Zi:西
西 [xī] west (西面 ‘west side’; 西方 ‘Occident’; 大西洋 ‘Atlantic’; 西班牙 ‘Spain’); 东西 dōngxi thing; (HDZ:) 棲: 鸟类歇宿; …; (姓) [qī] cf. 棲/栖
One monosyllabic entry in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):
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The character 西 xī ‘west’ is an old character, formerly 西 qī ‘nest’, today wr. 棲 qī ‘nest’ among full-form characters, and 栖 qī ‘nest’ (among simple-form characters).
Note: Today mainly 西 xī ‘west’, birds go to nest/roost as the sun (firebird in the sky) roosts/sets in the west; the old meaning of 西 is today wr. 栖/棲 qī ‘(of birds) perch/roost/nest’, cf. 栖.
The Shuōwén Seal form of 西(㢴𧟢) qī/xī ‘nest/west’ is said to depict a 乃(𠄎𠄕) nǎi ‘roosting/brooding bird’ (or nestlings) sitting on/in its 囪 ‘nest’ (of eggs/hatchlings; cf. 䙴); formerly also wr. 卥, 卤, and later 棲, today wr. 栖 qī ‘nest’ (among simple-form characters).
Compare: 拪(𢰕𨙞遷𦦒䙲) qiān ‘climb (to get a nest/egg)’ (cf. 䙴); 囟(𦥓) xìn ‘fontanelle’ (cf. 思); cf. 讯/訊(𧨼).
“[西] Image of a bird sitting on its nest ... the West, for the birds go to roost when the sun is setting” —Wieger.
Compare: 巢(𤔥) cháo ‘nest’ (SW: bird in a tree), in which 𦥑 or 臼 represent the nest (cf. 𤔥, 孚), and 巛 ‘nestlings/hatchlings’ (𠄕); 昔(㫺) xī ‘past’.
Note: The top of the Seal 㢴 is like 乃(𢎜𠄎𠄕) nǎi ‘nestlings/hatchlings’, or 𡆳 yún ‘clouds’ (in the west); the bottom is like 囪(𡆧) cōng ‘vent/chimney’ (setting sun as dying ember), or 囪 ‘nest’, cf. 䙴(𠨧) qiān ‘climb high’ (after a bird's nest/egg); cf. 东/東 dōng ‘east’, in which also 木 ‘tree’ (as in 棲), but with 日 rì ‘sun’.
Compare: 煙(𤏯) yān ‘smoke’, 烟 yān ‘smoke’; 垔(𡍯) yīn ‘block up’ (with smoke/soot); 禋(𥛿𥛡) yīn ‘(anc.) fire sacrifice’.
Compare: 襾 yà, 西(㢴) xī, 𠧪, wr. as 覀 when used as a component (in other cases 覀 stands for something else entirely).
Compare: 賈, 垔(𡍯), 栗(㮚), 票(𤐫), 要(𦥺).
Note: For usage in the compound 东西 dōngxi ‘things’, see 东(東) dōng ‘east’.
HDZ: 西 : xī : 棲: 鸟类歇宿; (方向名) 太阳落下的一方 (ant. 东); 向西, 往西; (古) 西边的𨙽/邻国; 西洋, 西洋的 (西服, 泰西); (佛教) 西天; (国名) 西班牙; (古县名); (姓)
►references: Guǎngyùn:090.12; Wieger:41c,41d; Henshall:152; Karlgren:AD776,GSR594a; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:4.2805.2; Mathews:2460; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:1128.10; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:024.1.10; Wáng(1993):59; EDOC:1
►components: 一儿囗
►Cantonese: sai\
<cdl char='西' uni='897F' points='0,8 128,120' radical='Q'>
<stroke type='h' points='0,0 128,0' />
<comp char='冂' uni='5182' variant='5' points='12,40 116,128' />
<stroke type='sp' points='47,0 47,38 13,94' head='cut' />
<stroke type='sw' points='76,0 76,57 94,84 111,84' head='cut' />
<stroke type='h' points='12,128 116,128' head='cut' tail='cut' />
</cdl>
<cdl char='冂' uni='5182' variant='5' points='4,4 124,128'>
<stroke type='s' points='0,0 0,128' tail='long' />
<stroke type='hz' points='0,0 128,0 128,128' head='cut' tail='long' />
<!-- variant based on [U+EF7E](V=0) -->
</cdl>
►stroke 西 (... strokes)
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Unicode: U+897F
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