<p>Modern Chinese has underwent many pronunciation changes since characters were first invented and phonetic components often reflect words as they were pronounced in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Old Chinese</a> rather than modern Chinese.</p>

<p>The pronunciations of 的 and 勺 were much more similar in Old Chinese. <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%9A%84" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This link</a> explains:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>的 and 勺 had roughly similar pronunciations in Old Chinese; Baxter-Sagart reconstruct 的 as *t-lˤewk, compared with 勺 *m-t-qewk.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Note the that 的 character as originally used means "target" and is pronounced <code>dì</code> in Modern Mandarin. In modern times, it was borrowed to <em>also</em> represent the genitive particle <code>de</code> (this usage ultimately descends from 之; refer to this <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/6007/166">previous question</a> for more information).</p>

<p>A few other modern Chinese languages still preserve the final <code>-k</code> in both of these words. For instance, Cantonese has the pronunciations <code>dik</code> (IPA: /tɪk/) and <code>zoek</code> (IPA: /t͡sœːk/) for 的 and 勺.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-15T23:39:43.270Z
Btw, it's interesting that 的 is often pronounced 'di' in songs, when it would be pronounced as 'de' in normal speech. Is there any explanation for that?
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-16T05:10:01.610Z
@DrunkenMaster Your question is covered here: http://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/1551 In my opinion, the currently second highest voted answer there is the actual correct one.
Claw
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-17T20:41:46.110Z
For comparison, Karlgren’s reconstruction of 勺 and 的 were _*ɗi̭ok_ and _*tiok_, while 藤堂明保 Akiyasu Tōdō reconstructed them as _*dhiɔk_ and _*tɔ̈k_, respectively, for Classical Chinese.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-15T23:34:39.617Z
2014-11-16T19:40:30.093Z
2017-04-13T12:48:06.457Z
Claw
<p>The etymology of 的 is described <a href="http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-etymology.php?zi=%E7%9A%84">here</a>. Is this resource correct is saying that 勺 is this character's phonetic component? I ask because it doesn't seem to hint at the correct pronunciation at all. 勺 is pronounced <strong>sháo</strong> while 的 is pronounced <strong>de</strong>. Thanks!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-15T23:34:41.350Z
My guess is that 勺 must have had a different pronunciation or alternate readings in the past, thinking in centuries or millennia, of course.

Although this dictionary does not provide any of that, but it confirms that 勺 is the phonetic part.
http://lcprichi.hkbu.edu.hk/search/show_word.php?id=1794
imrek
<etymology><phonology>
Is 勺 really the phonetic component of 的?
# Is 勺 really the phonetic component of 的?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-15)

The etymology of 的 is described [here](http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-etymology.php?zi=%E7%9A%84). Is this resource correct is saying that 勺 is this character's phonetic component? I ask because it doesn't seem to hint at the correct pronunciation at all. 勺 is pronounced **sháo** while 的 is pronounced **de**. Thanks!

**Tags:** etymology, phonology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: My guess is that 勺 must have had a different pronunciation or alternate readings in the past, thinking in centuries or millennia, of course.  Although this dictionary does not provide any of that, but it confirms that 勺 is the phonetic part. http://lcprichi.hkbu.edu.hk/search/show_word.php?id=1794  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-11-15. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

Modern Chinese has underwent many pronunciation changes since characters were first invented and phonetic components often reflect words as they were pronounced in [Old Chinese](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Chinese) rather than modern Chinese.

The pronunciations of 的 and 勺 were much more similar in Old Chinese. [This link](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%9A%84) explains:

> 的 and 勺 had roughly similar pronunciations in Old Chinese; Baxter-Sagart reconstruct 的 as \*t-lˤewk, compared with 勺 \*m-t-qewk.

Note the that 的 character as originally used means "target" and is pronounced `dì` in Modern Mandarin. In modern times, it was borrowed to *also* represent the genitive particle `de` (this usage ultimately descends from 之; refer to this [previous question](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/6007/166) for more information).

A few other modern Chinese languages still preserve the final `-k` in both of these words. For instance, Cantonese has the pronunciations `dik` (IPA: /tɪk/) and `zoek` (IPA: /t͡sœːk/) for 的 and 勺.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Btw, it's interesting that 的 is often pronounced 'di' in songs, when it would be pronounced as 'de' in normal speech. Is there any explanation for that?  
> **username_2**: @DrunkenMaster Your question is covered here: http://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/1551 In my opinion, the currently second highest voted answer there is the actual correct one.  
> **username_3**: For comparison, Karlgren’s reconstruction of 勺 and 的 were _*ɗi̭ok_ and _*tiok_, while 藤堂明保 Akiyasu Tōdō reconstructed them as _*dhiɔk_ and _*tɔ̈k_, respectively, for Classical Chinese.  

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