中

乃

Unicode: U+4E43

Pinyin: nǎi

Definition

* 才。 今～得之。"断其喉，尽其肉，～去"。 * 是，为。 ～大丈夫也。 * 竟。 ～至如此。 * 于是，就："因山势高峻，～在山腰休息片时"。 * 你，你的。 ～父。～兄。"家祭无忘告～翁"

then; really, indeed; as it turned out, after all; namely

Structure

乃 graph

Related substructures

rbInwXkr

Precursors

Oracle Bone Script
c. 1300–1050 BCE (Late Shang)
Inscriptions carved on turtle plastrons and animal bones for divination and record-keeping in the late Shang royal court; the oldest large attested corpus of written Chinese.Wikipedia ->
42_E3A042_E3A142_E3A242_E3A342_E3A442_E3A542_E3A642_E3A742_E3A842_E3A942_E3AA42_E3AB42_E3AC42_E3AD42_E3AE42_E3AF42_E3B042_E3B142_E3B242_E3B342_E3B442_E3B542_E3B642_E3B742_E3B842_E3B942_E3BA42_E3BB42_E3BC
Bronze Inscriptions
c. 1200–221 BCE (Shang–Zhou; continues into the Warring States)
Inscriptions cast or engraved on ritual bronzes, especially prominent from the Western Zhou onward; a major source for early political, ritual, and social history.Wikipedia ->
32_E31232_E31932_E31A32_E31432_E31332_E31632_E31732_E31532_E31E32_E32532_E32B32_E32232_E32032_E32732_E33232_E32632_E32132_E31B32_E31D32_E32432_E31C32_E31832_E32C32_E31F32_E32832_E32D32_E32E32_E32F32_E33632_E33032_E32332_E32A32_E32932_E33132_E33732_E33832_E33332_E33432_E335
Chu Script
c. 770–221 BCE (Chu, Spring & Autumn–Warring States)
A regional script tradition used in the state of Chu, best known from brush-written bamboo and silk manuscripts with distinctive local forms.Wikipedia ->
52_E14156_E65E56_E65C56_E65D56_E65F56_E66056_E66156_E68C56_E68D56_E66256_E66456_E66556_E66656_E66756_E66356_E66856_E66956_E66A56_E66B56_E66C56_E66D56_E66E56_E66F56_E67056_E67156_E67256_E67356_E67456_E67556_E67656_E67756_E67852_E14252_E14352_E14452_E14552_E14652_E14752_E14952_E14852_E14056_E67956_E67A56_E67B56_E67C56_E67D56_E67E56_E67F56_E68056_E68156_E68256_E68356_E68456_E68556_E68656_E68856_E68956_E68A56_E68B
Qin Script
c. 475–206 BCE (Qin, Warring States → Qin dynasty)
Qin-area character forms attested on bamboo/wood slips (e.g., Shuihudi, deposited 217 BCE), overlapping chronologically with the standardization of seal script and the emergence of clerical tendencies.Wikipedia ->
71_E4C571_E4C671_E4C771_E4C8
Small Seal Script
Standardized 221–206 BCE (Qin); developed earlier in Qin
The standardized seal script promulgated after Qin’s unification, based on earlier Qin seal forms and used as an empire-wide norm.Wikipedia ->
27_4E4327_F33027_E427
Clerical Script
c. 300 BCE–220 CE (emerged late Warring States/Qin; dominant Han)
A practical script that evolved from late Warring States/Qin writing; it matured and became dominant in the Han dynasty, favoring faster, more rectilinear strokes.Wikipedia ->
71_E4C571_E4C671_E4C771_E4C892_E1F892_E1F992_E1FA92_E1FB92_E1FC92_E20492_E20592_E20692_E1F792_E1FD92_E1FE92_E1FF92_E20792_E20892_E20092_E20192_E20292_E203
Transmitted Pre-Qin Forms
Pre-Qin forms (≤221 BCE) / late 2nd century BCE onward (Han → later textual transmission)
Pre-Qin character forms preserved through later textual transmission (often discussed as the 'Old Text' / guwen tradition). Shaped by repeated copying, they can diverge from excavated Warring States materials.Wikipedia ->
82_EB9E82_EB9F82_EBA082_EBA182_EBA282_EBA382_EBA482_EBA582_EBA682_EBA782_EBA882_EBA982_EBAA82_EBAB82_EBAC82_EBAD82_EBAE82_EBAF82_EBB582_EBB082_EBB182_EBB282_EBB382_EBB482_EBB682_EBB782_EBB882_EBB982_EBBA82_EBBB82_EBBC82_EBBD82_EBBE82_EBBF82_EBC082_EBC182_EBC282_EBC382_EBC482_EBC582_EBC682_EBC782_EBC882_EBC982_EBCA82_EBCB82_EBCC82_EBCD82_EBCE82_EBCF82_EBD082_EBD182_EBD282_EBD382_EBD482_EBD582_EBD682_EBD782_EBD882_EBD982_EBDA82_EBDB82_EBDC82_EBDD82_EBDE82_EBDF82_EBE082_EBE182_EBE282_EBE382_EBE482_EBE582_EBE682_EBE782_EBE882_EBE982_EBEA82_EBEB

Last Modified: 2026-01-29 11:48 UTC