Hannah Kissibea Odei-Kissi
10733204
Character: 宜
Chinese Text
“宜”是象形字,最早出现于甲骨文。在甲骨文中“宣”字的写法是一个容器里 面装满肉的形状。在金
文的时候“官”字的写 法与甲骨文的区别不大,只是把类似于肉的形 状的笔画增加了。在篆文的时候
“宜”字的变 化很大,有了今天“宣”字的雏形,到了隶书 “官”字,与今天的写法是一样的。“宜”字的本
义是菜肴。《说文解字》中解 释为“所安也”。后来“宜”字被引申为相宜, 合适,适宜等意思,又引申
为应该,应当,另 外“宜”还有给好,舒适的含义。关于“宜”字苏轼有一首描写西湖的诗 《饮湖上初晴
后雨》诗中写道:“水光潋滟晴方 好,山色空蒙雨亦奇。欲把西湖比西子,淡妆 浓抹总相宜。”这里的
“宣”字就是合适、相 称的意思,另外在汤显祖《牡丹亭》中有“宜 室宜家”一词,这里的“宜”字是安
顺、和睦 的意思。
English Translation
"宜" is a pictographic character, which first appeared in oracle bone inscriptions.In oracle bone inscriptions,
the character "宣" is written in the shape of a container filled with meat. In the bronze inscriptions, the
writing method of the character "官" is not much different from that in oracle bone inscriptions, except that
the strokes similar to the shape of meat are added. In seal script, the word "宜" has changed a lot. From the
embryonic form of today's "宣" character, to the official script "官", the writing method is the same as
today.The original meaning of the word "宜" is dishes. "Shuowen Jiezi" is interpreted as "So An Ye". Later, the
word "宜" was extended to mean suitable, appropriate, suitable, etc., and it was also extended to mean
should, should, and "宜" also had the meaning of giving good and comfort.Regarding the word "宜", Su Shi
wrote in a po1em about the West Lake, "Drinking the Lake at the First Sunshine and After the Rain", the
poem said: "The water is shimmering and sunny, and the mountains are empty and rainy. If you want to
make the West Lake better than Xizi, it is always appropriate to put on light makeup." The word "宣" here
means appropriate and commensurate.
Character: 低
Chinese Text:
“低”是形声字。“低”在篆文中的字体是由“人”和代表 房子下边含义的“氐”构成,“人”为其形,“ 为其声。后
经汉字符号的规范化形成现在通用 的字体形式。“低”的本义是下,与高相对。后引申为差。《乐府诗
集·杂歌谣辞》中的《敕勒歌》提 到:“天苍苍,野茫茫,风吹草低见牛羊。”意思 是天空是青苍蔚蓝的颜色,
草原无边无际,一片 茫茫,只有当一阵清风吹过,草浪动荡起伏,在 牧草低伏下去的地方,才有牛羊闪现出
来,这里 的“低”用的是其原意“下”,与高相对。
低”在篆文中的字体是由“人”和代表 房子下边含义的“氐”构成,“人”为其形,“” 为其声。后经汉字符号的
规范化形成现在通用 的字体形式。 人形象,中间加了两个车 人认为,在“女人”的温 先是生孩子的、哺育
的 的本义。全文与甲骨文 “低”的本义是下,与高相对。后引发 差
English Translation:
"低" is a pictophonetic character.The font of "低" in seal script is composed of "人" and "di" which represents
the meaning of the house below, "人" is its shape, and "zheng" is its sound. Afterwards, the standardization
of Chinese characters forms the current general font form.The original meaning of "低" is lower, as opposed
to high, and later extended to poor.
"Chile Song" in "Yuefu Poetry Collection Miscellaneous Ballads" mentioned: "The sky is blue, the field is vast,
and the wind blows the grass to see the cattle and sheep." It means that the sky is blue and the grassland is
boundless and vast.
Personal Comments:
Pictophonetic characters are made up of two parts. They include the shape and the sound as the name
literally shows. One part can also show the meaning of the character while the other shows the
pronunciation of the character. With the character "低" its shape is "人" and its sound is "zheng". Other
examples of pictophonetic characters include "货"，"财" and " 帐".