Chinese

先生

xiānshēng
mister; sir; gentleman
  • HSK 1
  • TOCFL 2

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
React Flow

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Origin

Attested in 詩經・大雅・生民之什・生民.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • characterChinese先 “first; ahead of time; before; beforehand”
    • ideaChinese止 “foot”
    • ideaChinese儿 “standing person”
  • characterChinese生 “to live; to subsist; to exist”
    • ideaChinese屮 “new birth of plant”
    • ideaChinese一 “one”

Sources