懂中文 Dong Chinese

傑

jié

hero

Original meaning: 

to be elevated

Originally written as 桀, which depicts two feet (舛) on top of a tree (木). 亻 (person) was later added to the character as a meaning component. Based on the original meaning, "to be elevated". The meaning later shifted to "outstanding person" and "hero".

Components
亻 meaning component

亻  Meaning component

rén

  

person

亻 is a component form of 人.

桀 sound,iconic component

桀  Sound Iconic component

jié

  

cruel

Depicts two feet (舛) on top of a tree (木).

Evolution

傑 Seal script Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal script

Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
傑 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
傑 Seal script Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal script

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
傑 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

杰 (傑) 

jié

hero; outstanding, remarkable; heroic; outstanding person; prominent; distinguished

Most common words with 傑
Freq.
Word
Meaning

杰克

Jack (name)

杰

hero

杰出

outstanding

周杰伦

Jay Chou (1979-), Taiwanese pop star

杰克逊

Jackson (name)