Dong Chinese dictionary

nǎo

brain

Variant of 腦. Depicts a figure (夒) holding an axe (戌) behind their back. 夒 also represents the sound. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

náo

monkey

Depicts a monkey-like figure.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 夒 than it was in ancient scripts.

戌 Iconic component

xū, qu

11th terrestrial branch

Depicts an axe. Here turned upside-down. Modern form looks like 囟.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 戌 than it was in ancient scripts.

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

nǎo

the brain; old variant of 腦|脑[nǎo]

Sources