Dong Chinese dictionary

zhēn

needle

Simplified form of 針. Phonosemantic compound. 金 represents the meaning and 十 represents the sound.

Components

钅 Meaning component

jīn

metal

钅 is a component form of 金.

十 Sound component

shí

ten

针 and 十 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.针 /*t.[k]əm/
十 /*t.[g]əp/

Evolution

Traditional script

Modern

Simplified script

Modern

Definitions

zhēn

needle; pin; tack; acupuncture; injection; stitch; CL:根[gēn],支[zhī]

zhēn

variant of 針|针[zhēn], needle

Most common words with 针

Sources