wángwàng

king

Pictograph of an axe head, used as a symbol of the king's military authority.

Evolution

王 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
王 Bronze script Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze script

Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
王 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
王 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
王 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

wáng

king, ruler; royal; surname; king or monarch; best or strongest of its type; grand; great

 

Wáng

surname Wang

 

wàng

to rule; to reign over

Most common words with 王
Freq.
Word
Meaning

grand

国王

king

王子

prince

女王

queen

王八

tortoise

Component uses

Sound component in 7 characters (3 verified)

Iconic component in 3 characters (3 verified)

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*ɢʷaŋ

hjwang

wáng

king

*ɢʷaŋ-s

hjwangH

wàng

be king


Statistics

HSK level 4

Appears in 37.4499% of movies

652nd most common character in movies

299th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

4

Unicode

U+738B

Shuowen

“王,天下所歸往也。董仲舒曰:‘古之造文者,三畫而連其中謂之王。三者,天、地、人也;而參通之者,王也。’孔子曰:‘一貫三為王。’,古文王。”


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