<p>The character <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png" alt="enter image description here"></a> is recorded in the following titles:</p>

<ul>
<li>《漢簡文字類編．甘部》</li>
<li>《中華字海．一部》</li>
</ul>

<p>The paleographer 季旭昇 analyses it to be a 草書 variant of「甚」.</p>

<p>See the <a href="http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QTAyNjIx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">entry of 甚 from the Taiwan Ministry of Education's variants dictionary</a>.</p>

<hr>

<p>The earliest form of「甚」compounds「匕」(<em>a ladle or spoon</em>) with either「甘」or「口」:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/3ZXKe.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/3ZXKe.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Note: the difference between「甘」and「口」in this context doesn't make a big
  difference, as「甘」(<em>sweet</em>) was originally「口」with a mark, representing a piece of food in a mouth:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OIcgY.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OIcgY.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
  
  <p>The meaning of <em>sweet/good flavours</em> is extracted from the idea of tasting the food.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The entire compound form of「甚」meant <em>contentment, happiness, at peace</em>, as a result of being satisfied from being fed.</p>

<p>Later on, decorative marks (飾筆)** were added on to the character, in the shape of「八」:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mnQFP.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mnQFP.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Since characters weren't standardised back then, sometimes「口」and「八」were switched around:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/i0ZBN.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/i0ZBN.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>This last form is the direct ancestor of the modern form of「甚」.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Note: The Shuowen Jiezi explanation of「甚」comes from the misinterpretation of 「八」and「匕」as merging into「匹」:</p>
  
  <p><strong>「甚，尤安樂也。从甘，从匹耦也。」</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Of course, the above doesn't explain the cursive form that appears in the question. <strong><em>My personal speculation</em></strong> is that <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png" alt="enter image description here"></a> is a result of (1) character corruption (訛變) and (2) character simplification (簡化/省略).</p>

<p><strong>(1) Corruption</strong> </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>「匕」was commonly corrupted into「七」or「」very early on, as in the
  Eastern Han stele 《曹全碑》:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/VPOIE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/VPOIE.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
  
  <p>What looks like「合<strong>七</strong>首藥神明膏」should be interpreted
  as「合<strong>匕</strong>首藥神明膏」(<em>miraculous knife-wound-healing medicine</em>),
  where「匕首」means <em>dagger</em>. Many modern forms have retained this
  corruption, such as in the character「化」, which was originally「⿰亻匕」.
  See, for example, the modern Chinese (left) form vs. the modern
  Japanese (right) form of 「化」:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/e3MKJ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/e3MKJ.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/hR3Bq.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hR3Bq.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>(2) Simplification</strong></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>「口」was simply omitted from the final form in rapid 草書 writing.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Of course, take all this with a grain of salt; I haven't found a detailed academic commentary on the character <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>, and welcome any corrections to this answer by anyone who has.</p>

<hr>

<p>**The addition of <em>decorative marks</em> is one of the least-known, at least among general knowledge, of Chinese character components. One of the most common characters which was formed as a result of decorative marks is the character「魚」. Compare, for example, some of the earliest forms of the character:</p>

<ol>
<li>A detailed drawing of a fish in oracle bone script:<br>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/D9jgf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/D9jgf.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></li>
<li>Still quite detailed in the middle of the bronze inscription period:<br>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/hxlE3.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hxlE3.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></li>
<li>Sometimes, not so detailed and more stylised:<br>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/y3Njt.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/y3Njt.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></li>
<li>Stylised with addition of decorative marks around the tail:<br>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/D46vs.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/D46vs.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></li>
</ol>

<p>The shape of the bottom looked very similar to and was later merged with the shape of「火」, eventually turning into「灬」and causing the tail to be detached to the rest of the body. This latter form can be considered as the direct ancestor of the modern form of「魚」:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zjnHT.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zjnHT.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>If these marks weren't added, we might see something like this today:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/W5emZ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/W5emZ.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-16T16:00:52.607Z
Please don't use links with generic names such as "this" or "here, because if the site goes offline or the link breaks, then it will become useless. Add some context from the link so that even if something goes wrong, other users can have some context.
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-16T16:16:46.013Z
@Alenanno I've actually summarised all the information that was relevant to the question. There wasn't much information on the page, but I'll edit the answer to include the organisation's name.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-16T16:22:36.163Z
Thank you. Mine was general advice, you know how to give proper context since it's your answer, but this way a future visitor might find the answer even if the link breaks. :)
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-15T19:56:08.773Z
2018-01-20T05:56:59.040Z
2018-01-20T05:56:59.040Z
dROOOze
<p>I think it could be the character 正. 行书或草书的<a href="https://m.baidu.com/sf/lj?ext=%7B%22url%22%3A%22%2Ffrom%3D1086k%2Fbd_page_type%3D1%2Fssid%3D0%2Fuid%3D0%2Fpu%3Dusm%25402%252Csz%2540320_1001%252Cta%2540iphone_2_7.0_3_537%2Fbaiduid%3D6CC8030E70C4F4D46B07D66AAFB84FEC%2Fw%3D0_10_%2Ft%3Diphone%2Fl%3D3%2Ftc%3Fref%3Dwww_iphone%26lid%3D11384531760824639920%26order%3D1%26fm%3Dalop%26waplogo%3D1%26h5ad%3D1%26srd%3D1%26dict%3D32%26tj%3Dwww_normal_1_0_10_title%26vit%3Dosres%26waput%3D4%26cltj%3Dnormal_title%26asres%3D1%26nt%3Dwnor%26title%3D%25E6%25AD%25A3%25E5%25AD%2597%25E7%259A%2584%25E4%25B9%25A6%25E6%25B3%2595%25E5%2586%2599%25E6%25B3%2595_%25E6%25AD%25A3%25E5%25AD%2597%25E6%2580%258E%25E4%25B9%2588%25E5%2586%2599_%25E6%25AD%25A3%25E5%25AD%2597%25E7%259A%2584%25E5%2590%2584%25E7%25A7%258D%25E5%2586%2599%25E6%25B3%2595...-%25E4%25B9%25A6%25E6%25B3%2595%25E7%2588%25B1%25E7%25BD%2591%26w_qd%3DIlPT2AEptyoA_ykz9QEc-hO5IixTe7QoxjkZfAXV6A3%26tcplug%3D1%26sec%3D26915%26di%3D58709ed8d035ef55%26bdenc%3D1%26tch%3D124.210.243.364.1.0%26nsrc%3DIlPT2AEptyoA_yixCFOxXnANedT62v3IGtiCLTlS1ze895qshbWxBdUfEFXpKXuPIkewdoSYeAoDljrzOjh6hhZ1rqw0snN8nyC-%26eqid%3D9dfdfb51921ae000100000025a5c8d41%26wd%3D%26clk_info%3D%257B%2522srcid%2522%253A1599%252C%2522tplname%2522%253A%2522www_normal%2522%252C%2522t%2522%253A1516014931029%252C%2522xpath%2522%253A%2522div-a-h3%2522%257D%22%2C%22frame_only%22%3A1%2C%22lid%22%3A%2211384531760824639920%22%7D&amp;pd=mms_mip&amp;actname=introduction&amp;ms=1&amp;title=%E6%AD%A3%E5%AD%97%E8%8D%89%E4%B9%A6%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%E5%86%99" rel="nofollow noreferrer">正</a>就这么写。better you have a context to figure out. Otherwise, it is very hard. It might also be like Japanese.</p>

<p>It could also be 甚 as you said. </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/oulNo.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oulNo.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-15T11:20:23.767Z
2018-01-15T11:44:06.487Z
2018-01-15T11:44:06.487Z
dan
<p>Having a hard time figuring out what this guy is:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/m0P0L.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/m0P0L.png" alt="hahaha"></a></p>

<p>The equivalent Wikisource page for the material I'm working with says that it is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>甚</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Perhaps it is</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/3iMHg.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/3iMHg.gif" alt="yes?"></a></p>

<p>Which <a href="http://zisea.com/zscontent.asp?uni=000302" rel="nofollow noreferrer">zisea</a> says it is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>同【甚】字。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If it is <code>七 + 丶 + 丶</code>, where did this character come from?</p>

<p>(It's a pain to search, the character isn't even encoded into Unicode)</p>

<p>Was it shorthand or did it have another history?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-15T10:46:38.213Z
There are a lot of  characters like that, just a variation, 异体字.
sfy
<meaning><character-identification><glyph-origin>
What's this character that looks like 七 with a ～ in the middle? And what's its history?
# What's this character that looks like 七 with a ～ in the middle? And what's its history?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-15)

Having a hard time figuring out what this guy is:

[![hahaha](https://i.sstatic.net/m0P0L.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/m0P0L.png)

The equivalent Wikisource page for the material I'm working with says that it is:

> 甚

Perhaps it is

[![yes?](https://i.sstatic.net/3iMHg.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/3iMHg.gif)

Which [zisea](http://zisea.com/zscontent.asp?uni=000302) says it is:

> 同【甚】字。

If it is `七 + 丶 + 丶`, where did this character come from?

(It's a pain to search, the character isn't even encoded into Unicode)

Was it shorthand or did it have another history?

**Tags:** meaning, character-identification, glyph-origin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There are a lot of  characters like that, just a variation, 异体字.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-01-15. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The character [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png) is recorded in the following titles:

* 《漢簡文字類編．甘部》
* 《中華字海．一部》

The paleographer 季旭昇 analyses it to be a 草書 variant of「甚」.

See the [entry of 甚 from the Taiwan Ministry of Education's variants dictionary](http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QTAyNjIx).

---

The earliest form of「甚」compounds「匕」(*a ladle or spoon*) with either「甘」or「口」:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/3ZXKe.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/3ZXKe.png)

> Note: the difference between「甘」and「口」in this context doesn't make a big
> difference, as「甘」(*sweet*) was originally「口」with a mark, representing a piece of food in a mouth:
>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/OIcgY.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/OIcgY.png)
>
> The meaning of *sweet/good flavours* is extracted from the idea of tasting the food.

The entire compound form of「甚」meant *contentment, happiness, at peace*, as a result of being satisfied from being fed.

Later on, decorative marks (飾筆)\*\* were added on to the character, in the shape of「八」:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mnQFP.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/mnQFP.png)

Since characters weren't standardised back then, sometimes「口」and「八」were switched around:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/i0ZBN.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/i0ZBN.png)

This last form is the direct ancestor of the modern form of「甚」.

> Note: The Shuowen Jiezi explanation of「甚」comes from the misinterpretation of 「八」and「匕」as merging into「匹」:
>
> **「甚，尤安樂也。从甘，从匹耦也。」**

Of course, the above doesn't explain the cursive form that appears in the question. ***My personal speculation*** is that [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png) is a result of (1) character corruption (訛變) and (2) character simplification (簡化/省略).

**(1) Corruption**

> 「匕」was commonly corrupted into「七」or「」very early on, as in the
> Eastern Han stele 《曹全碑》:
>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/VPOIE.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/VPOIE.png)
>
> What looks like「合**七**首藥神明膏」should be interpreted
> as「合**匕**首藥神明膏」(*miraculous knife-wound-healing medicine*),
> where「匕首」means *dagger*. Many modern forms have retained this
> corruption, such as in the character「化」, which was originally「⿰亻匕」.
> See, for example, the modern Chinese (left) form vs. the modern
> Japanese (right) form of 「化」:
>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/e3MKJ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/e3MKJ.png)[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/hR3Bq.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/hR3Bq.png)

**(2) Simplification**

> 「口」was simply omitted from the final form in rapid 草書 writing.

Of course, take all this with a grain of salt; I haven't found a detailed academic commentary on the character [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/OsDxB.png), and welcome any corrections to this answer by anyone who has.

---

\*\*The addition of *decorative marks* is one of the least-known, at least among general knowledge, of Chinese character components. One of the most common characters which was formed as a result of decorative marks is the character「魚」. Compare, for example, some of the earliest forms of the character:

1. A detailed drawing of a fish in oracle bone script:  
   [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/D9jgf.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/D9jgf.png)
2. Still quite detailed in the middle of the bronze inscription period:  
   [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/hxlE3.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/hxlE3.png)
3. Sometimes, not so detailed and more stylised:  
   [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/y3Njt.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/y3Njt.png)
4. Stylised with addition of decorative marks around the tail:  
   [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/D46vs.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/D46vs.png)

The shape of the bottom looked very similar to and was later merged with the shape of「火」, eventually turning into「灬」and causing the tail to be detached to the rest of the body. This latter form can be considered as the direct ancestor of the modern form of「魚」:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/zjnHT.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/zjnHT.png)

If these marks weren't added, we might see something like this today:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/W5emZ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/W5emZ.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Please don't use links with generic names such as "this" or "here, because if the site goes offline or the link breaks, then it will become useless. Add some context from the link so that even if something goes wrong, other users can have some context.  
> **username_2**: @username_3 I've actually summarised all the information that was relevant to the question. There wasn't much information on the page, but I'll edit the answer to include the organisation's name.  
> **username_3**: Thank you. Mine was general advice, you know how to give proper context since it's your answer, but this way a future visitor might find the answer even if the link breaks. :)  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-01-15. Score: 0

I think it could be the character 正. 行书或草书的[正](https://m.baidu.com/sf/lj?ext=%7B%22url%22%3A%22%2Ffrom%3D1086k%2Fbd_page_type%3D1%2Fssid%3D0%2Fuid%3D0%2Fpu%3Dusm%25402%252Csz%2540320_1001%252Cta%2540iphone_2_7.0_3_537%2Fbaiduid%3D6CC8030E70C4F4D46B07D66AAFB84FEC%2Fw%3D0_10_%2Ft%3Diphone%2Fl%3D3%2Ftc%3Fref%3Dwww_iphone%26lid%3D11384531760824639920%26order%3D1%26fm%3Dalop%26waplogo%3D1%26h5ad%3D1%26srd%3D1%26dict%3D32%26tj%3Dwww_normal_1_0_10_title%26vit%3Dosres%26waput%3D4%26cltj%3Dnormal_title%26asres%3D1%26nt%3Dwnor%26title%3D%25E6%25AD%25A3%25E5%25AD%2597%25E7%259A%2584%25E4%25B9%25A6%25E6%25B3%2595%25E5%2586%2599%25E6%25B3%2595_%25E6%25AD%25A3%25E5%25AD%2597%25E6%2580%258E%25E4%25B9%2588%25E5%2586%2599_%25E6%25AD%25A3%25E5%25AD%2597%25E7%259A%2584%25E5%2590%2584%25E7%25A7%258D%25E5%2586%2599%25E6%25B3%2595...-%25E4%25B9%25A6%25E6%25B3%2595%25E7%2588%25B1%25E7%25BD%2591%26w_qd%3DIlPT2AEptyoA_ykz9QEc-hO5IixTe7QoxjkZfAXV6A3%26tcplug%3D1%26sec%3D26915%26di%3D58709ed8d035ef55%26bdenc%3D1%26tch%3D124.210.243.364.1.0%26nsrc%3DIlPT2AEptyoA_yixCFOxXnANedT62v3IGtiCLTlS1ze895qshbWxBdUfEFXpKXuPIkewdoSYeAoDljrzOjh6hhZ1rqw0snN8nyC-%26eqid%3D9dfdfb51921ae000100000025a5c8d41%26wd%3D%26clk_info%3D%257B%2522srcid%2522%253A1599%252C%2522tplname%2522%253A%2522www_normal%2522%252C%2522t%2522%253A1516014931029%252C%2522xpath%2522%253A%2522div-a-h3%2522%257D%22%2C%22frame_only%22%3A1%2C%22lid%22%3A%2211384531760824639920%22%7D&pd=mms_mip&actname=introduction&ms=1&title=%E6%AD%A3%E5%AD%97%E8%8D%89%E4%B9%A6%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%E5%86%99)就这么写。better you have a context to figure out. Otherwise, it is very hard. It might also be like Japanese.

It could also be 甚 as you said.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/oulNo.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/oulNo.jpg)


---

