doːŋs, “bucket”).
According to Schuessler (2007), Sino-Tibetan in origin; compare Mizo pum (“whole; all”), Burmese ဘုံ (bhum, “common, public, communal”). Cognate with 法 (OC *pqab, “law”).


切

(Mandarin, chiefly women's speech, colloquial) An interjection conveying a slight sense of disdain or dissatisfaction.


列

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 歹 (“skeletal remains”) + 刀 (“knife”) – to tear apart.

Han compound

See also: 裂

^† to tear apart; to break up; to separate; to split


初

→ Vietnamese: xưa

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 衤 (“clothes”) + 刀 (“knife; to cut”) – start making clothes by cutting the cloth.
The various 𢀰-shaped glyphs are or are evolved from Zetian characters.

𥘉
𥝢
𠜆
𫢈
𢀯
𢀰
𡔈
䥚
𠫎
𣦂

初級

初级


刷

/t͡sʰaːt̚³⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰat̚³³⁻²¹⁵/

/t͡sʰaːt̚³⁻³⁵/

/t͡sʰat̚³³⁻²¹⁵/

Perhaps from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s(u/i)t (“to wipe, sweep, rub, scrub”) (STEDT). Cognate with Tibetan བཤུད (bshud, “to wipe”), Burmese သုတ် (sut, “idem”) (though STEDT mistakenly puts down 恤 (OC *sqʰʷiɡ, “to sympathize, compensate”) for the Chinese character instead).

och-l

刷牙

刷碗

(transitive) to brush; to scrub; to clean with a brush

刷信用卡

刷臉／刷脸

2018 August, 张雨笛 (Zhang Yudi), 我在建兰的一天, in 吴丹青 (Wu Danqing), chief editor, 《七年级课堂同步作文》, Shanghai: 上海社会科学院出版社, →ISBN, page 206

“dí —” shuā ménkǎ de shēngyīn, lǎoshī tàn chū tóu lái: “Zǎo diǎn shuìjiào a.”

「嘀——」刷門卡的聲音，老師探出頭來：「早點睡覺啊。」

「嘀——」刷门卡的声音，老师探出头来：「早点睡觉啊。」

(transitive) to swipe (a card, etc.); to scan

刷手機／刷手机

to check one's phone (for updates on social media etc.)

This television drama is so good! I have already begun to watch through it for the fourth time!

Zhè bù diànshìjù tài hǎokàn le! Wǒ yǐjīng kāishǐ sì shuā le!

這部電視劇太好看了！我已經開始四刷了！

这部电视剧太好看了！我已经开始四刷了！

(chiefly Mainland China, neologism, colloquial, transitive) to browse through (updates on social media etc.); to flip through

刷固件


刻

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kʰɯːɡ): phonetic 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ) + semantic 刀.

Han compound

(historical) ¹⁄₁₀₀ of one day; 14.4 minutes

A unit of time.
¹⁄₁₀₀ of one day; 14.4 minutes

A unit of time.
(modern) quarter of an hour; 15 minutes

A unit of time.
quarter of an hour; 15 minutes


剪

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

Originally 𣦃 and then stylized into 前, a phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ʔslenʔ): phonetic 歬 (OC *zleːn) + semantic 刀 (“knife”). Since 前 has replaced 歬, an additional 刀 has been added.

Han compound

剪草機

剪草机

剪刀

剪指甲


副

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *pʰɯɡs, *pʰrɯɡ, *pʰɯɡ): phonetic 畐 (OC *pʰrɯɡ, *bɯɡ) + semantic 刂 (“knife”).

Han compound

(grammar) Short for 副詞／副词 (fùcí, “adverb”).

一副手套

a face (roughly, "a set of looks") with "villain" written all over it

一副小人嘴臉

一副小人嘴脸

Classifier for pairs, sets of things, medical prescriptions, facial expressions, etc..

副手

大副

(nautical) mate (an officer of the ship)

assistant; deputy
mate (an officer of the ship)

[A]nd his wife, in her head-dress and embroidered robe, stood in her room.

The Book of Rites, c. 4ᵗʰ – 2ⁿᵈ century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

夫人副褘立于房中。

夫人副袆立于房中。

(obsolete) name of an ornamental headdress


割

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (割):
* → Japanese: 割(かち) (kachi); 割(かつ) (katsu)
* → Korean: 할(割) (hal)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kaːd): phonetic 害 (OC *ɡaːds) + semantic 刂.
According to Schuessler (2007), from Sino-Tibetan and an area word. Externally, cognate with Tibetan འགས་པ ('gas pa, “to split; to break; to burst apart”), Proto-Mon-Khmer *kat ~ *kaat (“to cut”), whence Khmer កាត់ (kat, “to cut”) and Proto-South-Bahnaric *kat ("to chop; to cut"). Within Chinese, cognate with 害 (OC *ɡaːds, “to harm; to injure”), and 犗 (OC *kraːds, “to castrate”), which is perhaps the r-causative of 割 (OC *kaːd).
On the other hand, STEDT compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-ra-t (“cut; slash”), to which 害 (OC *ɡaːds, “to harm; to injure”), 犗 (OC *kraːds, “to castrate”), 剌 (OC *raːd, “to cut; perverse”) are also compared. Descended from the Proto-Sino-Tibetan root are Tibetan དྲ་བ (dra ba, “to cut”) and Burmese ရှန (hra.na., “wounded”).

inh

to divide; to cut apart; to break up; to partition; to split


創

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɑuŋ²¹³/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɑuŋ²¹³/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *sʰraŋ, *sʰraŋs): phonetic 倉 (OC *sʰaːŋ) + semantic 刀 (“knife”) – wound.

Han compound

创
刅
刱
*剏
*剙
瘡
𠛂
𠛲
𠝀
𠞴
𠟐
𨱠
𠛝

to start to (do something); to do something (for the first time); to found; to create; to establish


劃

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qʰʷreːɡ, *ɡʷreːɡ): phonetic 畫 (OC *ɡʷreːɡs, *ɡʷreːɡ) + semantic 刂 (“knife”).

Han compound

Alternative form of 畫 /画 (“stroke of a Chinese character (line drawn with a writing implement)”)


力

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (力):
* → Japanese: 力(りき) (riki)
* → Korean: 력(力) (ryeok), 역(力) (yeok)
* → Vietnamese: lực (力)

→ Proto-Vietic: *k-rək

Muong: khấc

Vietnamese: sức

Characters in the same phonetic series (力) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – alternative interpretation, either an arm bending out from the side of the body, or a wooden plough. The original version was 𠠲 and the letter ㄌ in zhuyin alphabet was inspired by this character.
See also the original version of 爭, in which another plow can be seen. Unrelated to 工 and perhaps to 耒 since they are two different tools. Also unrelated to 另.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *k-ra (“strength; to win; classifier for people”) + *-k (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Burmese အား (a:, “strength; force”); Proto-Loloish *ra² (“strength”), whence Nuosu ꊋ (we); Panyi Bai [script needed] (ɣɯ̱⁴², “strength”); Central Bai hhep (“strength”). A causative derivative is 飭 (OC rhək) (Schuessler, 2007).
Schuessler (2007) also suggests an etymological connection with 來 (OC *m·rɯːɡ, “to come”).

cog

For a small woman she has surprising strength.

她個子雖小但力大驚人。

她个子虽小但力大惊人。

physical strength; physical power; energy

This force is the same direction as the displacement.

Zhè ge lì de fāngxiàng yǔ wèiyí xiāngtóng.

這個力的方向與位移相同。

这个力的方向与位移相同。

能力

他對古董很有鑑賞力。

他对古董很有鉴赏力。

力爭

力争

to do one's utmost to save a desperate situation

力挽狂瀾

力挽狂澜

with all one's might; doing all in one's power


勁

/t͡ɕiɤ̯̃ɻ⁵¹/

/t͡ɕiɤ̯̃ɻ⁵¹/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kɯns, *keŋs): phonetic 巠 (OC *keːŋ) + semantic 力 (“strength”).
Perhaps related to 強 (OC *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ, “strong”).

Han compound

vigor; energy; strength (Classifier: 股 m)


勝

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (勝):
* → Vietnamese: thắng (勝)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *hljɯŋ, *hljɯŋs): phonetic 朕 (OC *l'ɯmʔ) + semantic 力 (“strength”).
Graphically, the character decomposes as 月 + 劵 (which gives rise to the simplified form 胜), though this is not the etymology.


勸

→ Vietnamese: khuyên

/t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰyɵn²¹³/

/t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰyɵn²¹³/

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

Han compound

勸告

劝告

勸架

劝架


包

Sino-Xenic (包):
* → Vietnamese: bao (包)

→ English: bao, bau, bow, pao, pau

⇒ Khmer: នំប៉ាវ (num paaw)

⇒ Lao: ກະລາເປົ໋າ (ka lā pao)

→ Malay: pau

⇒ Thai: ซาลาเปา (saa-laa-bpao)

Pictogram (象形) – a fetus (巳 (sì)) in the womb (勹), or a swaddled baby. Shuowen gives both interpretations.

Alternative form: 飽 /饱

叉燒包／叉烧包 ― chāshāobāo ― char siu bao

小籠包／小笼包 ― xiǎolóngbāo ― xiaolongbao

Alternative form: 飽 /饱

麵包／面包

漢堡包／汉堡包

Eating bread guarantees you to feel full

食包包食飽

食包包食饱

(food) bun; bread (any small baked good)


區

→ English: Ou, Au, Aw


升

→ Tocharian B: ṣank


即

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (即):
* → Japanese: 即(そく) (soku)
* → Korean: 즉(卽) (jeuk)
* → Vietnamese: tức (即)

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 皀 (“ancient round-mouthed food vessel”) + 卩 (“to kneel”) – to come near to eat; to approach.

Han compound

即位


卻

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kaɡ, *kʰaɡ): phonetic 𧮫 () + semantic 卩.

Han compound

却
㕁
𨚫
郤
⿰厺卩
⿰谷卪
𲆕

忘卻

忘却

了卻

了却

In consternation Zhou Yu said, "This man has snatched some method from the creative force of Heaven and earth, some unfathomable technic from the world of departed spirits. Why allow him to remain among us and cause trouble, when his elimination would save such great grief?"

Romance of the Three Kingdoms (translation by Yu Sumei)

Yú hàirán yuē: “Cǐ rén yǒu duó tiāndì zàohuà zhī fǎ, guǐshén bùcè zhī shù! Ruò liú cǐ rén, nǎi Dōngwú huògēn yě. Jí zǎo shāquè, miǎn shēng tārì zhī yōu.”

瑜駭然曰：「此人有奪天地造化之法，鬼神不測之術！若留此人，乃東吳禍根也。及早殺卻，免生他日之憂。」

瑜骇然曰：「此人有夺天地造化之法，鬼神不测之术！若留此人，乃东吴祸根也。及早杀却，免生他日之忧。」

(particle placed after monosyllabic verbs) to do away with


取

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 耳 (“ear”) + 又 (“hand”) - often explained as "to take an enemy's ear and carry it in one's hand", following Shuowen.


受

For pronunciation and definitions of 受 – see 授 (“to give to; to transmit; to confer; to award; etc.”).
(This character is a variant form of 授).


古

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (古):
* → Japanese: 古(こ) (ko)
* → Korean: 고(古) (go)
* → Vietnamese: cổ (古)

→ Vietnamese: cũ

Ideogram (指事): A shield (十, contraction of 盾 and similar but unrelated to 中) and the radical of the mouth (口) both as a distinguishing mark and as a component that partly indicates pronunciation. Together, they indicate the concept of "strong, firm" (as strong as a shield); original form of 固 (OC *kaːs) (Qiu Xigui, Ding Shan 丁山). Later, the meaning of "solid, firm" shifted to "antiquity" for unclear reasons. Compare oracle bone forms with 干, 盾. Unrelated to 中 and hence to 史 and 使.
Fang (1982) finds evidence for the 十 component originally being a depiction of a piece of food and the character originally being a depiction of someone spitting out a piece of food due to his bad taste. Thus, Fang argues this character is the original form of 苦 (kǔ), "bitter".
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-ga (“old”). Cognate with 故 (OC *kaːs, “old things; former; dead”) and Tibetan རྒ (rga, “to be old; aged”).

och-l

講古

讲古

(Cantonese, Hakka, Southern Min) story (Classifier: 段 c)


吊

A popular variant of 弔; an intermediate obsolete variant is 𨒝.

Classifier for strings of 1000 copper coins.


名

/ᵐbiaŋ²²⁻²²⁵/

/ᵐbiaŋ²²⁻²²⁵/

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 夕 (“crescent moon”) + 口 (“mouth”) — to say one's own name to identify oneself in the dark.
An alternative theory has been proposed based on Shang era texts. 口 was originally used to write both 口 and 名. 夕 standing for what later came to be written 明, was added as a phonetic indicator to disambiguate the two meanings.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-miŋ (“name”). Cognate with Tibetan མིང (ming), Burmese အမည် (a.many), and Mizo hming.

Han compound

Coordinate term: 姓 (xìng)


吵

/ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰaːu̯³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡sʰaːu̯³⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *sm̥ʰreːwʔ, *mewʔ): semantic 口 + phonetic 少 (OC *hmjewʔ, *hmjews).

Han compound

覅吵了！


吸

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qʰrɯb): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 及 (OC *ɡrɯb) – to inhale through the mouth. Note that 及 originally derives from “grab”, hence connotations of “grab through the mouth, inhale”.

Han compound

吸油紙

吸油纸


告

From 校 (MC kaewH, “to check; to compare”) (Yang, 2010).

1909, 傅崇矩, 《成都通覽·成都之詐騙·擲烏龍》

卯起錢來卯起錢，卯起錢來告點點

1909, 傅崇矩, 《成都通覽·成都之詐騙·擲烏龍》

卯起钱来卯起钱，卯起钱来告点点

媽喊快點告鴨兒胃口呢。

妈喊快点告鸭儿胃口呢。

(Southwestern Mandarin) to try; to check out


呼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qʰaː): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 乎 (OC *ɢaː) – to exhale, call, or shout from the mouth.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ʔaːw (“to shout, cry out”). Cognate with Burmese အော် (au, “to shout, berate”), as well as with the following Sinitic words (STEDT):
* 嚆 (“to make noise”)
* 嚎 (“to howl, bawl”)
* 呴 (OC *qʰoːʔ, *qʰos, “to breathe on, yawn, roar”)
* 呵 (OC *qʰaːl, *qʰaːls, “to shout, cry out”)

och-l

(Chinese phonetics) medial; in Middle Chinese: being open-mouthed (開口／开口) or closed-mouthed (合口), also called 開合／开合); or, for modern Chinese: one of four medials (四呼)


咋

zh-l

怎麼／怎么 (zěnme)


咋

(One is reminded that) the Yue, being fond of snails and clams, deem the prime beef from sacrificial cattle inferior, and that the uncultivated barbarians, loving to howl and sigh loudly, take a dim view of the elegance in the Shao and Huo.

p. 73 BCE, Huan Kuan (桓寬) (editor). Discourses on Salt and Iron (《鹽鐵論》)

Gài Yuèrén měi luóbàng ér jiǎn tàiláo, bǐfū lè zéjiè ér guài “Sháo” “Huò”.

蓋越人美蠃蚌而簡太牢，鄙夫樂咋唶而怪《韶》《濩》。

盖越人美蠃蚌而简太牢，鄙夫乐咋唶而怪《韶》《濩》。


咋

From z- (“only; just; simply”) + 呀 (aa³). Compare 啫 (ze¹), 咋 (zaa⁴), 之嘛 (zi¹ maa³).

仲有三個咋。

仲有三个咋。

(Cantonese, at the end of a phrase) only; just; simply


咋

From z- (“only; just; simply”) + confirmation-seeking 呀 (aa⁴). Compare 喇 (laa⁴), 㗎 (gaa⁴).

仲有三個咋？

仲有三个咋？

Sentence-final particle used to seek confirmation, expressing surprise and suspicion on a delimitation: only so few/little?


咬

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kreːw, *ŋɡreːwʔ, *qreːw): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 交 (OC *kreːw).
(oral sex): Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 口 + 交.
Perhaps Sino-Tibetan; compare Chepang ङेव्ह्सा (ŋewh-, “to nibble”) (Schuessler, 2007). The Min vernacular readings are reminiscent of Proto-Tai *giəwꟲ (“to chew”), whence Thai เคี้ยว (kíao) (ibid.).


咽

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qiːn, *qiːns, *qiːd): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 因 (OC *qin) – connected to the mouth, the throat.


哇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qreː, *qʷraː): semantic 口 + phonetic 圭 (OC *kʷeː).
Originally, the phonetic component is not related to the concept of earth (土) since in its original form it represents a pair of ritual axes perhaps made of jade 士. Hence, the link to the concept of earth in this character either comes from folk etymology or its appearance in the Small Seal script.

Han compound

哇！你的樣子太酷了！

哇！你的样子太酷了！

Interjection indicating surprise or amazement: wow!, gee

Just then his brother came into the house, and said, "It is the flesh of that cackling thing," upon which he went out and vomited it.

Qí xiōng zì wài zhì, yuē: ‘Shì yìyì zhī ròu yě.’ Chū ér wā zhī.

其兄自外至，曰：『是鶃鶃之肉也。』出而哇之。

其兄自外至，曰：『是𱊄𱊄之肉也。』出而哇之。

好哇！

Sentence-final particle: Equivalent of 啊 (a). Only used after words ending in -u, -ao.


哎

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 艾 (OC *ŋaːds, *ŋads).


員

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): a 〇 indicating the top edge of a 鼎 (“ding”) - round.


哼

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qʰraːŋ): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 亨 (OC *qʰaŋʔ, *pqʰraːŋ, *qʰraːŋ)

Han compound

I know how to hum a bit of every single one of your songs.

naa⁴, nei⁵ di¹ go¹ ne¹, zek³ zek³ ngo⁵ dou¹ sik¹ hang¹ gei² geoi³ aa³.

嗱，你啲歌呢，隻隻我都識哼幾句呀。

嗱，你啲歌呢，只只我都识哼几句呀。


單

Characters in the same phonetic series (單) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) of a war or hunting weapon, a, Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones attached on top. The component in the middle in some oracle bones was a huge point which represented a rope around the stick; perhaps, this weapon was used as a spear and then retrieved through this rope. Otherwise, the huge point in the middle was another stone attached to the stick. The huge point was then stylized as an horizontal trait, as 口 (the stick resembled 中) and eventually as 田. The horizontal stroke at the bottom of the character was added later.
An alternative theory suggests that it represents a net to catch animals with two weights on top, but the huge point in the middle of the character in some oracle bones may not be a web or net.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(d/t)a(n/j) (“single; one; whole; only”). Cognate with 但 (OC *daːn, *daːnʔ, *daːns, “only; but”).


嘗

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *djaŋ): phonetic 尚 (OC *djaŋ, *djaŋs) + semantic 旨 (“will; intention”).

Han compound

alt. forms: 嚐 /尝 (cháng)

來嘗嘗這個蛋糕吧。

来尝尝这个蛋糕吧。

Shi Nai'an, Water Margin, circa 14ᵗʰ century CE

Nǐ qiě duō yī píng yùjiǔ guòlái, wǒ xiān cháng yī cháng zīwèi.

你且掇一瓶御酒過來，我先嘗一嘗滋味。

你且掇一瓶御酒过来，我先尝一尝滋味。


噴

Characters in the same phonetic series (奔) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *pʰɯːn, *pʰɯːns, *pɯns): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 賁 (OC *prals, *bɯl, *pɯːn, *bɯn)
STEDT compares it to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *m/s-prat ~ *pran (“to sprinke; to spray”), whence Burmese ဖျန်း (hpyan:, “to spray, to sprinkle”). On the other hand, Schuessler (2007) compares it to Mizo phuh (“to blow out of the mouth”), Tibetan ཕུ་བ (phu ba, “to blow”).

cog

(colloquial, slang) to angrily rebuke or scold


噸

Borrowed from English ton. For Taiwanese Hokkien 噸 /吨 (tòng), borrowed from Japanese トン (ton), also from English ton.


嚇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qʰraːɡs, *qʰraːɡ): semantic 口 + phonetic 赫 (OC *qʰraːɡ).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/d-krwak (“frighten”) (STEDT). Cognate with Tibetan སྐྲག་ (skrag), Burmese ကြောက် (krauk), Lashi kyuk (Hill, 2019).

Han compound

遮是恁兜嚇？

遮是恁兜吓？

(Hokkien) Placed at the end of a sentence to indicate doubt: isn’t it so?


嚷

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *njaŋʔ): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 襄 (OC *snaŋ)


嚷

Synonym of 嚷 (rǎng) Only used in 嚷嚷 (rāngrang).


圈

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kʰron, *ɡronʔ, *kʰon, *ɡlonʔ, *ɡlons): semantic 囗 + phonetic 卷 (OC *ɡron, *kronʔ, *krons, *ɡonʔ).


圍

→ Vietnamese: vây (“to encircle”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɢʷɯl, *ɢʷɯls) and ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): semantic 囗 (“enclosure”) + phonetic 韋 (OC *ɢʷɯl, “to surround”).

Han compound

Kat Hing Wai (a walled village in Yuen Long, Hong Kong)

吉慶圍

吉庆围

(often in Guangdong and Hong Kong place names) walled village (Classifier: 條／条 c)


圖

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 囗 (“walled city”) + 啚.
啚 is the early form of 鄙 (OC *prɯʔ, “remote areas”), thus meaning “territory”.
Related to 度 (OC *daːɡs, *daːɡ, “degree, measure”); see there for more (STEDT).

图
圗
啚
𠚎
𡇴
𡈇
𡈖
𧖳
𡇩
𡇫

上海地鐵圖

上海地铁图

chart; map; picture; image (Classifier: 張／张 m c; 幅 m c)


團

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (團):
* → Vietnamese: đoàn (團)

→ Lü: ᦒᦸᧃᧉ (thoan²)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *doːn): semantic 囗 + phonetic 專 (OC *tjon).

Han compound

團團圍住

团团围住

蒲團

蒲团

一團泥

一团泥

一團和氣

一团和气

Classifier for round, lumpy, or amorphous objects.

軍團

军团

militia; local paramilitary organization

團練

团练

(military or paramilitary) formation; troops; armed organization

(Communist Youth) League Faction (Hu Jintao's faction)

團派

团派

(Mainland China) Short for 共青團／共青团 (gòngqīngtuán, “Communist Youth League”).


坡

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *pʰaːl): semantic 土 (“dirt”) + phonetic 皮 (OC *bral).

Han compound

吉隆坡

坡旅甲

坡市

埃德加·愛倫·坡

埃德加·爱伦·坡

坡幣

坡币

(Taiwan, Hong Kong) Short for 新加坡 (Xīnjiāpō, “Singapore”).

Used in transcription.
Short for 新加坡 (Xīnjiāpō, “Singapore”).


埋

Possibly from 摩 (OC *maːl, “to approach; to touch; to draw near”); cognate with Teochew 磨 (bhua5, “to approach”) (Yan et al., 2016).

痴痴呆呆，坐埋一枱

ci1 ci1 ngoi4 ngoi4, co5 maai4 jat1 toi4

加埋呢個／加埋呢个 [Cantonese] ― gaa¹ maai⁴ ni¹ go³ [Jyutping] ― to add this as well

Throw out the piece of paper as well when you throw out the garbage.

nei⁵ deu⁶ laap⁶ saap³ deu⁶ maai⁴ zoeng¹ zi² aa¹.

你掉垃圾掉埋張紙吖。

你掉垃圾掉埋张纸吖。

帶埋部手機／带埋部手机 [Cantonese] ― daai³ maai⁴ bou⁶ sau² gei¹ [Jyutping] ― to bring along a cellphone


堆

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *tuːl): semantic 土 + phonetic 隹 (OC *tjul).
Schuessler (2007) takes its first appearance in Chu Ci as suggestive of foreign origin. Possibly related to:
* Proto-Tai *C̥.doːjᴬ (“mountain”) (whence Thai ดอย (dɔɔi), Saek [script needed] (rɔ:jᴬ¹), Zhuang ndoi)
* Proto-Hmong-Mien *glaɨᴰ (“mountain”), or
* Austroasiatic, e.g. Middle Mon [script needed] (duiw, “hill, hilltop”)
Possibly connected with 屯 (OC *duːn).

cog

垃圾堆

堆分配

一堆垃圾

Classifier for objects organised in piles: pile; lump; heap; clump; mound


堵

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *tjaːʔ, *taːʔ): semantic 土 + phonetic 者 (OC *tjaːʔ).

Han compound

堵車

堵车

堵上這個漏洞

堵上这个漏洞

下水管堵了。

Classifier for walls. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier

(a verse from the Hundred Family Surnames)

姬申扶堵


堵

(～河) Zhe or Du River (river in Hubei Province, China)


塔

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (塔):
* → Japanese: 塔(とう) (tō)
* → Korean: 탑(塔) (tap)
* → Vietnamese: tháp (塔)

→ Thai: ถะ (tà, “pagoda”)

Eastern Han
Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)
Middle Chinese
Old Chinese

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *tʰuːb): semantic 土 + phonetic 荅 (OC *tkuːb).
Borrowed from a Middle Indo-Aryan language into the late Old Chinese of Eastern Han (alternatively considered an early form of Middle Chinese), for example in the translations attributed to Lokakṣema. Cf. Ashokan Prakrit 𑀣𑀼𑀩𑁂 (thube), Gandhari 𐨠𐨂𐨬 (thuva) and other forms, Pali thūpa, vs. Sanskrit स्तूप (stūpa).

Han compound

(neologism, fandom slang) real identity of a virtual YouTuber


塗

→ Thai: ทา (taa, “to smear; to paint”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *rlaː, *l'aː): phonetic 涂 (OC *l'aː, *l'a) + semantic 土 (“earth; dirt”).

Han compound

涂
涂
斁
凃
𡌘
𡍼
𭏚

Alternative form: 土


填

填補

填补

to fill (a gap, blank, vacancy, etc.); to fill in; to make up (a deficiency, shortcoming, etc.)

填表

to fill in (words or numbers into a form or sheet of paper)


壺

Contraction of 葫蘆 (OC *ɡaː raː, “calabash”) (Wu, 2006).

壶
壷
𠻭
𡔥
𡔦
𡐎
𢑹
𥁖
𡔳
𡔲

pot; jar; kettle (vessel used to boil liquid); jug; vase; can; thermos; bottle; flask; canteen (water bottle)

一壺水

一壶水


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).

cog

美夢

美梦

夢魘

梦魇

做夢

做梦

發夢

发梦

This morning I had a dream about you. In the dream, I saw you working out with me.

ngo⁵ cam⁴ maan⁵ faat³ zo² go³ mung⁶, hai⁶ gwaan¹ jyu¹ nei⁵ ge³. hai² mung⁶ leoi⁵ min⁶ ngo⁵ gin³ dou³⁻² nei⁵ tung⁴ ngo⁵ jat¹ cai⁴ gin⁶ san¹.

我尋晚發咗個夢，係關於你嘅。喺夢裡面我見到你同我一齊健身。

我寻晚发咗个梦，系关于你嘅。喺梦里面我见到你同我一齐健身。

Its people do not eat or wear clothing, sleep a lot, and awaken every fifty days. They think what they do in dreams are real, and what they see while awake illusory.

Qí mín bù shí bù yì ér duōmián, wǔ xún yī jué, yǐ mèng zhōng suǒwéi zhě shí, jué zhī suǒjiàn zhě wàng.

其民不食不衣而多眠，五旬一覺，以夢中所為者實，覺之所見者妄。

其民不食不衣而多眠，五旬一觉，以梦中所为者实，觉之所见者妄。

dream (Classifier: 場／场 m c mn; 個／个 m c mn)

我有一個夢。

我有一个梦。

(figurative) dream; aspiration; ambition; goal


夾

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意) – one person (大) holding two other people (人) under his arm, or two people (人) sandwiching a person (大).

夹
挾
鋏
夹
夹
佮
夹
挾
夹
夹
夹


夾

夹
挾
鋏
夹
夹
佮
夹
挾
夹
夹
夹


夾

夹
挾
鋏
夹
夹
佮
夹
挾
夹
夹
夹

Only used in 夾竹桃／夹竹桃 (jiāzhútáo) and 夾生／夹生 (jiāshēng).


套

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 大 (“large”) + 長 (“long”) – long, with some reference to hair. Originally written as 𡘷.
It was later borrowed for the “cover; cover with, put on (clothes); link” sense and has now lost its original meaning. It is also used as a classifier for a suit of clothes or a group of things, hence something that can be put on or a group of linked/interconnected things.
Cognate with 韜 (OC *l̥ʰuː); probably cognate with 㧺 and 錔 (OC *tʰuːb).

Han compound

(colloquial) condom (Classifier: 個／个 m c)


奪

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 衣 (“clothing”) + 雀 (“bird”) + 又 (“hand”) – a hand seizing a bird from someone.
Ultimately from Proto-Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with 脫 (OC *lˤot, “remove outer covering”) and 蛻 (OC *l̥ˤot-s, “exuviae (skin cast off during molting)”).

och-l

奪取

夺取


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

作業做好了嗎？

作业做好了吗？

Particle used after verbs to denote the completion or near-completion of an action.

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


好

CJKV/code

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

⿰女人
㚥
⿱女子
𡥃
𰠗
㝀
𡚽
𡥆
𢑒
𤫧
𩐔

⁶non ⁵hau ⁶lieu-li ⁸geq ⁵kaon ⁶zaon-he-ghe-gho ⁰vaq

儂好流利個講上海閒話𠲎？

侬好流利个讲上海闲话𠲎？

Could you not just ask if you don't know the way?

弗認得路末倷弗好問訊個？

弗认得路末倷弗好问讯个？

Have I not said before that if I don't respond after you knock, you cannot enter?

弗是說歇，倷敲門之後我要是弗答應，倷是弗好進來個嗎？

弗是说歇，倷敲门之后我要是弗答应，倷是弗好进来个吗？

(dialectal Mandarin, Wu) can; to be able to


如

May be related to 向 (OC *hljaŋs, *hlaŋs, “to face; to turn towards”) (Schuessler, 2007).

och-l

如廁

如厕

Duke Zheng went to Zhou, and had an audience with King Huan of Zhou for the first time.

鄭伯如周，始朝桓王也。

郑伯如周，始朝桓王也。


孔

Bronze inscriptions: Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 丿 (“opening”) + 子 (“child”) – opening in the skull of a newborn, i.e. fontanelle.
; "hole": From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(g/k)uŋ (“hole; orifice; inner part”). 孔 (OC *kʰloːŋʔ, “hole”) is probably the endoactive derivation of 空 (OC *kʰoːŋ, “hollow; empty”) (Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Tibetan ཁུང (khung, “hole”), Jingpho ladi hku (lədî hkū, “nostril”), Chepang घाङ् (gʰaŋ, “hole”), Burmese အခေါင်း (a.hkaung:, “hollow place; cavity”), Naxi kho³³ (“cave; hole; pit”) (STEDT).
; "peacock": Starostin reconstructs 孔 (OC *khōŋ) and compares it to Proto-Vietic *k-voːŋ. Compare also Semai kuwok, Semnam kwɔːŋ.

cog

鼻孔


學

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (學):
* → Japanese: 学(がく) (gaku); 学(かく) (kaku)
* → Okinawan: 学(がく) (gaku)
* → Korean: 학(學) (hak)
* → Jeju: ᄒᆞᆨ (hawk)
* → Vietnamese: học (學)

Pan Wuyun
Proto-Sino-Tibetan language
Shuowen

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): abbreviated 敎 (“to teach”) + 𦥑 (“mingling hands; hands-on learning”) + 宀 (“house; roofed building”) – a child learns in a roofed place. See 敎／教 for more; the bottom part is partly related graphically to 字. Ancient variants include 斅 and 斆, which preserve more of 敎.
In the modern form, 宀 has corrupted to 冖 (“cover”), and the hands 𦥑 around the 爻 have become connected with the roof 冖 on top of the child 子. Shuowen regards 𦥑 as the phonetic component in the character, which may be true according to some Old Chinese reconstructions such as that of Pan Wuyun's, though probably not others.
See also the top component of 覺, which is a contraction of 學.
The earliest oracle bone script forms may be a phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɡruːɡ): semantic 爻 + phonetic 六 (OC *ruɡ).
May be an endopassive derivation of 覺 (OC *kruːɡs, *kruːɡ, “to awake, get insight”). Ultimately from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kruk (“to rouse; to awaken; to disturb”).

inh-lite

学
斈
𢻯
𡕕
𣁃
𫝯
𭓕
𭓘
学
学

to comprehend; to realise; to understand

鸚鵡學人語。

鹦鹉学人语。

My little sister likes to copy everything I do.

我妹妹什麼都學我。

我妹妹什么都学我。

學人哋用叉食飯

学人哋用叉食饭

儒學／儒学

化學／化学 ― huàxué ― chemistry

生物學／生物学 ― shēngwùxué ― biology

哲學

哲学

subject; branch of learning; science; -ology


學

学
斈
𢻯
𡕕
𣁃
𫝯
𭓕
𭓘
学
学

There was a man in Lu who sent his son to Mozi to study. The son perished in a battle. The father blamed Mozi for it. Mozi said: "You wanted to have your son trained. Now he had completed his training and died in battle. And you become sore."

Mozi, c. 4ᵗʰ century BCE, translated based on Y. P. Mei's version

Lǔ rén yǒu yīn Zǐ Mòzǐ ér xiào qí zǐ zhě, qí zǐ zhàn ér sǐ, qí fù ràng Zǐ Mòzǐ. Zǐ Mòzǐ yuē: “Zǐ yù xiào zǐ zhī zǐ, jīn xuéchéng yǐ, zhàn ér sǐ, ér zǐ yùn.”

魯人有因子墨子而學其子者，其子戰而死，其父讓子墨子。子墨子曰：「子欲學子之子，今學成矣，戰而死，而子慍。」

鲁人有因子墨子而学其子者，其子战而死，其父让子墨子。子墨子曰：「子欲学子之子，今学成矣，战而死，而子愠。」

In teaching the heir-sons and young men, the subjects were different at different seasons.

凡學世子及學士，必時。

凡学世子及学士，必时。

It is said in the Charge to Yue, "Teaching is the half of learning."

《兌命》曰：「學學半。」

《兑命》曰：「学学半。」

(obsolete) Alternative form of 斆 /敩 (xiào, “to teach; to instruct; to train”)


官

→ English: Guan, Kwan

Compositionally related to 宮. Approximately analysable as ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 宀 + 𠂤 – multiple rooms under a roof, an official building.
Probably the same word as 倌 (OC *koːn, *kroːns, “servant”) (Schuessler, 2007). See there for more.

官員

官员

做官

外交官


定

→ Thai: เที่ยง (tîiang)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *teːŋs, *deːŋs): semantic 宀 + phonetic 正 (OC *tjeŋ, *tjeŋs)
Possibly related to Burmese တည် (tany, “to lie in repose; to build, form, establish”) (Luce, 1981).


室

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *hliɡ): semantic 宀 (“roof”) + phonetic 至 (OC *tjiɡs). Its original meaning is "house, residence". The arrows also indicates that a residence is a place or spot in which somebody stops, like an arrow stuck on the ground, hence the phonetic component also adds part of the meaning. Hence, in accordance to this interpretation, the character can be understood as "a ⼧ roof over ⾄ this exact spot".
The character's modern meaning is "to arrive". Hence, according to 說文 Shuowen, it is analyzed as a 會意 semantic assembly, as he says "至所止 arrive at a specific place" symbolized by the roof.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *k-li(s). Cognate to Tibetan གཞིས (gzhis) < གལྱི (glyi, “ground, foundation, cause; residence, abode”), ས་གཞི (sa gzhi, “earth (opposite to sky)”), གཞིས (gzhis, “native place”), ཡུལ་གཞིས (yul gzhis, “house, estate, property”), གཞིས་སྒྲིལ་བ (gzhis sgril ba, “to move, to change one's abode”). Also cognate to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *mliy, from which Burmese မြေ (mre, “earth, soil”) is derived.

Han compound

(literary, or in compounds) organ (part of an organism) shaped like a chamber; body cavity; ventricle

(literary, or in compounds) work unit; administrative unit

(astronomy) Encampment (a Chinese constellation near Pegasus)


害

Multiple theories:
* He Linyi (何琳儀): Ideogram (指事): a spear 𫲸 (now 𥎆) + a distinguishing mark 口.
* Li Xueqin (2012): Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声). The phonetic component is 𡩜 (xiàn).
* Guo Moruo (郭沫若), Dai Jiaxiang (戴家祥): Pictogram (象形), ancient form of 蓋 ("lid; cover").
* Gao Hongying (高鴻纓): Jiajie (假借), original character of 桷, borrowed for sound, which was a pictogram (象形) of a house's rafters (see 舍).
* Chen Bingxin (陳秉新): Original form of 𠤳, written as ⿷𠥓⿴害五 in bronze inscriptions, which itself is an ancient way of writing the 胡 in 胡簋.
* Shuowen Jiezi: Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɡaːds): semantic 宀 + semantic 口 + phonetic 丯 (OC *kreːds).
Cognate with 割 (OC *kaːd, “to cut”). See there for more.

Han compound

Harm oneself (just like copper rusting).

Dè̤ng săng cĭng, hâi cê̤ṳ-sĭng. / [tøyŋ⁵³ saŋ⁵⁵ t͡siŋ⁵⁵ hɑi²⁴² t͡sy²⁴²⁻⁵⁵ ⁽ˢ⁻⁾liŋ⁵⁵]

銅生鉎，害自身。

铜生𰽫，害自身。

The flight was delayed, causing me to wait for another two hours.

Hángbān wǎndiǎn le, hài wǒ duō děng le liǎng ge xiǎoshí.

航班晚點了，害我多等了兩個小時。

航班晚点了，害我多等了两个小时。

to cause to do; to result in (something unfavourable)


富

→ English: Fu

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *pɯɡs): semantic 宀 + phonetic 畐 (OC *pʰrɯɡ, *bɯɡ).
Bodman (1980) compares it to Tibetan ཕྱུག (phyug, “rich; wealthy”), ཕྱུགས (phyugs, “all beasts that can be domesticated or subjugated by man; cattle”), but the vowels do not match with Chinese (Schuessler, 2007).
Sagart (1999) relates it to 寶 (OC *puːʔ), but see there for more. In later work, Sagart (2011b, 2017d) connects it to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *pʷak (“pig”), comparing the semantic development from “pig” to “rich” to Latin pecunia (“money”), which is derived from Latin pecu (“cattle; domestic animals”), and tentatively reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *C.pək (“pig”). However, the Tibeto-Burman word for “pig” is usually compared to 豝 (OC *praː, “sow”).
Cognate with 福 (OC *pɯɡ, “blessing”) (Wang, 1982; Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

(～縣) Fu County, Fuxian (a county of Yan'an, Shaanxi, China)


寬

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kʰoːn): semantic 宀 (“house”) + phonetic 萈 (OC *ɡoːn, “goat”)—a spacious house.
See also 家.
Note similarities to Burmese ခွင့် (hkwang., “permission, rights”).

cog

這條新修的馬路很寬。

这条新修的马路很宽。


寸

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (寸):
* → Japanese: 寸(すん) (sun)
* → Korean: 촌(寸) (chon)
* → Vietnamese: thốn (寸)

Old Uyghur: tswn (tsun)

/t͡sʰu̯ən⁵¹/

/t͡sʰouŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰu̯ən⁵¹/

/t͡sʰouŋ²¹³/

Characters in the same phonetic series (寸) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Shuowen considered it Ideogram (指事) – a position on the forearm where the pulse can be palpated by compressing the radial artery. It is called 寸口 in modern Chinese, and the meaning of a unit of measurement is derived from the distance between the wrist and this position. Compare 又, 手, 九, 爪.
However, it may be an abbreviated form of 尊 (zūn), borrowed to mean a unit of measurement (see: 李轶.先秦度量单位"尺""寸"用字考[J].云南师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版), 2010, 42(5).DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1000-5110.2010.05.017.)

Han etyl

(Mandarin, colloquial) coincidental; unbelievable; opportune


射

bronze inscriptions
clerical script
oracle bone script

In the oracle bone script, an ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 弓 (“bow”) + 矢 (“arrow”) – to shoot a bow. In the bronze inscriptions, a hand (又) drawing the bowstring was added. Hence, a conservative variant is 𢎤.
Later the bow and arrow on the left became 身 before or during the clerical script period, and the hand came to be written 寸.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/b/m-la-j (“bow, arrow”); cognate with Tibetan མདའ (mda', “arrow”), Burmese မြား (mra:, “arrow”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007; Hill, 2013).


將

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ʔsaŋ, *ʔsaŋs): phonetic 爿 (OC *braːn, *zaŋ, “bed; small table”) + semantic ⺼ (“meat”) + semantic 寸 (“hand”) – to offer meat as tribute. Besides pronunciation, 爿 may partly indicate a small cutting board and/or sacrifical table on which the meat is placed. 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


將

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


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

流水對

流水对


尖

小 (“small”) + 大 (“large”) – the width of an object gradually changing from small to large.
Schuessler (2007) relates it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sjam (“iron”).


就

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

Originally 𫢁, ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 享 + 京, a temple and a tower – meaning "to sacrifice at a high place". During the Warring States period, 享 was omitted. In seal script, 尤 (“especially; even more”) is added to the right, signifying "high; to go to a higher place".
Cognate with 造 (OC *skʰuːɡs, “to proceed to”) (Wang, 1982).

就業

就业

我就認識一個中國人。

我就认识一个中国人。

There's only one bed and one table in the room.

Fángjiān lǐ jiù yī zhāng chuáng, yī zhāng zhuōzǐ.

房間裡就一張床，一張桌子。

房间里就一张床，一张桌子。

My salary is only five thousand yuan, and he buys clothes that are as much as ten thousand yuan. The disparity between people truly is too large.

Wǒ gōngzī jiù wǔ qiān kuài, tā mǎi jiàn yīfú jiù yī wàn kuài. Rén hé rén de chājù zhēn shì tài dà le.

我工資就五千塊，他買件衣服就一萬塊。人和人的差距真是太大了。

我工资就五千块，他买件衣服就一万块。人和人的差距真是太大了。

我做完就會告訴你。

我做完就会告诉你。

[If] there were no Communist Party, [then] there would be no new China

Méiyǒu gòngchǎndǎng jiù méiyǒu xīn zhōngguó.

沒有共產黨就沒有新中國。

没有共产党就没有新中国。


尺

→ English: chi, chek

→ Vietnamese: thước

→ Zhuang: cik

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɐk̚³³/

/t͡sʰiɪk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɐk̚³³/

Uncertain. Various explanations include:
* A man (人) with a mark (乙) on his leg to indicate 10 cun (寸) above the foot. (Lin Yiguang, 1920)
* Differentiation of 乇 (OC *ʔr'aːɡ), 宅 (OC *r'aːɡ), or 斥 (OC *ŋ̊ʰjaːɡs, *ŋ̊ʰjaːɡ). (He Linyi, 1998, Ji Xusheng, 2014)
* Pictogram (象形) of a hand, more specifically the thumb and the middle finger, stretched out to measure the length of 10 cun (寸). (Shirakawa Shizuka, Lawrence J. Howell)

chi; Chinese foot (a traditional Chinese unit of distance based on the human forearm and equal to 10 cun (寸) or ¹/₁₀ zhang (丈))

(Mainland China) mainland chi; Chinese foot, standardized in 1984 as ¹/₃ meter

(Taiwan) Taiwanese foot, standardized as ¹⁰/₃₃ meter and identical to the Japanese shaku

(Hong Kong) chek; Hong Kong foot, standardized as 0.371475 meters

ruler (straightedge) (Classifier: 把 m c; 支 m h mn; 桿／杆 m)


尺

(music) Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note re (2).


屆

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *krɯːds): semantic 尸 (“body”) + phonetic 凷 (OC *kʰuːds)
The ACG sense is an orthographic borrowing from Japanese 届(とど)かない (todokanai, “to not reach”), negative form of 届(とど)く (todoku, “to reach”).

Han compound

屆時

届时

年屆六旬

年届六旬

Majestic, outstanding,
None knows where those sights end.

c. 3rd century, He Yan (何晏), Jingfu Palace (《景福殿賦》)

峨峨嶪嶪，罔識所屆。

峨峨𰎑𰎑，罔识所届。

I was stranded in the marshes of Chu,
And narrowly escaped the jaws of war.

c. 578, Yu Xin (庾信), The Lament for the South (《哀江南賦》)

屆於七澤，濱於十死。

届于七泽，滨于十死。

Tarrying beyond the native waters,
The fish found itself by a sunlit shore.

c. 7th century, Lu Zhaolin (盧照鄰), A Fish out of Water (《窮魚賦》)

宕而失水，屆於陽瀕。

宕而失水，届于阳濒。

^† to arrive; to reach; to come or go to a particular destination; to be at a location or moment


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。


岸

→ Vietnamese: ngạn

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ŋɡaːns): semantic 屵 (“cliff”) + phonetic 干 (OC *kaːn) – the edge of the land. Its proto-form was 屵.
Possibly derived from a stem *ŋaʔ (“to oppose; to resist”) + general noun suffix *-n; related to 厂 (OC *hŋaːnʔ, *hŋaːns, “cliff”), 滸 (OC *hŋaːʔ, “riverbank”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

海岸

靠岸

偉岸／伟岸


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

孤島／孤岛

群島／群岛

半島／半岛

海南島／海南岛


巧

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕʰiɑu⁵³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɒu̯⁴¹/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕʰiɑu⁵³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɒu̯⁴¹/

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


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.


已

Possibly a fusion of 也 (OC *laːlʔ) and 矣 (OC *ɢlɯʔ), explaining why the latter is never found after the former (Pulleyblank, 1995).

Then, what your Majesty greatly desires may be known.

然則王之所大欲可知已。

然则王之所大欲可知已。

If, upon entering the borders, the fields are in poor condition and the towns are exposed, one can tell that this is the [realm of] a covetous ruler.

Rù qí jìng, qí tiánchóu huì, dōuyì lù, shì tān zhǔ yǐ.

入其境，其田疇穢，都邑露，是貪主已。

入其境，其田畴秽，都邑露，是贪主已。

(Classical) Used after predicates, especially noun predicates, to express a new realization by the speaker. Compare 矣 (yǐ), which is used similarly but only after verbs. Sometimes expanded to 也已 or 也已矣, which are synonymous.


幅

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *prɯɡ, *pɯɡ): semantic 巾 (“clothing”) + phonetic 畐 (OC *pʰrɯɡ, *bɯɡ).

Han compound

幅度

振幅

cloth margin; (figurative) person's appearance

邊幅

边幅

一幅畫

一幅画

Classifier for textiles and pictures. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier

(Cantonese, Hainanese, Nanning Pinghua) Classifier for walls.


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)


干

Pictogram (象形) of a shield with feather ornaments on top; in some versions in oracle bones, the central and flat part of the shield can be seen as 回.
As an alternative, it is possible 干 and 單 are variant forms of the same character in oracle bone script due to their similar shapes and its appearance in the original forms of 敢. Hence, 干 would depict a bifurcated hunting weapon, not a shield. But 單 has two dots on top that depict two stones, while these two dots are absent in 干.
Also borrowed phonetically as a simplification of 乾 (dry) and 幹. See also 盾 (the pictogram of another shield) and its possible differentiation 古.
The interpretation that links this pictogram to a pestle is folk etymology. Unrelated to 午, which however represents a pestle.
Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with 扞 (OC *ɡaːns, “to shield; to protect”), 閈 (OC *ɡaːns, “gate”), 捍 (OC *ɡaːns, *ɡraːnʔ, “to shield, ward off”). Compare Tibetan འགལ ('gal, “to go against, to violate, to contradict”), Burmese ကာ (ka, “shield; to shield; to block”).


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。

客店

旅店

駐馬店

驻马店


廟

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (廟):
* → Japanese: 廟(びょう) (byō)
* → Korean: 묘(廟) (myo)
* → Vietnamese: miếu (廟)

→ Proto-Be: *miːwᴮꟲ²

Lingao: miu⁴

desc

→ Lü: ᦶᦖᧁᧈ (ṁaew¹)

→ Lü: ᦶᦖᧁᧈ (ṁaew¹)

/miːu̯²²⁻³⁵/

/ᵐbiau³²⁻³²⁵/

/miːu̯²²⁻³⁵/

/ᵐbiau³²⁻³²⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *mrews): semantic 广 + phonetic 朝 (OC *ʔr'ew, *r'ew).
Possibly related to Proto-Hmong-Mien *prəuX (“house”), whence White Hmong tsev (“idem”) (Schuessler, 2007). Note also Burmese မြို့ (mrui., “town, city”).

Han compound

(architecture, religion) temple (Classifier: 座; 間／间)

廟小妖風大，池淺王八多 / 庙小妖风大，池浅王八多

miào xiǎo yāofēng dà, chí qiǎn wángbā duō


建

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 廴 + 聿. Originally, a pictogram (象形) — a hand (又) planting a pole (𰀁) into a base (Ji Xusheng, 2004). The left component was originally written as ∟. The right component is stylized as 聿; while the hand is still recognizable, the bottom part is unrelated to a writing brush.
The whole character is mostly similar to 叔.


弄

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 玉 (“jade”) + 廾 (“hands”) – play with a jade artefact using one's hands.
Compared with Khmer លួង (luəng, “to console; to cheer; to coax; to flatter”) < Old Khmer lvaṅ (“to cheer, amuse, entertain, divert”) < Pre-Angkorian Khmer loṅ. The Khmer initial consonant does not agree with Old Chinese; perhaps the Khmer word is a post-Han loan (Schuessler, 2007).


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).


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).

Han compound

彈琴

弹琴

(music) to play (a stringed musical instrument)

traditional Chinese medicine
traditional Chinese medicine

(traditional Chinese medicine) to puncture

(Southern Min) to blather; to speak nonsense


彎

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (彎):
* → Japanese: 彎(わん) (wan)
* → Korean: 만(彎) (man)
* → Vietnamese: loan (彎)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qroːn): semantic 弓 (“bow”) + phonetic 䜌 (OC *b·roːn, *b·ron, *b·rons).
May be cognate with 迂 (OC *qʷa, *qʷaʔ, *ɢʷa).
; “homosexual”

Han compound

Classifier for bent objects, such as a quarter moon.


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”).


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

忍笑

忍著眼淚

忍着眼泪

The Master said, "Crafty words confound virtue. Want of forbearance in small matters confounds great plans."

The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

Zǐyuē: “Qiǎoyán luàn dé, xiǎobùrěn zé luàn dàmóu.”

子曰：「巧言亂德，小不忍則亂大謀。」

子曰：「巧言乱德，小不忍则乱大谋。」

to have the heart to; to be hardhearted enough to

Here is a good man, but he is not sought out nor employed.There is a cruel-hearted man, and he is thought of and promoted once and again.

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

Wéi cǐ liángrén, fúqiú fúdí.
Wéi bǐ rěnxīn, shìgù shìfù. | Here is a good man, but he is not sought out nor employed
There is a cruelhearted man, and he is thought of and promoted once and again

維此良人、弗求弗迪。
維彼忍心、是顧是復。|Here is a good man,but he is not sought out nor employed
There is a cruelhearted man,and he is thought of and promoted once and again

维此良人、弗求弗迪。
维彼忍心、是顾是复。|Here is a good man,but he is not sought out nor employed
There is a cruelhearted man,and he is thought of and promoted once and again


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).


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

What Heaven has ordained is called The Nature; an accordance with this nature is called The Path (of Duty); the cultivation of this path is called Instruction.

Tiānmìng zhī wèi xìng. Shuàixìng zhī wèi dào. Xiūdào zhī wèi jiào.

天命之謂性。率性之謂道。修道之謂教。

天命之谓性。率性之谓道。修道之谓教。

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


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).


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

可恨

我恨死你了！

to wish that one could ("to regret that one may not")

恨不得

恨鐵不成鋼

恨铁不成钢

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

抱恨

to harbour hatred; to entertain hateful thoughts

懷恨在心

怀恨在心

There is absolutely no such thing in the world as love or hatred with out reason or cause.

1942, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《在延安文藝座談會上的講話》 (Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Shìshàng jué méiyǒu wúyuánwúgù de ài, yě méiyǒu wúyuánwúgù de hèn.

世上決沒有無緣無故的愛，也沒有無緣無故的恨。

世上决没有无缘无故的爱，也没有无缘无故的恨。


惹

2017, 貓邏, chapter 7, in 蜂舞, volume 9, Taichung: 飛燕文創, →ISBN:

“It’s so noisy! Where did this idiot come from? It’s loud enough to disturb my sleep!” A soft and tender voice interrupted Sikong Long’s speech.

“Chǎo sǐ re! Nǎlǐ lái de chǔnhuò? Chǎo dào běn lóng shuìjiào re!” Nènshēngnènqì de màshēng chuánchū, dǎduànle Sīkōnglóng de hǎnhuà.

「吵死惹！哪裡來的蠢貨？吵到本龍睡覺惹！」嫩聲嫩氣的罵聲傳出，打斷了司空龍的喊話。

「吵死惹！哪里来的蠢货？吵到本龙睡觉惹！」嫩声嫩气的骂声传出，打断了司空龙的喊话。

2022 August 10, 奶粉七号, Bilibili, archived from the original on 2024-12-24:

During a firefighter’s live broadcast, the comment section was flooded with lust and full of horny screams

lánpéngyou zhíbō, pínglùnqū fā dàshuǐ re, quán shì jījiàoshēng

蓝朋友直播，评论区发大水惹，全是鸡叫声

藍朋友直播，評論區發大水惹，全是雞叫聲

2024, 周侠 [Xia Zhou], quoting 北京语言大学语料库中心 [BLCU Corpus Center], “互动语言学视角下网络新兴语气词“惹”的研究 [An Interactive Linguistic Perspective on the Emerging Tone of Voice on the Internet: A Study of “re”]”, in 现代语言学 [Modern Linguistics], volume 12, number 11, →DOI, page 177:

你们俩都太可爱惹！！！

你們倆都太可愛惹！！！

(Mandarin, Internet slang, usually women's speech, LGBTQ slang) Alternative form of 了, conveying the speaker’s emotions such as cuteness, coquettishness, playfulness, cheerfulness, or mildness

usually women's speech; LGBTQ slang; usually women's speech; LGBTQ slang


愁

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

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


慌

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


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


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 pronunciation 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).


戲

→ Guiqiong: ɕi

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qʰral, *qʰrals, *qʰaː): phonetic 䖒 () + semantic 戈 (“halberd”), originally referring to the wing or flank of an army.
Cognate with 嘕 (OC *qʰran, “to laugh”), Tibetan ཀྱལ་ཀ (kyal ka, “joke; jest; trick”), Mizo khâl (“to play with”), Mizo inkhêl (“to gamble; to play”) (Schuessler, 2007).

cog

theatrical play; show; theater; opera (Classifier: 齣／出; 部 m)

(dialectal, Penang Hokkien) movie; film (Classifier: 齣／出 c; 套 c)


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”).


所

Sino-Xenic (所):
* → Vietnamese: sở (所)

→ Vietnamese: thửa

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *sqʰraʔ): phonetic 戶 (OC *ɡʷaːʔ) + semantic 斤 (“axe”) – the sound of logging (the definition given in Shuowen).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/k-ra (“place”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Burmese ရာ (ra, “place”).
Baxter and Sagart (2014) relates it to 處 (OC *t.qʰaʔ, “to be at”), 處 (OC *t.qʰaʔ-s, “place”), 許 (OC *qʰ(r)aʔ, “place”).

Han compound

派出所

所長／所长

病毒所

Fǎnguòlái, “Jìsuànjī Shìjiè” nàbiān de yèwù, suǒ lǐ de qítā bùmén nénggòu jiějué de, rú bàozhǐ de páibǎn, shìchǎng yánjiū děng, jiù zài suǒ lǐ zuò le, zhèyàng yǒu lì yú tiáozhěng fēnpèi géjú, bùduàn dì tígāo quántǐ zhígōng de shōurù.

反過來，《計算機世界》那邊的業務，所裡的其他部門能夠解決的，如報紙的排版、市場研究等，就在所裡做了，這樣有利於調整分配格局，不斷地提高全體職工的收入。

反过来，《计算机世界》那边的业务，所里的其他部门能够解决的，如报纸的排版、市场研究等，就在所里做了，这样有利于调整分配格局，不断地提高全体职工的收入。

establishment for a particular function; institution

Classifier for buildings, schools, hospitals, etc. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier

所以

what one uses; what one relies on; means > the reason why > therefore

所得

所見即所得／所见即所得

所長／所长

無所謂／无所谓

to be irrelevant (literally, "to not [have or be] what one can refer to [as]")

你所用的電腦／你所用的电脑

不知所云

令尹子庚，殹民之所亟。

Different phrasings were applied to what was witnessed, what was learned, and what was transmitted via tradition.

Commentary of Gongyang, c. 206 BCE– 9 CE

Suǒ jiàn yì cí, suǒ wén yì cí, suǒ chuánwén yì cí.

所見異辭，所聞異辭，所傳聞異辭。

所见异辞，所闻异辞，所传闻异辞。

The Western Count, about to go out on a hunt, divined it; it is said: "What will be caught will be neither horned dragon, nor hornless dragon, nor tiger, nor brown bear. Who will be gained will be an aide to hegemons and kings."

Xībó jiāng chū liè, bǔ zhī, yuē “suǒhuò fēi lóng fēi chī fēi hǔ fēi pí; suǒhuò bàwáng zhī fǔ.”

西伯將出獵，卜之，曰「所獲非龍非彨非虎非羆；所獲霸王之輔」。

西伯将出猎，卜之，曰「所获非龙非彨非虎非罴；所获霸王之辅」。

passive participle
passive participle#English

Prefix attached to verbs to form noun phrases, indicating the patient of the verb, similar to a passive participle.


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).


扔

Old Turkic: ?

→ Turkmen: zyňmak

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *njɯŋ, *njɯŋs): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 乃 (OC *nɯːʔ).


扛

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


扣

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kʰoːʔ, *kʰoːs): semantic 手 + phonetic 口 (OC *kʰoːʔ).

Han compound

to button; to fasten a button; to buckle; to clasp


扭

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *nuʔ, *tnuʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 丑 (OC *n̥ʰuʔ).


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


扶

(alt. form 膚／肤) an ancient unit of length equal to the width of four fingers


扶

Alternative form of 匍 (pú) Only used in 扶服 and 扶伏.


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)


抄

/ʈ͡ʂʰaʊ̯ɻʷ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰaːu̯⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰaʊ̯ɻʷ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰaːu̯⁵⁵/

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

Han compound

抄小路

Alternative form of 焯 (“(cooking) to briefly blanch in boiling water”).


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

投稿

投宿

to give up one's wrong way of life and turn to a better one

to forsake darkness and come to the light

棄暗投明

弃暗投明

學生去共老師投。

学生去共老师投。

(Hokkien) to report; to tell on; to snitch; to inform one's superiors; to complain to one's parents or superiors


拆

→ Thai: ฉีก (chìik, “tear”)

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


拐

→? Vietnamese: Cuội

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

Han compound

請右拐。

请右拐。

請左拐。

请左拐。

拄拐

the numeral seven (used in radio communications in aviation and by the military)


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”).


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

拖地

to droop; to dangle; to hang down; to sag

手拖手

拖時間

拖时间

to delay; to put off; to procrastinate; to adjourn; to defer; to prolong


拾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɡjub): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 合 (OC *kuːb, *ɡuːb) – to pick up by hand.

Han compound

I take up a sheet of paper and fold a little boat

sap⁶ hei² zoeng¹ zi² zip³ zek³ siu² syun⁴

拾起張紙摺隻小船

拾起张纸折只小船

(financial) Alternative form of 十 (shí, “ten”)


拾

(Southern Min) Alternative form of 抾 (khioh, “to pick up; to collect”)


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


挑

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *l̥ʰaːw, *l̥ʰeːw, *l'eːwʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 兆 (OC *l'ewʔ).

Han compound

Only used in 挑達／挑达 (tāotà, “walking back and forth; coming and going”).


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


挨

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qlɯːʔ, *qrɯː, *qrɯːʔ): semantic 扌 + phonetic 矣 (OC *ɢlɯʔ).

Han compound

您別挨這兒裹亂行不行？

您别挨这儿裹乱行不行？


捆

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


捕

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

Han compound

捕魚

捕鱼


捧

Classifier for double handfuls of something.


掀

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


掃

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

(historical) to go on a punitive expedition; to stabilise (a political situation); to conquer

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

(literary, or in compounds) total; all; entire


掏

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


排

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *brɯːl): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 非 (OC *pɯl) – to place in line.
Note resemblance to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *s/m-ba ~ *s/m-baːy (“to throw”), whence Burmese ပယ် (pai, “to reject, disqualify”).


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).


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)”).


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


握

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


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”).


搶

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕʰiɔŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰi̯oŋ³¹/

/t͡sʰyɒŋ⁴⁵³/

/t͡sʰyøŋ³³²/

/t͡sʰiãu⁴⁴⁵/

/t͡sʰiɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiaŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡ɕʰiaŋ³³⁵/

/t͡sʰiɑŋ⁵³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯æn⁴¹/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕʰiɔŋ²¹³/

/t͡sʰi̯oŋ³¹/

/t͡sʰyɒŋ⁴⁵³/

/t͡sʰyøŋ³³²/

/t͡sʰiãu⁴⁴⁵/

/t͡sʰiɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡sʰiaŋ⁵⁵⁴/

/t͡ɕʰiaŋ³³⁵/

/t͡sʰiɑŋ⁵³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰi̯æn⁴¹/

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。


摔

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

bǎ màozi wǎng zhuōzi shàng yī shuāi [Pinyin]


摘

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

Han compound

摘眼鏡／摘眼镜

摘下口罩


摸

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

Han compound

He dug into his coat pocket for his keys.

Tā bǎ shǒu shēn jìn shàngyī kǒudài lǐ mō yàoshi.

他把手伸進上衣口袋裡摸鑰匙。

他把手伸进上衣口袋里摸钥匙。

He groped around in the dark for his other sock.

Tā zài hēi'àn zhōng dàochù xiā mō zhǎo lìng yī zhī wàzi.

他在黑暗中到處瞎摸找另一隻襪子。

他在黑暗中到处瞎摸找另一只袜子。

我簡直摸不透他。

我简直摸不透他。


撈

捞
𠔠
捞
捞
攎
捞
捞
葫
⿰布瓜

東北撈

东北捞

(Cantonese, derogatory) non-Cantonese Chinese; northern Chinese; Mandarin-speaking Chinese


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.


撕

First usage replaced 斯 (sī, “to tear”). Cognate with 廝／厮 (sī, “to split; woodcutter”), also spelled 㒋 (sī).


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

撞咗時間／撞咗时间 [Cantonese] ― zong⁶ zo² si⁴ gaan³ [Jyutping] ― to have a time clash

撞密碼／撞密码 [Cantonese] ― zong⁶ mat⁶ maa⁵ [Jyutping] ― to guess a password by bruteforce


撲

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


撿

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɡ·ramʔ, *kramʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 僉 (OC *skʰlam).


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

二擋

二挡

手動擋

手动挡

to pop out of gear; to skip a gear when shifting

跳擋

跳挡

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


攔

(Hokkien) to shield; to alibi; to protect

(Hokkien) to seize someone else's things and taking them for oneself

(Hokkien, by extension) to take tasks to do as one's own


救

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (救):
* → Japanese: 救(きゅう) (kyū)
* → Korean: 구(救) (gu)
* → Vietnamese: cứu (救)

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

/t͡ɕi̯əu̯⁴⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

/t͡ɕi̯əu̯⁴⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kus): phonetic 求 (OC *ɡu) + semantic 攴.
Likely cognate with 求 (OC *ɡu, “to ask, seek”), Burmese ကူ (ku, “to help”) (STEDT).

Han compound

Zhǐyǒu mínzhǔzhǔyì nénggòu jiù Zhōngguó.

只有民主主義能夠救中國。

只有民主主义能够救中国。


敗

→ Thai: พ่าย (pâai)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *praːds, *braːds): phonetic 貝 (OC *paːds) + semantic 攵 (“strike”).
Possibly Sino-Tibetan. According to Zhang, Shuya, Jacques, Guillaume, Lai, Yunfan (2019), the modern meaning of the word originated from a semantic narrowing of its original sense "to break", thus making it cognate with Situ ka-prāt (“to break”) and also Japhug prɤt (“to break”).

zh-ref

成敗

成败

敗家

败家

身敗名裂

身败名裂

傷風敗俗

伤风败俗

Ruòzhīhé qí yǐ bìng, bài jūn zhī dàshì yě.

若之何其以病，敗君之大事也。

若之何其以病，败君之大事也。

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

魚餒而肉敗不食。

鱼馁而肉败不食。

敗火

败火


敲

From 休 (MC xjuw, “to rest; to stop”) (Kwok and Kataoka, 2006). Compare Guangzhou 嘵／哓 (hiu1), which has become obsolete.

2021 October 21, 澳門畢家四姐妹 [Pedruco Sisters], 【呢啲係咩方言?!】教你講正宗澳門土生「葡式中文」 [ITS NOT CHINESE! LEARN MACANESE PHRASES], spoken by 畢美淇 [Guiomar Pedruco]:

Because we used the Portuguese pronunciation

jan¹ wai⁶ ngo⁵ dei⁶ hai⁶ jung⁶ hau¹ pou⁴ man⁴⁻² jam¹

因為我哋係用敲葡文音

因为我哋系用敲葡文音

perfective aspect
perfective aspect#English

(Macau and Dongguan Cantonese) Used after a verb to indicate perfective aspect (action completion).


數

Exopassive derivation of Etymology 1 with suffix *-s, meaning "what is counted" (Schuessler, 2007).


斜

落斜


斷

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 𢇍 (“to cut”) + 斤 (“axe”).
Before the Qin dynasty, this character was written as 𠸿 or 𠜷. According to Shuowen, the left component is an old form of 叀.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *dan (“cut”).

Han compound

通話斷了。

通话断了。

斷電

断电

斷交

断交

Whereas my royal predecessors made your ancestors and fathers happy, they, your ancestors and fathers, will [now] cut you off and abandon you, and not save you from death.

The Book of Documents, circa 7ᵗʰ – 4ᵗʰ centuries BCE

Wǒ xiānhòu suí nǎi zǔ nǎi fù, nǎi zǔ nǎi fù nǎi duàn qì rǔ, bù jiù nǎi sǐ.

我先后綏乃祖乃父，乃祖乃父乃斷棄汝，不救乃死。

我先后绥乃祖乃父，乃祖乃父乃断弃汝，不救乃死。

He does not repeat any error of speech; any rumours against him he does not pursue up to their source; he does not allow his dignity to be interrupted; he does not dread to practise [beforehand] the counsels [which he gives].

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

Guòyán bù zài, liúyán bù jí; bù duàn qí wēi, bù xí qí móu.

過言不再，流言不極；不斷其威，不習其謀。

过言不再，流言不极；不断其威，不习其谋。

When I came home this time, the clerk pleaded with me again and again, and we made a vow that we'd never part. Today if I went against those feelings, I fear nothing lucky could come of it! Let us break off these negotiations, or say we need time to think it over slowly.

Southeast the Peacock Flies, before 6th century CE, translated by Burton Watson

Lánzhī chū huán shí, fǔlì jiàn dīngníng, jié shì bù biélí. Jīnrì wéi qíngyì, kǒng cǐ shì fēi qí. Zì kě duàn láixìn, xúxú gèng wèi zhī.

蘭芝初還時，府吏見丁寧，結誓不別離。今日違情義，恐此事非奇。自可斷來信，徐徐更謂之。

兰芝初还时，府吏见丁宁，结誓不别离。今日违情义，恐此事非奇。自可断来信，徐徐更谓之。

斷煙

断烟

She weaned her baby when he was 3 months old and started him on powdered milk.

Zài háizǐ sān ge yuè dà shí, tā gěi háizǐ duàn le nǎi, bìng kāishǐ wèi nǎifěn.

在孩子三個月大時，她給孩子斷了奶，並開始喂奶粉。

在孩子三个月大时，她给孩子断了奶，并开始喂奶粉。


斷

29th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "decisiveness" (𝌢)


方

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (方):
* → Japanese: 方(ほう) (hō)
* → Korean: 방(方) (bang)
* → Vietnamese: phương (方)

→ English: Fang, Fong, Png

→ Vietnamese: vuông

Characters in the same phonetic series (方) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 一 + 刀 (“sword”) – blade; tip of a blade. Original form of 芒 (OC *maːŋ, *maŋ, “awn (of cereal); tip (of blade)”); later borrowed to mean “side”. Other theories regarding the origin of this character also exist.
It is unrelated to 㫃 (“fluttering flag”), from which characters like 旗 (OC *ɡɯ, “flag”) and 旅 (OC *ɡ·raʔ, “troops”) are derived.
; "side; square; region"
; "parallel boats"
; "just now"; "now"
; "method; law"

och-l

(mathematics) Short for 平方米 (píngfāngmǐ, “Classifier for square metre.”).

平方米

(mathematics) Short for 立方米 (lìfāngmǐ, “Classifier for cubic metre.”).


於

From an ancient variant form of 烏. Not related to 方 or 㫃.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ʔaj (“to go; directional particle”) (Schuessler, 2007). It has slowly replaced the older 于 (OC *ɢʷa) (ibid.).
In Mandarin, this is innovatively pronounced yú. Schuessler (2007) see this pronunciation
from 于, essentially treating this phonomenon a xundu (訓讀 /训读). While Sun (2018) see this innovative pronunciation developed phonetically.

inh

源於

源于

他畢業於復旦大學。

他毕业于复旦大学。

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

千里之行，始於足下。

千里之行，始于足下。


於

Variant of 阿 (*qaːl, prefix in kinship terms and personal names) (ibid.).

Alternative form of 烏 /乌 (“crow; raven”)


旁

Chu Silk Manuscript
Qin (state)
Shang dynasty
Spring and Autumn period
Warring States period
Wei (state)
Western Zhou
Wu (state)

Probably phono-semantic (形聲 /形声) following the pronunciation of 方 (OC *paŋ, *baŋ).
The upper component, which perhaps indicates the semantic field, is unclear and has evolved significantly in time, including 冖 (Shang), 凡 (Western Zhou), or forms resembling 辛 (Spring and Autumn bronze of Wu) or 用 (Warring States bronze inscription of Wei and proto-clerical script of Qin). In the Chu Silk Manuscript the form was much simplified.
The modern form was a descendant from the clerical script. Hence, a knife or chisel to mark prisoners 辛 is written above the phonetic component 方, perhaps to indicate the concept of moving to remote. However, as already stated, the semantic component in this character is unclear and evolved during time, hence more explanations linked to the earlier versions can be formulated.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *paŋ ~ *pak (“side”) (STEDT). Cognate with Mizo bǎng (“wall, stockage”), as well as possibly Burmese ဘက် (bhak, “side”).


旁

Alternative form of 傍 (“to be near to; to approach; to depend on; to rely on”)


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”).

Han compound

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


暖

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *noːnʔ): semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 爰 (OC *ɢʷan). Later also used as a variant of 煖／暖 which is used as another word with different pronunciation.


暗

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *qɯːms): semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 音 (OC *qrɯm).