Dong Chinese dictionary

zhèng, zhēng

correct

Original meaning:

journey

Pictograph of a foot (止) heading toward a city (丁). Based on the original meaning "journey", now written as 征.

Components

丁 Iconic component

dīng

cubes

Depicts city walls.

正 and 丁 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.正 /*C.teŋ/, /*teŋ-s/
丁 /*tˤeŋ/, /*tˤeŋ/, /*tˤreŋ/

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

止 Iconic component

zhǐ

(foot), stop

Depicts a foot.

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze script

Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

正

zhèng

right, proper, correct; straight; upright; proper; main; principal; to correct; to rectify; exactly; just (at that time); right (in that place); (math.) positive

正

zhēng

first month of the lunar year

Most common words with 正