夏 xià — summer · English

夏

xià

summer

At a glance · 夏

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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.

「夏」甲骨文象大人秉耒，金文象舞蹈之人，本指中原人。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「夏」本指中国古部族（华夏），引申夏季、夏朝。

Structure

会意字，图象威仪之人，本为中原自称，后指夏朝、夏季。

At a glance

Pinyinxià

Radical夂

Strokes10

UnicodeU+590F

Character type会意

Theme人伦

Six languages, one character

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

English summer summer; great, grand, big

Français été / Huaxia Été, Huaxia. «都邑华夏» : le peuple Huaxia.

Español verano / Huaxia Verano, Huaxia. «都邑华夏»: el pueblo Huaxia.

العربية صيف / هوا-شيا صيف، هوا-شيا. «都邑华夏»: شعب هوا-شيا.

Русский лето / Хуа-ся Лето, Хуа-ся. «都邑华夏»: народ Хуа-ся.

Common words

夏天xià tiānsummer
华夏huá xiàHuaxia

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