cái
talent
Original meaning:
wooden post
Originally a pictograph of a wooden post, similar to 弋. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Evolution

Oracle script
(~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze script
Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)Regular script
ModernDefinitions
Component uses
Simplified component in 1 character (1 verified)
Historical pronunciation
Old Chinese | Middle Chinese | Pinyin | Gloss |
*[dz]ˤə | dzoj | cái | talent, ability |
Statistics
HSK level 2
Appears in 98.5584% of movies
179th most common character in movies
235th most common character in books
Miscellaneous
Strokes | 3 |
Unicode | U+624D |
Shuowen | “才,艸木之初也。从丨上貫一,將生枝葉。一,地也。” |
Sources
季旭昇《說文新證》p.495-496
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