德
virtue, morality
At a glance · 德
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 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。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.
德字小篆从彳惪声，为形声字；本义为道德、德行。甲骨文象直心而行之形。
What the sketch shows
Origins & notes
德本义为道德、品德、恩德。
Structure
形声字，左部『彳』为意符表行走，右部『惪』（直心）为声符兼表义。
At a glance
Pinyindé
Radical彳
Strokes15
UnicodeU+5FB7
Character type形声
Theme德行
Six languages, one character
Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.
English
virtue, morality
De is a phonetic-semantic character meaning virtue and moral character.
Français
vertu, moralité
De est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant vertu et moralité.
Español
virtud, moralidad
De es un carácter fonosemántico que significa virtud y moralidad.
العربية
فضيلة، أخلاق
ديه حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الفضيلة والخلق.
Русский
добродетель, нравственность
Дэ — фоносемантический знак, означающий добродетель и нравственность.
Common words
- 道德dào démorality
- 品德pǐn décharacter