Hello, this is Bamboo Cipher. Welcome to Chinese character arc, exploring the evolution of Chinese characters from oracle bone etchings to digital text (both traditional and simplified).
I make these videos as a fun research project and to supplement my learning Chinese as a second language. No promises regarding the accuracy of my facts.
Music: Images of Tomorrow by Unicorn Heads
/ @unicornheads
0:05 Used for people or objects ⇔ gè
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/人
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/固
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/个
0:35 Used for birds and certain animals or one of a pair, boats, etc. ⇔ zhī
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/口
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/八
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
0:53 Used for books or series ⇔ běn
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/本
1:00 Used for pieces of cloth, cake, soap, etc. or money (informal) ⇔ kuài
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/土
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/鬼
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/夬
1:30 Used for vehicles ⇔ liàng
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/車
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
1:49 Used for bottles ⇔ píng
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/瓦
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
2:07 Used for cups ⇔ bēi
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/木
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/不
2:25 Used for pairs ⇔ shuāng
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/隹
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/又
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/雙
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/双
2:50 Used for clothes, events, things ⇔ jiàn
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/人
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/牛
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/件
3:14 Used for flat objects, sheets ⇔ zhāng
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
3:21 Used for bowls (food & drink) ⇔ wǎn
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/石
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
3:39 Used for types ⇔ zhǒng
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/禾
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/重
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/中
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/種
4:28 Used for long, narrow objects ⇔ tiáo
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/攸
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/木
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
4:46 Used for people (formal) ⇔ wèi
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/位
5:05 Used for people (informal) ⇔ míng
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/名
5:11 Used for families or businesses ⇔ jiā
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/家
5:17 Used for itemized things (clauses, tasks, research projects, etc.) ⇔ xiàng
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/工
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/頁
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...
5:35 Used for recreation, sports, activities ⇔ cháng
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/土
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/昜
humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis...