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曹 (Kangxi radical 73,曰+7, 11 strokes,cangjie input廿田日 (TWA),four-corner55606,composition⿱⿻一曲曰)
| simp. andtrad. | 曹 | |
|---|---|---|
| alternative forms | 曺 㯥 𣍘 | |
| Historical forms of the character曹 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shang | Western Zhou | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan) | Liushutong (compiled inMing) |
| Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
 |  |  |  |
Originally㯥 (cáo), an ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): two bundles東. The original meaning is "pair; peer, same kind". Later,囗 was added as a distinguishing mark, which corrupted into甘 in bronze inscriptions and曰 in Seal Script, thus arriving at the intermediate character form𣍘. The top two東 have merged and now resemble曲 with an extra stroke.
Unrelated to曲 and典.
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 曹 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 從 (15) |
| Final (韻) | 豪 (89) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 昨勞切 |
| Baxter | dzaw |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /d͡zɑu/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /d͡zɑu/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /d͡zɑu/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /d͡zaw/ |
| Li Rong | /d͡zɑu/ |
| Wang Li | /d͡zɑu/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /d͡zʱɑu/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | cáo |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | cou4 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 曹 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | cáo |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ dzaw › |
| Old Chinese | /*N-tsˁu/ |
| English | come together; pair |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 曹 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 1154 |
| Phonetic component | 曹 |
| Rime group | 幽 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 曹 |
| Old Chinese | /*zluː/ |
| Notes | 金文下非曰字， 上從二東，象列置衆種子之器， 乃槽初文 |
曹
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