<p>「頻」 was created from omitting 「氵・水」 from 「瀕・」. While 「瀕」 remained as a character used for its original meaning, the newly created 「頻」 was used as a phonetic loan meaning <em>frequent</em>.</p>
<hr />
<div class="s-table-container">
<table class="s-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center;">時期<br>字體</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">字形</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">參考資料</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西周</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_inscriptions" rel="nofollow noreferrer">金</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/flYhy.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/flYhy.png" alt="瀕" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">㝬簋<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=4317&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">集成4317</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period" rel="nofollow noreferrer">戰國</a>・<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Chu" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楚</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">簡</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wJ2lO.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wJ2lO.png" alt="" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">壹・皇門5<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsinghua_Bamboo_Slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">清華戰簡</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">篆</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OkiIi.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OkiIi.png" alt="" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;file=77391&amp;page=124" rel="nofollow noreferrer">頻部</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">說文解字</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秦</a><br>陶文</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png" alt="" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">263<br>古陶文字徵</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">秦<br>陶文</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/749f6.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/749f6.png" alt="頻" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">263<br>古陶文字徵</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Western_Han" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西漢</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">璽印</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DSAn2.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DSAn2.png" alt="頻" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">漢印文字徵</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Eastern_Han" rel="nofollow noreferrer">東漢</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">隸</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/3dCUo.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/3dCUo.png" alt="頻" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">陰面<br><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%8F%AF%E5%B1%B1%E5%BB%9F%E7%A2%91" rel="nofollow noreferrer">華嶽廟殘碑</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楷</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Yk4BE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Yk4BE.png" alt="頻" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/flYhy.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/flYhy.png" alt="瀕" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4tfph.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4tfph.png" alt="瀕" /></a><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>「頻」 was originally 「瀕」 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_(geography)" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>riverbank</em></a>), comprised of semantic <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=32636" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「涉」 (<em>picture of feet/footprints next to a body of water</em></a> &gt; <em>to wade across water</em>) and semantic <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=1498" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「頁」 (<em>picture of a person with an exaggerated head/eye</em>)</a>.</p>
<p><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wJ2lO.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wJ2lO.png" alt="" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OkiIi.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OkiIi.png" alt="" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GtPpF.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GtPpF.png" alt="" /></a><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>The 「水」 part of 「涉」 was often written in the middle of 「步」, leading to the side-by-side structure 「⿰頁」 instead.</p>
<p><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png" alt="" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BtUdh.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/749f6.png" alt="頻" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DSAn2.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DSAn2.png" alt="頻" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/3dCUo.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/3dCUo.png" alt="頻" /></a><br>　</kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Yk4BE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Yk4BE.png" alt="頻" /></a><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>The side-by-side structure was prone to corruption. More specifically, 「水」 tended to be squeezed out and omitted, forming 「頻」.</p>
<hr />
<p>From this, we can see that 「頻」 is just a shape variant of 「瀕」, and originally shared the same definition as 「瀕」. From the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_of_Poetry#Contents_list" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Classic of Poetry: Major Court Hymns: Decade of Dàng</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<h3>《詩經・大雅・召旻》</h3>
<p>池之竭矣、不云自<strong>頻</strong>。<br>
泉之竭矣、不云自中。<br>
溥斯害矣、職兄斯弘、不烖我躬。</p>
<p><em>A pool becomes dry; is it not because no water comes to it from its <strong>banks</strong>?</em><p>
<em>A spring becomes dry; is it not because no water rises in it from itself?</em><p>
<em>Great is the injury [all about]. So that my anxious sorrow is increased. Will not calamity light on my person?</em></p>
<p><sub>Translation by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Legge" rel="nofollow noreferrer">James Legge</a>. See <a href="https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/decade-of-dang" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/decade-of-dang</a>.</sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Later on, while 「瀕」 remained in use as a character representing the word meaning <em>riverbank</em>, the differentiated character 「頻」 started becoming solely used as a phonetic loan character meaning <em>frequent</em>.</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">漢語多功能字庫</a></li>
<li>季旭昇《說文新證》</li>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian" rel="nofollow noreferrer">小學堂字形演變</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">國學大師</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">郭沫若《甲骨文合集》</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://ctext.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">中國哲學書電子化計劃</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;res=77351" rel="nofollow noreferrer">宋・徐鉉等奉敕校定　漢・許慎《說文解字》</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-01T12:51:02.663Z
It's interesting how in [this instance](https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png), the left and right components got swapped places.
Sweeper
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-01T11:48:57.797Z
2021-04-01T11:48:57.797Z
dROOOze
<p>频 is simplefield Chinese. 頻 is traditional Chinese.</p>
<p>步 means step and 页 means head in ancient Chinese.
频 is explained as &quot;Nod your head for each step.&quot; literally. It extended meaning to &quot;frequent&quot; or &quot;repeat&quot;. Imagining that you are frequenting/repeating noding your head for each step.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-01T08:48:17.290Z
2021-04-01T08:55:25.587Z
2021-04-01T08:55:25.587Z
LiBook
<p>What's the story behind this character 频? Neither of its components contribute phonetically to it, yet I can't seem to relate any of its components 步 steps and head/face 页 to its meaning of frequent/repeated.</p>

<glyph-origin><character-components>
Glyph origin of the character for frequency 频/頻 = steps + head?
# Glyph origin of the character for frequency 频/頻 = steps + head?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-01)

What's the story behind this character 频? Neither of its components contribute phonetically to it, yet I can't seem to relate any of its components 步 steps and head/face 页 to its meaning of frequent/repeated.

**Tags:** glyph-origin, character-components


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-01. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

「頻」 was created from omitting 「氵・水」 from 「瀕・」. While 「瀕」 remained as a character used for its original meaning, the newly created 「頻」 was used as a phonetic loan meaning *frequent*.

---

| 時期 字體 | 字形 | 參考資料 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [西周](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou) [金](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_inscriptions) | [瀕](https://i.sstatic.net/flYhy.png) | 㝬簋 [集成4317](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=4317&jgwfl=) |
| [戰國](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period)・[楚](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Chu) [簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips) |  | 壹・皇門5 [清華戰簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsinghua_Bamboo_Slips) |
| [篆](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script) |  | [頻部](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77391&page=124) [說文解字](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi) |
| [秦](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty) 陶文 |  | 263 古陶文字徵 |
| 秦 陶文 | [頻](https://i.sstatic.net/749f6.png) | 263 古陶文字徵 |
| [西漢](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Western_Han) [璽印](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)) | [頻](https://i.sstatic.net/DSAn2.png) | 漢印文字徵 |
| [東漢](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Eastern_Han) [隸](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_script) | [頻](https://i.sstatic.net/3dCUo.png) | 陰面 [華嶽廟殘碑](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%8F%AF%E5%B1%B1%E5%BB%9F%E7%A2%91) |
| [楷](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script) | [頻](https://i.sstatic.net/Yk4BE.png) |  |

`![瀕](https://i.sstatic.net/flYhy.png)` `![瀕](https://i.sstatic.net/4tfph.png)`

「頻」 was originally 「瀕」 ([*riverbank*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_(geography))), comprised of semantic [「涉」 (*picture of feet/footprints next to a body of water*](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=32636) > *to wade across water*) and semantic [「頁」 (*picture of a person with an exaggerated head/eye*)](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=1498).

`![](https://i.sstatic.net/wJ2lO.png)` `![](https://i.sstatic.net/OkiIi.png)` `![](https://i.sstatic.net/GtPpF.png)`

The 「水」 part of 「涉」 was often written in the middle of 「步」, leading to the side-by-side structure 「⿰頁」 instead.

`![](https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png)` `![頻](https://i.sstatic.net/749f6.png)` `![頻](https://i.sstatic.net/DSAn2.png)` `![頻](https://i.sstatic.net/3dCUo.png)` `![頻](https://i.sstatic.net/Yk4BE.png)`

The side-by-side structure was prone to corruption. More specifically, 「水」 tended to be squeezed out and omitted, forming 「頻」.

---

From this, we can see that 「頻」 is just a shape variant of 「瀕」, and originally shared the same definition as 「瀕」. From the [*Classic of Poetry: Major Court Hymns: Decade of Dàng*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_of_Poetry#Contents_list):

> ### 《詩經・大雅・召旻》
>
> 池之竭矣、不云自**頻**。  
> 泉之竭矣、不云自中。  
> 溥斯害矣、職兄斯弘、不烖我躬。
>
> *A pool becomes dry; is it not because no water comes to it from its **banks**?*
>
> *A spring becomes dry; is it not because no water rises in it from itself?*
>
> *Great is the injury [all about]. So that my anxious sorrow is increased. Will not calamity light on my person?*
>
> Translation by [James Legge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Legge). See <https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/decade-of-dang>.

Later on, while 「瀕」 remained in use as a character representing the word meaning *riverbank*, the differentiated character 「頻」 started becoming solely used as a phonetic loan character meaning *frequent*.

---

**References:**

* [漢語多功能字庫](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/)
* 季旭昇《說文新證》
* [小學堂字形演變](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian)
* [國學大師](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/)
  + [郭沫若《甲骨文合集》](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/)
  + [中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/)
* [中國哲學書電子化計劃](https://ctext.org/)
  + [宋・徐鉉等奉敕校定　漢・許慎《說文解字》](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&res=77351)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: It's interesting how in [this instance](https://i.sstatic.net/FBj9n.png), the left and right components got swapped places.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-04-01. Score: 0

频 is simplefield Chinese. 頻 is traditional Chinese.

步 means step and 页 means head in ancient Chinese.
频 is explained as "Nod your head for each step." literally. It extended meaning to "frequent" or "repeat". Imagining that you are frequenting/repeating noding your head for each step.


---

