騾

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *roːl): semantic 馬 (“horse”) + phonetic 累 (OC *ruːls, *rolʔ, *rols). Written as 驘 in Shuowen.

Han compound

骡
*驘
*臝
䯁
𩦻
𩧣

Viscount Jian of Zhao had two white mules which he liked very much.

Zhào Jiǎnzǐ yǒu liǎng bái luó ér shèn ài zhī.

趙簡子有兩白騾而甚愛之。

赵简子有两白骡而甚爱之。

mule (offspring of a donkey and a horse, sometimes specifically the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse) (Classifier: 匹 m; 頭／头 m; 隻／只 mn)


鬖

Only used in 鬖髿／𩭹髿 (“hair hanging down; dishevelled, wild hair”).


鬩

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɦŋeːɡ) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): semantic 鬥 + phonetic 兒 (OC *ŋeː, *ŋje).


鬢

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *pins): semantic 髟 (“hair”) + phonetic 賓 (OC *mpin).


驢

→ Vietnamese: lừa

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *b·ra): semantic 馬 (“horse”) + phonetic 盧 (OC *b·raː).

Han compound

donkey; ass (Classifier: 頭／头 m; 條／条 m; 匹 m; 隻／只 c mn)


髻

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kiːds): semantic 髟 (“long hair”) + phonetic 吉 (OC *klid).
From 結 (OC *kiːd, “to tie”) + exopassive nominal suffix *-s, literally “something tied” (Baxter and Sagart, 1997, 2014; Schuessler, 2007).


鬍

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 髟 (“hair”) + phonetic 胡 (OC *ɡaː).
From 胡 (OC *ɡaː, “wattle; dewlap of an animal”), i.e. “that which hangs down from the chin” (Wang, 1980).
STEDT proposes that this word comes from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-wu (“beard”), but there are phonological problems with this reconstruction.


魷

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 尤 (OC *ɢʷɯ).

Han compound

Only used in 魷魚／鱿鱼 (yóuyú, “squid”); also used as its short form.


鯓

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 身.


鰆

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən⁵⁵/


鮸

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mronʔ): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 免 (OC *mronʔ).


鰇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mju): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 柔 (OC *mlju).
Specialization of 柔 (MC nyuw, “soft; flexible”).


鰍

/t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰi̯əu̯³³/

/t͡ɕʰi̯əu̯³³/

/t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰi̯əu̯³³/

/t͡ɕʰi̯əu̯³³/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰɯw): semantic 魚 + phonetic 秋 (OC *sʰɯw).


鮫

/t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

(literary, or in compounds) porbeagle shark (scaleless cartilaginous fish)


鱷

→? Proto-Tai: *ŋɯəkᴰ (“crocodile”)

Ahom: 𑜂𑜢𑜤𑜀𑜫 (ṅük, “crocodile; nāga”)

desc

Lao: ເງືອກ (ngư̄ak, “merperson; electric eel”)

Shan: ငိူၵ်ႈ (ngōek, “alligator; crocodile”)

Thai: เงือก (ngʉ̂ʉak, “snake; nāga; crocodilian; mythical water creature; merperson”)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋaːɡ): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 噩 (OC *ŋaːɡ).
Within Chinese, Carr (1990) relates it to:
* 咢 (OC *ŋaːɡ, “to beat the drum”), either because drumming was associated with dragons or because some drums were made of crocodilian skins (Schuessler, 2007).
* Words for “fear”, e.g. 愕 (OC *ŋaːɡ, “startled; terrified”), 噩 (OC *ŋaːɡ, “frightening; startling”).
Outside of Chinese, Carr (1990) also relates it to:
* Proto-Tai *ŋwak (“mythical water creature”) (reconstruction from Chamberlain, 1977), which Pittayaporn (2009-2010), reconstructing the root as *ŋɯəkᴰ (“crocodile”), holds to be a loan from Chinese.
* Proto-Austro-Tai *(m)baŋiwak (“shark; crocodile”), posited by Paul K. Benedict and proposed by him to give rise to the Tai word, as well as Japanese 鰐(わに) (wani, “crocodilian; shark”), 魚(うお) (uo, “fish”).
Vovin (2021) notes that 鱷 (OC *ŋâk ~ *ŋɑk) "aquatic reptile, saltwater crocodile" was attested late, for the first time in Shuowen as 𧊜 (è); and that "it would be very weird if the word for a ‘saltwater crocodile’ from the middle of Huang-he (黃河) river basin that lies quite far away from both tropics and the sea would be borrowed by Tai languages in Southern China". Therefore, Vovin contends that, instead, 鱷 (OC *ŋâk ~ *ŋɑk) had been borrowed into Later Han Chinese from Tai.


鰱

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ren): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 連 (OC *ren).

Han compound

(～魚) any fish of the genus Hypophthalmichthys, especially the silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)


鯽

Carassius auratus
Carassius auratus#Translingual


鱈

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 雪 (OC *sqʰʷed).


鴕

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'aːl): semantic 鳥 (“bird”) + phonetic 它 (OC *l̥ʰaːl).


鴦

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qaːŋ, *qaŋ): phonetic 央 (OC *qaŋ) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).

Han compound

鴛鴦

鸳鸯


鴒

Various species of lark or wagtail, of the family Motacilla


鴣

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kaː): phonetic 古 (OC *kaːʔ) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).


鯔

Mugil cephalus
Mugil cephalus#Translingual


鱧

鳢
鱺
𩷋
𩽵
*⿰魚䗍
𱇊
*⿰魚𢍝
*⿰魚𥯵
*⿰魚𧋠
*⿰魚𧱤

snakehead, especially the northern snakehead (Channa argus)


鵑

Only used in 杜鵑／杜鹃 (dùjuān, “cuckoo”); also used as its short form.


鵡

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *maʔ): phonetic 武 (OC *maʔ) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *măH (“a kind of bird (peacock, parrot)”); cognate with Tibetan རྨ་བྱ (rma bya, “peacock”); compare also Bodo (India) [script needed] (məyra, “peacock”) (Peiros & Starostin, 1996).


鶼

(Chinese mythology) the jian, a mythical bird with one eye and one wing


鶿

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsɯ, *zɯ): phonetic 玆 (OC *ɡʷeːn) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”)

Han compound

Only used in 鸕鶿／鸕鷀／鸬鹚 (lúcí, “cormorant”).


鴟

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tʰjil): phonetic 氐 (OC *tiːl, *til) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”)


鸐

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *r'eːwɢ): phonetic 翟 (OC *r'aːwɢ, *l'eːwɢ) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).


鷥

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *slɯ): phonetic 絲 (OC *slɯ) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”)


鸕

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raː): phonetic 盧 (OC *b·raː) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”)


鱉

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ped): phonetic 敝 (OC *beds, *bed) + semantic 魚.

Han compound

Pelodiscus sinensis
Wikispecies:Pelodiscus sinensis

soft-shell turtle (any turtle in the family Trionychidae, especially Pelodiscus sinensis)


鰹

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kiːn): semantic 魚 + phonetic 堅 (OC *kiːn).


鶉

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən³⁵/

The quails run [in pairs]. The magpies fly [in pairs]. That man is not nice. I call him brother.

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

Chún zhī bēnbēn, què zhī jiāngjiāng. Rén zhī wú liáng, wǒ yǐ wéi xiōng.

鶉之奔奔，鵲之彊彊。人之無良，我以為兄。

鹑之奔奔，鹊之彊彊。人之无良，我以为兄。

quail (originally refers to those with spots on feathers)


鴞

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɦraw): phonetic 号 (OC *ɦlaːws) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).


鷗

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qoː): phonetic 區 (OC *qoː, *kʰo) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).


鵬

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (鵬):
* → Korean: 붕(鵬) (bung)
* → Vietnamese: bằng (鵬)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯːŋ) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意): phonetic 朋 (OC *bɯːŋ, “phoenix”) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”)
This has been related to 風 (OC *plum, “wind”) (Schuessler, 2007) and also by Wang (1982) to 鳳 (OC *bums, “male fenghuang”).

Han compound

I don't know how many thousand li the Pengʹs back is.

鵬之背，不知其幾千里也。

鹏之背，不知其几千里也。

(Chinese mythology) peng (enormous bird)


鷹

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qɯŋ): phonetic 䧹 (OC *qɯŋ, “eagle; hawk”) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).
This word is possibly related to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-la(ŋ/k) (“bird of prey”), which is likely a loan from Proto-Mon-Khmer *laŋ ~ *laaŋ ~ *laiŋ (“large raptor”) > Proto-Bahnaric *klaːŋ (“hawk”), Proto-Palaungic *klaːŋ (“kite”), Mon လနေၚ် (“kite”), Khmer ខ្លែង (khlaeng, “kite”); within Tibeto-Burman, compare Tibetan གླག (glag, “eagle; vulture”), Burmese လင်းတ (lang:ta., “vulture”), Jingpho lang (“bird of the falcon family”) (Benedict, 1972; STEDT).
This word agrees better with Tibetan སྐྱིང་སེར (skying ser, “eagle; vulture”) if the Old Chinese is reconstructed as *s-ki̯əŋ (Benedict, 1990; Schuessler, 2007); Benedict (1976) reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-kiŋ for this, which Benedict (1990) suggests is the native Sino-Tibetan root.

cog

禿鷹

秃鹰

雀鷹

雀鹰

貓頭鷹

猫头鹰

a bird of prey of Accipitriformes (eagles, hawks, kites, vultures), Falconiformes (falcons) or Strigiformes (owls)


鸚

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qreːŋ): phonetic 嬰 (OC *qeŋ) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ɣrēŋ (“a kind of parrot”); cognate with Jingpho [script needed] (ukhriŋ¹, “small parrot”) (Peiros & Starostin, 1996).


黻

An embroidered figure resembling 亞 or two back-to-back 弓 characters, which represents two animals with their backsides together and is a symbol for knowing right from wrong; one of the Twelve Ornaments.


黥

(historical) to tattoo the face, one of the Five Punishments in Ancient China


鶲

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): phonetic 翁 (OC *qloːŋ) + semantic 鳥


黹

Pictogram (象形). It could represent a decoration similar to a cloud used on bronzes and dresses.


鷺

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raːɡs): phonetic 路 (OC *ɡ·raːɡs) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).
Compare Khmer ក្រក (krɑɑk, “species of heron”), Thai ร้า (ráa, “species of heron”) (Schuessler, 2007).


齉

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 鼻 + phonetic 囊 (OC *naːŋ).

(of nose) blocked, causing one to speak with a nasal twang; snuffling


鼢

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *bɯn, *bɯnʔ): semantic 鼠 (“mouse; rat”) + phonetic 分 (OC *pɯn, *bɯns).


鵲

⇒ Zhuang: roeggacak

/t͡sʰiɔk̚³²/

/t͡sʰiɔk̚³²/

鶉之奔奔，鵲之彊彊。人之無良，我以為兄。

鹑之奔奔，鹊之彊彊。人之无良，我以为兄。


齲

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰʷaʔ): semantic 齒 (“teeth”) + phonetic 禹 (OC *ɢʷaʔ).


鰻

→ Indonesian: mua

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *moːn, *mons): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 曼 (OC *moːn, *mons) – a kind of fish.

Han compound

鳗
𩺴
𩻠
*⿰魚昘
*⿰魚𭦗
*⿰魚𭦟
*⿰鱼⿳⺜𠀃勹


鼪

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sreŋ, *sreŋs): semantic 鼠 (“mouse; rat”) + phonetic 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs).
STEDT reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-(l/r)e(y/ŋ) (“squirrel, weasel”). Cognates include:
* insides Chinese, 狸 (OC *rɯ) (however, see there for other etymologies);
* outsides Chinese, Tibetan སྲེ་མོང (sre mong, “weasel”), Burmese [script needed] (hrañ, “squirrel”), Lepcha [script needed] (să-myóŋ, “marmot”), Karbi [Term?] (iŋren, “mongoose”) (< *m-ren) (see also Schuessler, 2009), Proto-Karen *hliᴮ - whence S'gaw Karen [script needed] (liɁ⁴⁵lu¹¹¨) (Northern) & [script needed] (li⁴⁵’) (Southern) - all meaning "squirrel", etc.

cog

Have you not seen a wildcat or a weasel?

子獨不見狸狌乎？

子独不见狸狌乎？

Goosefeet and elderberries block the weasels’ path …

藜藋柱乎鼪鼬之逕……

藜藋柱乎鼪鼬之迳……


鵝

→ Guiqiong: wo

/ᵑɡᵘɔ²²⁻²²⁵/

/ᵑɡᵘɔ²²⁻²²⁵/

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋaːl): phonetic 我 (OC *ŋaːlʔ) + semantic 鳥.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ŋa-n (“goose”); cognate with Tibetan ངང་པ (ngang pa), Burmese ငန်း (ngan:). However, the final consonants of the proposed cognates are possibly irreconcilable; they could instead be independently coined through onomatopoeia (Schuessler, 2007; Hill, 2019).
Related to 雁 (OC *ŋraːns, “wild goose”); see there for more.

Han compound

domestic goose (as opposed to a wild goose – 雁 (yàn)) (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn)


鴉

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qraː): phonetic 牙 (OC *ŋraː) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ka-n (“crow”). Doublet of 烏 (OC *qaː, “crow; raven”) . The Middle Chinese of 鴉 retains the earlier vowel.
Schuessler (2007) disputes Old Chinese reconstructions with medial *-r-, reasoning that 鴉's place among Division II syllables (often from Old Chinese syllables containing *-r-) results rather from archaism which preserves the original vowel's quality.

Han compound

Men eat animals that have been fed on grain and grass; elaphures feed on the thick-set grass; centipedes enjoy small snakes; owls and crows delight in mice; but does any one of the four know the right taste?

Zhuangzi, circa 3ʳᵈ – 2ⁿᵈ centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Mín shí chúhuàn, mílù shí jiàn, jíqiě gān dài, chīyā qí shǔ, sì zhě shú zhī zhèngwèi?

民食芻豢，麋鹿食薦，蝍且甘帶，鴟鴉耆鼠，四者孰知正味？

民食刍豢，麋鹿食荐，蝍且甘带，鸱鸦耆鼠，四者孰知正味？

Withered vines, an old tree, evening crows; small bridges, flowing stream, family houses.

13ᵗʰ century – 14ᵗʰ century, 馬致遠 (Ma Zhiyuan), 秋思 (Autumn Thoughts)

Kūténg lǎoshù hūnyā, xiǎoqiáo liúshuǐ rénjiā.

枯藤老樹昏鴉，小橋流水人家。

枯藤老树昏鸦，小桥流水人家。


鿃

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 目 + phonetic 㚒.


𡢃

For pronunciation and definitions of 𡢃 – see 嫻 (“elegant, gentle and quiet; etc.”).
(This character is a variant form of 嫻).


㴘

(Hokkien) to mix; to infuse; to marinate; to marinade; to soak; to steep (usually food in a hot liquid, such as soup, water, or etc.)


䃰

Only used in 礓䃰 (“steps (on a flight of stairs)”).


䟜

(Hokkien) to step on; to trample on (with one's feet)


䋎

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 糸 + phonetic 旦 (OC *taːns).


𠁣

16th century, 許仲琳 [Xu Zhonglin], 封神演義 (Fēngshén Yǎnyì) [Investiture of the Gods], chapter 13

Līnqǐ quán lái, huò shàng huò xià, 𠁣𠁣𠃛𠃛, yīqì dǎ yǒu yī'èrshí quán.

拎起拳來，或上或下，𠁣𠁣𠃛𠃛，一氣打有一二十拳。

拎起拳来，或上或下，𠁣𠁣𠃛𠃛，一气打有一二十拳。


𠯗

For pronunciation and definitions of 𠯗 – see 咂 (“to suck; to sip; to click one's tongue; etc.”).
(This character is a variant form of 咂).

zh-see

(Xiamen, Quanzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to sip


𨃅

From 跛 (OC *paːlʔ). The Mandarin pronunciation are borrowings from Southern Min.

(Southwestern Mandarin, Xiang) lame; crippled


𣗬

/t͡sʰiɛu²¹³/

/t͡sʰiɛu²¹³/

𣗬兜


𥗽

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 石 (“rock”) + phonetic 覽 (OC *ɡ·raːmʔ).

Han compound

干𥗽鎮

干𬒗镇


𥔲

𥔲嘉


𤉙

(Hokkien) to boil in water for a long time


𥴊

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 敢.


𥰔

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 竹 (“bamboo”) + phonetic 品 (OC *pʰrɯmʔ).


𨂿

18th century, Cao Xueqin, chapter 76, in Dream of the Red Chamber:

Just now, on his way leaving, the Elder Master tripped over a stone and sprained his ankle.

Fāngcái dà lǎoye chū qu, bèi shítou bàn le yī xià, wǎi le tuǐ.

方才大老爷出去，被石头绊了一下，𨂿了腿。

方才大老爺出去，被石頭絆了一下，𨂿了腿。


𩟗

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/

Alternative form of 䭕／𬲕 (“tasteless; insipid”)


𱍤

Contraction of 毋是 (m̄-sǐ) / 唔是 (m⁶ si⁶).


𧿳

𧿳一下就跳過去。

𧿳一下就跳过去。

(Xiamen, Quanzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to hop; to quickly leap


𥭘

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 𥫗 + phonetic 絺 (OC *l̥ʰɯl).


𩵚

Used in 𩵚魠魚／𬶂𱇏鱼 (tǔtuōyú, “Spanish mackerel”).


𤆤

(Hokkien) to braise; to stew; to heat up by steeping in hot water


𤢎

(obsolete, rare) (樹～) koala, (地～) wombat


𮰵

/tä⁵¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/

/ta²¹³ t͡ɕi²¹/

/taːi̯²² kɐt̚⁵/

/tʰaɪ⁵³⁻⁵⁵ kit̚¹/

/tai²²⁻²¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tai⁴¹⁻²² kiɛt̚⁵/

/tai²²⁻²¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tai³³⁻¹¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tai³³⁻²¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tä⁵¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/

/ta²¹³ t͡ɕi²¹/

/taːi̯²² kɐt̚⁵/

/tʰaɪ⁵³⁻⁵⁵ kit̚¹/

/tai²²⁻²¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tai⁴¹⁻²² kiɛt̚⁵/

/tai²²⁻²¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tai³³⁻¹¹ kiɛt̚³²/

/tai³³⁻²¹ kiɛt̚³²/


𱰠

(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) do not; don't


𧡍

(Quanzhou and Xiamen Hokkien) to ferociously stare at (someone)