| 夏商周 |
Xià Shāng zhōu |
Xia, Shang and Zhou, the earliest named Chinese dynasties |
| 夏 |
Xià |
the Xia or Hsia dynasty c. 2000 BC / Xia of the Sixteen Kingdoms (407–432) / surname Xia |
| 夏 |
xià |
summer |
| 商 |
Shāng |
Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC) / surname Shang |
| 商 |
shāng |
commerce / merchant / dealer / to consult / 2nd note in pentatonic scale / quotient (as in 智商, intelligence quotient) |
| 周 |
Zhōu |
surname Zhou / Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) |
| 周 |
zhōu |
to make a circuit / to circle / circle / circumference / lap / cycle / complete / all / all over / thorough / to help financially |
| 周 |
zhōu |
week / weekly / variant of 周 |