There are multiple interpretations as to the origin of 且. One of them is that 且 is a pictographic character of a stone altar or memorial tablet. 且 serves as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “且 a stone altar”
Tag: phonetic
平 airflow passes and disperses
In bronze inscriptions, it 平 is composed of 于 (airflow passing obstacles) and 八 (moving in separate directions). That’s to say, the airflow passes and disperses. Seal script suggests a comfortable（兮）and calm（一）tone. Regular script resembles an object with two equal halves. 平 serves as semantic component to form characters. Continue reading “平 airflow passes and disperses”
册 a book of bamboo slips
册, a pictographic character resembling vertical slips of bamboo strung together by two strings, serves as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “册 a book of bamboo slips”
用 a big bell
用, a pictographic character representing a big bell used in the past which functioned as a musical instrument. 用 mainly serves as a phonetic component to form characters, but it can also serve as a semantic component. Continue reading “用 a big bell”
Component 玄 silk tie or knot for dyed silk
玄, originally silk tie or knot for dyed silk, is pictographic character. 玄 serves as phonetic component to form characters. Characters formed by the phonetic component 玄 share compound vowels ian and uan. Continue reading “Component 玄 silk tie or knot for dyed silk”