昔

xī
#2,383 most
frequent character
former times, the past, Taiwan pr. [xi2]

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

昔 xī was first written with flood waters and the sun 日, marking the time of ancient floods. The sun stands for a period of time. Its top part 龷 is now empty; it once was 𡿧, flood waters. The meaning became 'in days of old' and then 'the past'.

Drawn as: flood waters; sun

昔 as a component in other characters

sound10 characters
错借措腊惜猎蜡醋鹊耤
picture1 character
厝

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