<p><strong>円</strong> and <strong>月</strong> are both graphical corruptions. The original form of the character did not have those components.</p>

<p><strong>靑</strong>/<strong>青</strong> was originally comprised of <strong>屮</strong> (<em>sprouting plant</em>) and <strong>井</strong>, which gave the sound. The bronze script form looked like</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Cs1TX.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Cs1TX.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>In ancient scripts, 井 as a component was frequently interchanged with <strong>丹</strong>. The graphical form of 丹 originated as 井 plus a small horizontal stroke in the middle. See, for example, the oracle bone forms</p>

<p>井:</p>

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

<p>丹:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/K76w1.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/K76w1.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>In 靑/青, this happened as well:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/lY1eE.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/lY1eE.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>On the bottom part, the form which came from 井 morphed to 月, while the form which came from 丹 morphed to 円.</p>

<p>Note that the top has actually been written with several similar components; you may find 青 variously written with 屮/生/木 on the top in ancient times. For clarification, the bronze script forms shown here actually contains <strong>生</strong>, but 生 ultimately comes from 屮 with the addition of two horizontal strokes.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-27T07:01:21.817Z
2017-12-27T07:35:09.207Z
2017-12-27T07:35:09.207Z
dROOOze
<p>What’s the difference between 円 and 月 as character components?</p>

<p>If we look at 青 and 靑.</p>

<p>The bottom of 青 is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>月</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and if we look at 靑, it's bottom is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>円</p>
</blockquote>

<p>靑 is said to be an 异体字 of 青 and <a href="http://zisea.com/zscontent.asp?uni=9751" rel="nofollow noreferrer">zisea</a> says that </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>拼音qing1【青】的旧字型</p>
</blockquote>

<p>just old form.</p>

<p>What’s the difference between 円 and 月 as character components?</p>

<character-components>
What’s the difference between 円 and 月 as character components?
# What’s the difference between 円 and 月 as character components?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-27)

What’s the difference between 円 and 月 as character components?

If we look at 青 and 靑.

The bottom of 青 is:

> 月

and if we look at 靑, it's bottom is:

> 円

靑 is said to be an 异体字 of 青 and [zisea](http://zisea.com/zscontent.asp?uni=9751) says that

> 拼音qing1【青】的旧字型

just old form.

What’s the difference between 円 and 月 as character components?

**Tags:** character-components


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-12-27. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

**円** and **月** are both graphical corruptions. The original form of the character did not have those components.

**靑**/**青** was originally comprised of **屮** (*sprouting plant*) and **井**, which gave the sound. The bronze script form looked like

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Cs1TX.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/Cs1TX.png)

In ancient scripts, 井 as a component was frequently interchanged with **丹**. The graphical form of 丹 originated as 井 plus a small horizontal stroke in the middle. See, for example, the oracle bone forms

井:

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

丹:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/K76w1.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/K76w1.png)

In 靑/青, this happened as well:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/lY1eE.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/lY1eE.png)

On the bottom part, the form which came from 井 morphed to 月, while the form which came from 丹 morphed to 円.

Note that the top has actually been written with several similar components; you may find 青 variously written with 屮/生/木 on the top in ancient times. For clarification, the bronze script forms shown here actually contains **生**, but 生 ultimately comes from 屮 with the addition of two horizontal strokes.


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