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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

但

dàn
only
  • Phono-semantic compound 形聲
  • HSK 2
  • TOCFL 3
  • radical 人
  • 7 strokes

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  • borrowed
  • derived
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  • meaning component
  • sound component
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Origin

The character 但 is a phono-semantic compound. It consists of the semantic component 亻 (“person”) and the phonetic component 旦 (“early morning; dawn”). The Shuowen Jiezi glosses the character as 裼也, noting it follows the person radical and the sound 旦.

It is inherited from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(d/t)a(n/j), meaning “single; one; whole; only.” This root is a cognate with 單 (OC *taːn, “single”). The character appears in oracle, bronze, chu, seal, and regular scripts.

In modern usage, the character can mean only, but, however, yet, still, or serve as a surname. It is also recorded in the Guoyu Dictionary as meaning 不過 (but), 可是 (but), 僅 (only), 只 (only), or 儘管 (although/despite).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「但」字在意義上包含「不過」、「可是」、「僅」、「只」、「儘管」以及作為姓氏。從詞源來看，它繼承自原始漢藏語的 * (d/t)a(n/j)，其原始意義可能與「單」、「一個」、「完整」或「只有」有關。此外，它與「單」（上古音 *taːn）互為同源詞。

在字形構成上，它是典型的形聲字。它結合了表示人的意符「亻」，以及作為音符的「旦」。根據上古音的重構，其音值可能為 *daːn、*daːnʔ 或 *daːns。這反映了該字在演變過程中，透過結合意義與聲音的成分來達成字形的確立。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • inheritedProto-Sino-Tibetan*(d/t)a(n/j) “single; one; whole; only”
  • meaningChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
  • soundChinese旦 “early morning; dawn”
    • meaningChinese日 “Sun”
    • soundChinese丁 “the fourth of the ten heavenly stems”

Words built on it: 但是, 不但

Wiktionary etymology text

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”).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

character
  1. only
  2. but; however; yet; still
  3. a surname
  4. Dan

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

但：裼也。从人旦聲。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 不過、可是。 例：他雖然胖，但身手靈活。
  2. 僅、只。 例：但願如此
  3. 儘管。 例：但說無妨
  4. 姓。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 但 was written 字形演變

  1. 但 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 但 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 但 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 但 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  5. 但 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 但