东 dōng — east · English

东

dōng

east

At a glance · 东

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「东」繁体「東」甲骨文象囊中实物，金文小篆承之。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「东」本义为东方、日出处，引申东边、东道主。

Structure

象形字，象两端束扎之囊，借为东方（日在木中），简作东。

At a glance

Pinyindōng

Radical一

Strokes5

UnicodeU+4E1C

Character type象形

Theme地理

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English east east, eastern, eastward

Français est / orient Est, orient. «东西二京» : la capitale de l'Est (Luoyang).

Español este / oriente Este, oriente. «东西二京»: la capital del Este (Luoyang).

العربية شرق / شرق شرق، مشرق. «东西二京»: عاصمة الشرق (لويانغ).

Русский восток / восточный Восток, восточный. «东西二京»: восточная столица (Лоян).

Common words

东方dōng fāngeast
东西dōng xithing

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