俗体字

俗體字

sútǐzì

noun

Meanings

1 popular variant of a Chinese character
2 nonstandard / vernacular character form

Characters

popular / vernacular

Examples

古代的俗体字常出现在民间抄本里。

Gǔdài de sútǐzì cháng chūxiàn zài mínjiān chāoběn lǐ.

Vernacular character variants often appear in folk manuscripts of past eras.

很多今天的简化字其实来自俗体字。

Hěn duō jīntiān de jiǎnhuàzì qíshí láizì sútǐzì.

Many of today's simplified characters actually originate from vernacular variants.

Tips

history

俗体字 are non-orthodox character forms that circulated in folk writing — woodblock prints, account books, opera scripts — alongside the official 正体字 (zhèngtǐzì, standard forms). The 1956 simplification scheme codified many of them: e.g. 体 itself was a 俗体字 for 體, 国 for 國, 灵 for 靈.

Stroke Order

俗 sú

体 tǐ

字 zì