雅 yǎ — elegant · English

雅

yǎ

elegant

At a glance · 雅

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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.

「雅」从隹牙声，小篆从隹雅声，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「雅」本指乌鸦（雅=鸦），假借为正、高雅、雅乐。

Structure

从隹、牙声，形声字，隹表鸟类义类，本为鸟名，借为雅正。

At a glance

Pinyinyǎ

Radical隹

Strokes12

UnicodeU+96C5

Character type形声

Theme礼乐

Six languages, one character

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

English elegant elegant, graceful, refined

Français élégant / raffiné Élégant, raffiné. «坚持雅操» : une conduite distinguée.

Español elegante / refinado Elegante, refinado. «坚持雅操»: una conducta distinguida.

العربية راقٍ / مُتنعّم راقٍ، مُتنعّم. «坚持雅操»: سلوك رفيع.

Русский изящный / утончённый Изящный, утончённый. «坚持雅操»: возвышенное поведение.

Common words

优雅yōu yǎelegant
雅yǎelegant

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