Definitions

bǐng an ancient city; pleased, happy; surname

Etymology phono-semantic

city

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

is a phono-semantic compound originally naming an ancient city or fiefdom in the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period. Its structure places the semantic radical (an abbreviated form of , meaning "city" or "mound") on the right, marking it as a character related to settlements and territories, while the left side is the phonetic , indicating the pronunciation "bǐng". Over time, the geographical meaning faded, and the character now serves exclusively as a somewhat uncommon Chinese surname.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern