The mechanics of how terms were devised in proto-Chinese (1100 B.C.E. or earlier)
| Sound |
Semantic I
(Initial Consonant) |
Semantic II
(Final Consonant) |
Vowel Nuance |
Character/Etymology |
| KUANG |
Frame |
Extension |
Circle/Mass |
光: person extending a torch above the head, creating an arc of light (compare 火) |
| KAN |
Frame |
Adhere |
|
看: hand adhering to the forehead in shading the eyes |
| KAM |
Frame |
Encompass |
|
甘: sweet taste of food contained in the mouth |
| KAP |
Frame |
Press |
|
夾: person pressed by others from each side |
| LOK |
Continuum |
Straight |
Curve |
陸: land winding far, wide and high
|
| LANG |
Continuum |
Extension |
|
涼: cool, clean water flowing continuously over high ground |
| LUAN |
Continuum |
Adhere |
Circle/Mass |
卵: swarming mass of fish eggs adhering to each other |
| LAT |
Continuum |
Cut |
|
列: cut bones into segments and arrange in a row |
| MUANG |
Conceal |
Extension |
Circle/Mass |
網: net massed over a wide area, concealing/obscuring objects from sight |
| MOK |
Conceal |
Straight |
Curve |
目: eye covered by a curving eyelid
|
| MUAR |
Conceal |
Continuum |
Circle/Mass |
火: continuously blazing fire that consumes (= conceals) its fuel source while producing an arc of light (compare 光) |
| MUAT |
Conceal |
Reduce |
Circle/Mass |
抹: rub an object until it becomes a tiny, nearly invisible lump |
| NOG |
Supple |
Straight |
Curve |
耳: curving, supple ear that clings straight to the side of the head |
| NANG |
Supple |
Extension |
|
壌/壤: soft, mixed earth spread over a field → soil |
| NAN |
Supple |
Adhere |
|
刃: blade, a flexible implement pounded (= adhered to) by a hammer in the smithing process |
| NAT |
Supple |
Reduce |
|
熱: burn → heat; hot (reduce objects in size and make them supple/flexible through burning) |
| PAG |
Spread |
Straight |
|
布: cloth spread flat out
|
| PANG |
Spread |
Extension |
|
平: waterweed spreading at length over the surface of a pool of water |
| PUAM |
Spread |
Encompass |
Circle/Mass |
犯: dog breaking out of its circular enclosure and running off |
| PUAR |
Spread |
Continuum |
Circle/Mass |
波: mass of waves spreading continuously over the surface of the ocean |
| SAG |
Small; Thin; Slender |
Straight |
|
才: (thin) dam running straight across a river |
| SUAN |
Small; Thin; Slender |
Adhere |
Circle/Mass |
尊/尊: hands encircled about a slender container of alcohol |
| SAM |
Small; Thin; Slender |
Encompass |
|
参/參: slender hairpins encompassed within a woman's coiffure |
| SAT |
Small; Thin; Slender |
Cut |
|
殺: scrape ears of millet to obtain their tiny seeds |
| TOG |
Straight |
Straight |
Curve |
鳥: bird with a long, curving tail
|
| TAN |
Straight |
Adhere |
|
展: sit on an object and flatten it with the weight of the body |
| TAP |
Straight |
Press |
|
畳/疊: pile/fold an object to a number of layers |
| TER |
Straight |
Continuum |
|
弟: cord/vine wrapped about a stake, running from top to bottom |
