<h2>Updates,</h2>
<p>I've found a open access website of <a href="http://www.swrtm.com/dictionary/1626.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">tracing back original glyph of 满</a>. It includes glyph examples from 金文 and 篆文. The new finding almost takes over my mind, which is in contrast to my original answer.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>㒼 is a hierioglyph that shares the same origin with 芇，繭 and 爾, varied in stroke complexity and side emphasis of meaning.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The website says <em>the glyph 㒼<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/nudk43CP.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/nudk43CP.jpg" alt="金文" /></a>in 金文 should be, although not clearly being observed, derives from 爾<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/lGwPkhf9.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/lGwPkhf9.jpg" alt="甲骨文" /></a> in 甲骨文</em>. Its meaning should also be originated from 爾, which is <strong>silkworm spinning cocoon</strong>. 㒼's meaning in 金文 remains, as well as extending to <strong>covering up totally</strong> (see 滿/瞞/蟎/顢), then extending to <strong>average/equivalent</strong> afterwards, then becoming a phonetic component only till now.</p>
<p>As for the annotation as the decomposition by 廿 and 㒳, just drawing a <strong>forced analogy</strong> by the offspring, who may as confused as me.</p>
<p>Correct me if the answer misleading!</p>
<h2>Original answer</h2>
<p>One of variants of 㒼<a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=79183" rel="nofollow noreferrer">A</a> is 䓣<a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=100344" rel="nofollow noreferrer">B</a>. They are very alike in writing, the only difference is the length of 一 below 艹/艸, where A (your posts) is shorter than B. A is recorded in 《廣韻》 while B in 《集韻．上聲．養韻》. Since they are recorded from different books I'm not sure which one of A, B is the <em>origin</em>, regardless of other variants like <a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=79184#24" rel="nofollow noreferrer">C</a>, D, E. But 《字鑑》 says some variants are 俗/common social habit, some are wrong written (see the bottom).</p>
<p>So I give up finding the original glyph. The only thing I can do is to focus on the explanation of <a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=79183" rel="nofollow noreferrer">A</a> in 《廣韻》, 㒼 is composed of 廿 and 㒳,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>平也。从廿，五行之數，二十分爲一辰；㒳，㒼平也。讀若蠻，母官切。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>which I can't translate precisely. I'm actually confused by the expression of <strong>㒳，㒼平也。</strong>, it seems that 㒳 describe the status where 㒼 is reached, but isn't it a circular argument?</p>
<p>I also think this question highly related to the <a href="https://www.zhihu.com/question/464492647" rel="nofollow noreferrer">one</a> on Zhihu, where @momo's answer , which includes examples of 金文, is good enough to me, but might be inaccessible. Because you must register on the website before watching the full answer :-(.</p>
<p>Considering the fact that lots of variants of 滿 exist in history (see the bottom), and 㒼 roles as a phonetic component, I'm not fully confident about my answer, just summarizing my searching result.</p>
<hr />
<p>According from <a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=24775&amp;la=0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">滿 - 教育部《異體字字典》</a>,</p>
<p>there are ↓many variants of the character 滿. My observation is that the <strong>glyph</strong> in Traditional Chinese varies from A(氵廿㒳) while in Simplified Chinese from B(氵艹两).
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Da2OhpX4.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Da2OhpX4.png" alt="Variants of the character 满/滿" /></a></p>
<p>and ↓ the character 㒼 roles as a <strong>phonetic</strong> component.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/vEM81do7.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/vEM81do7.png" alt="㒼 roles as a phonetic component" /></a></p>
<p>↓ 㒼's <strong>annotation</strong> in 《字鑑》,</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/7ApPRJBe.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/7ApPRJBe.png" alt="㒼 in 《字鑑》" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T03:44:55.967Z
Is there any way to fold part of my post, like folding the picture? It looks too long now.
zrsammy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T03:50:53.920Z
May be you can use https://www.imgur.com/
Tom
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T04:13:47.793Z
『說文解字注』(㒼)平也。廣韵曰：無穿孔狀。按周禮鼈人：掌取互物。注云：互物謂有甲䓣胡，龜鼈之屬。从廿。二十倂也。五行之數，二十分爲一辰。此說从廿之意。五行，每行得卄分，分之適平。其法未聞。从㒳。从字今補。㒳、各本作㒼。誤，今正。平也。此說从㒳之意。讀若蠻。母官切。十四部。(hope this helps). https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E3%92%BC
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T04:47:08.420Z
@zrsammy I changed your last picture size. You can use this one https://imgse.com/i/pAs7xbV
Tom
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T06:01:00.273Z
@Tom many thanks, but I think image hosting is not a good choice for stability. I have to decline your edit.
zrsammy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T09:00:40.470Z
@zrsammy OK, I see. It doesn't matter.
Tom
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T03:44:19.103Z
2024-11-06T06:52:21.067Z
2024-11-06T06:52:21.067Z
zrsammy
<p>We are not sure of the origin of this character.  Its original meaning seems to be something like &quot;balanced, even.&quot;  Its use in 滿 is probably both phonetic and also an extension of meaning where the level of the water becomes even with the rim of its container, leading to the meanings &quot;filled; satisfied; complacent.&quot;</p>
<p>If 㒼 shares an origin with 兩, then it might represent two balanced cows or horses pulling evenly.  The character 兩 may have an origin as two 丙 (indicating a horse or chariot) written together. The top part of 㒼 might be the bridle or some sort of crosspiece that gives the pulling idea.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-22T19:47:02.730Z
2024-11-22T19:47:02.730Z
Vegawatcher
<p>I cannot seem to find any satisfactory explanations for this character, which doesn't seem to be used alone anymore, more as a phonetic component. Not sure if it's related to grass or 廿, or is it some sort of animal skin (has resemblance to 革). Is there any link to 滿 (full/covered with water)?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-05T05:52:04.110Z
Earliest appearances seem to be mid-Western Zhou. If this character was first created in this period, I would decompose it as ⿱口㒳 in regular script; 口 based on samples of 黃 and 堇 around the same time, and definitely not 廿. A quick search only yields [㒼簋](https://www.guoxuedashi.net/yzjwjc/?bh=4195&jgwfl=), where it is used as a person's name (黃賓㒼章一。馬兩。 -> 黃 gifted a jade ornament and 2 horses to 㒼), so not much help.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-05T07:16:21.083Z
我看不懂繁体字。写简体中文的话我能理解。
Tom
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T04:07:53.160Z
@dROOOze 『說文解字』㒼 - 平也。从廿，五行之數，二十分爲一辰。㒳，㒼平也。讀若蠻。母官切 文三. https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E3%92%BC (hope this helps).
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T04:31:07.293Z
@r13 「㒼」字最早出現在西周的金文資料中，相關資料應包含「㒼」字的語音和意義，並保留該字的用法痕跡。應查找的是記載有「㒼」字的西周、春秋、戰國時期的出土文獻，而非秦漢時期的《說文解字》。
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-06T04:42:17.730Z
。。。。。。隋唐《集韻》、宋朝《廣韻》、傳世的俗字、大陸的簡化字等更不用提了、這些都跟西周時代字的字源無關。
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-07T01:23:46.133Z
Looked this character up and unfortunately, the origin of this glyph is unknown for now :(
prismcool
<glyph-origin>
Glyph origin of 㒼
# Glyph origin of 㒼

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-11-05)

I cannot seem to find any satisfactory explanations for this character, which doesn't seem to be used alone anymore, more as a phonetic component. Not sure if it's related to grass or 廿, or is it some sort of animal skin (has resemblance to 革). Is there any link to 滿 (full/covered with water)?

**Tags:** glyph-origin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Earliest appearances seem to be mid-Western Zhou. If this character was first created in this period, I would decompose it as ⿱口㒳 in regular script; 口 based on samples of 黃 and 堇 around the same time, and definitely not 廿. A quick search only yields [㒼簋](https://www.guoxuedashi.net/yzjwjc/?bh=4195&jgwfl=), where it is used as a person's name (黃賓㒼章一。馬兩。 -> 黃 gifted a jade ornament and 2 horses to 㒼), so not much help.  
> **username_2**: 我看不懂繁体字。写简体中文的话我能理解。  
> **username_3**: @username_1 『說文解字』㒼 - 平也。从廿，五行之數，二十分爲一辰。㒳，㒼平也。讀若蠻。母官切 文三. https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E3%92%BC (hope this helps).  
> **username_1**: @username_3 「㒼」字最早出現在西周的金文資料中，相關資料應包含「㒼」字的語音和意義，並保留該字的用法痕跡。應查找的是記載有「㒼」字的西周、春秋、戰國時期的出土文獻，而非秦漢時期的《說文解字》。  
> **username_1**: 。。。。。。隋唐《集韻》、宋朝《廣韻》、傳世的俗字、大陸的簡化字等更不用提了、這些都跟西周時代字的字源無關。  
> **username_4**: Looked this character up and unfortunately, the origin of this glyph is unknown for now :(  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2024-11-06. Score: 1

## Updates,

I've found a open access website of [tracing back original glyph of 满](http://www.swrtm.com/dictionary/1626.html). It includes glyph examples from 金文 and 篆文. The new finding almost takes over my mind, which is in contrast to my original answer.

> 㒼 is a hierioglyph that shares the same origin with 芇，繭 and 爾, varied in stroke complexity and side emphasis of meaning.

The website says *the glyph 㒼[![金文](https://i.sstatic.net/nudk43CP.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/nudk43CP.jpg)in 金文 should be, although not clearly being observed, derives from 爾[![甲骨文](https://i.sstatic.net/lGwPkhf9.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/lGwPkhf9.jpg) in 甲骨文*. Its meaning should also be originated from 爾, which is **silkworm spinning cocoon**. 㒼's meaning in 金文 remains, as well as extending to **covering up totally** (see 滿/瞞/蟎/顢), then extending to **average/equivalent** afterwards, then becoming a phonetic component only till now.

As for the annotation as the decomposition by 廿 and 㒳, just drawing a **forced analogy** by the offspring, who may as confused as me.

Correct me if the answer misleading!

## Original answer

One of variants of 㒼[A](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=79183) is 䓣[B](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=100344). They are very alike in writing, the only difference is the length of 一 below 艹/艸, where A (your posts) is shorter than B. A is recorded in 《廣韻》 while B in 《集韻．上聲．養韻》. Since they are recorded from different books I'm not sure which one of A, B is the *origin*, regardless of other variants like [C](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=79184#24), D, E. But 《字鑑》 says some variants are 俗/common social habit, some are wrong written (see the bottom).

So I give up finding the original glyph. The only thing I can do is to focus on the explanation of [A](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=79183) in 《廣韻》, 㒼 is composed of 廿 and 㒳,

> 平也。从廿，五行之數，二十分爲一辰；㒳，㒼平也。讀若蠻，母官切。

which I can't translate precisely. I'm actually confused by the expression of **㒳，㒼平也。**, it seems that 㒳 describe the status where 㒼 is reached, but isn't it a circular argument?

I also think this question highly related to the [one](https://www.zhihu.com/question/464492647) on Zhihu, where @momo's answer , which includes examples of 金文, is good enough to me, but might be inaccessible. Because you must register on the website before watching the full answer :-(.

Considering the fact that lots of variants of 滿 exist in history (see the bottom), and 㒼 roles as a phonetic component, I'm not fully confident about my answer, just summarizing my searching result.

---

According from [滿 - 教育部《異體字字典》](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=24775&la=0),

there are ↓many variants of the character 滿. My observation is that the **glyph** in Traditional Chinese varies from A(氵廿㒳) while in Simplified Chinese from B(氵艹两).
[![Variants of the character 满/滿](https://i.sstatic.net/Da2OhpX4.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/Da2OhpX4.png)

and ↓ the character 㒼 roles as a **phonetic** component.
[![㒼 roles as a phonetic component](https://i.sstatic.net/vEM81do7.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/vEM81do7.png)

↓ 㒼's **annotation** in 《字鑑》,

[![㒼 in 《字鑑》](https://i.sstatic.net/7ApPRJBe.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/7ApPRJBe.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Is there any way to fold part of my post, like folding the picture? It looks too long now.  
> **username_2**: May be you can use https://www.imgur.com/  
> **username_3**: 『說文解字注』(㒼)平也。廣韵曰：無穿孔狀。按周禮鼈人：掌取互物。注云：互物謂有甲䓣胡，龜鼈之屬。从廿。二十倂也。五行之數，二十分爲一辰。此說从廿之意。五行，每行得卄分，分之適平。其法未聞。从㒳。从字今補。㒳、各本作㒼。誤，今正。平也。此說从㒳之意。讀若蠻。母官切。十四部。(hope this helps). https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E3%92%BC  
> **username_2**: @username_5 I changed your last picture size. You can use this one https://imgse.com/i/pAs7xbV  
> **username_5**: @username_2 many thanks, but I think image hosting is not a good choice for stability. I have to decline your edit.  
> **username_2**: @username_5 OK, I see. It doesn't matter.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-11-22. Score: 0

We are not sure of the origin of this character. Its original meaning seems to be something like "balanced, even." Its use in 滿 is probably both phonetic and also an extension of meaning where the level of the water becomes even with the rim of its container, leading to the meanings "filled; satisfied; complacent."

If 㒼 shares an origin with 兩, then it might represent two balanced cows or horses pulling evenly. The character 兩 may have an origin as two 丙 (indicating a horse or chariot) written together. The top part of 㒼 might be the bridle or some sort of crosspiece that gives the pulling idea.


---

