Chinese

表情

/pi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵/
expression (on one's face)
  • HSK 4
  • TOCFL 6

Etymology graph

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

點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

Origin

Attestable since at least the Eastern Han Dynasty in the sense "to express one's feelings".

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • characterChinese表 “outer garment”
    • simplified fromChinese錶 “watch (portable timepiece) (Classifier: 塊／块 m)”
    • ideaChinese衣 “garment; clothes; clothing (Classifier: 件)”
    • ideaChinese毛 “hair (of humans or animals); fur; feather (Classifier: 根 m; 條／条 c; 支 mn)”
  • characterChinese情 “feeling; emotion; sentiment; mood”
    • meaningChinese心 “heart (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 個／个 c; 粒 mn)”
    • soundChinese青 “blue-green ("grue"); blue (of sky, stone etc.); green (of grass, plants, mountains etc.)”
      • soundChinese生 “to live; to subsist; to exist”
        • ideaChinese屮 “new birth of plant”
        • ideaChinese一 “one”
      • soundChinese井 “well (a hole sunk into the ground) (Classifier: 口; 眼)”

Sources