都 dōu — metropolis · English

都

dōu

metropolis

At a glance · 都

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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.

「都」从邑者声，小篆从邑者声，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「都」本义为有先君宗庙的城邑，引申都城、都市、总。

Structure

从邑、者声，形声字，邑表城邑义类，者表音，本为国都。

At a glance

Pinyindōu

Radical阝

Strokes12

UnicodeU+90FD

Character type形声

Theme建筑

Six languages, one character

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

English metropolis metropolis, capital; all, the whole; elegant, refined

Français capitale / ville Capitale, ville. «都邑华夏» : les capitales de Huaxia.

Español capital / ciudad Capital, ciudad. «都邑华夏»: las capitales de Huaxia.

العربية عاصمة / مدينة عاصمة، مدينة. «都邑华夏»: عواصم هوا-شيا.

Русский столица / город Столица, город. «都邑华夏»: столицы Хуа-ся.

Common words

首都shǒu dūcapital
都市dū shìcity

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