矢 shǐ — arrow; swear · English

矢

shǐ

arrow; swear

At a glance · 矢

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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.

甲骨文象箭之形（镞、杆、羽），本义为箭。小篆作「矢」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为箭，引申为直、誓。

Structure

象形字，甲骨文象箭形。

At a glance

Pinyinshǐ

Radical矢

Strokes5

UnicodeU+77E2

Character type象形

Theme器物

Six languages, one character

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

English arrow; swear An arrow; also to swear (ancient).

Français flèche; jurer Une flèche ; aussi jurer (ancien).

Español flecha; jurar Una flecha ; también jurar (antiguo).

العربية سهم؛ يقسم سهم؛ ويُستعار لـ«يقسم» قديمًا.

Русский стрела; клясться Стрела; также клясться (древ.).

Common words

矢shǐarrow
弓矢gōng shǐbow and arrow

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