吕 lǚ — spine, pitch · English

吕

lǚ

spine, pitch

At a glance · 吕

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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

吕字甲骨文象脊骨一节一节相连之形，本义为脊骨；后借为乐律名。金文、小篆承之。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

吕本义为脊骨，后指乐律（六吕）。

Structure

吕为象形字，描摹脊椎骨节相连之形。

At a glance

Pinyinlǚ

Radical口

Strokes6

UnicodeU+5415

Character type象形

Theme礼乐

Six languages, one character

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

English spine, pitch Lü was originally a pictograph of the spine and was later used as a name for musical pitches.

Français colonne, ton Lü était à l'origine un pictogramme de la colonne vertébrale et a ensuite nommé des tons musicaux.

Español columna, tono Lü era originalmente un pictograma de la columna y luego nombró tonos musicales.

العربية عمود فقري، نغمة لǚ كان في الأصل رسماً للعمود الفقري ثم استُخدم لاسم النغمات الموسيقية.

Русский позвоночник, тон Люй изначально было пиктограммой позвоночника и позже стало названием музыкальных тонов.

Common words

律吕lǜ lǚmusical pitches
吕剧lǚ jùLü opera

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