Definitions

zhāo used in 啁哳[zhāo zhā]; Taiwan pr. [zhōu]
zhōu twittering of birds

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 啁 is structured as a phono-semantic compound, combining the semantic component 口, which denotes matters related to the mouth or vocalization, with the phonetic component 周 that indicates its pronunciation. Etymologically, this character has been associated with onomatopoeic representations of bird calls, appearing in historical textual compounds such as 啁啾 to describe chirping sounds. Its meaning has consistently focused on mimicking avian vocalizations, without broadening into other semantic areas, and its structural composition has persisted with the same components in both traditional and modern forms.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern