Abstract: Etymological character is mainly about revealing the origin of dialect words now and seeking the corresponding one in the written language. It is the most important part of Chinese dialects study and tests researchers linguistic comprehensive ability. As for the methods of studying etymological character, there are many explanations of it by many scholars in every dynasty. Using the methods of studying Chinese dialect etymological character from the inner linguistic system and outer research patterns,objective evaluations are drawn. The inner linguistic system includes findingtrack method,findingsound method and findingword method while the outer research papers include three prospectivedocumentary evidence, kin dialect words and relatives of cognates between languages.

Key words: Chinese dialect, etymological character, study method

摘要： 考本字主要是指为现在的方言口语词追踪溯源，寻找其在书面语中的对应。考本字是汉语方言研究的重要组成部分，极为考验研究者的语言学综合能力。从内部语音系统及外部书面材料着手，梳理汉语方言语词考本字研究方法，并给予客观评价。内部语音系统包括觅轨法、觅音法、觅字法；外部书面材料则包括书证材料、近亲方言词语、亲属语言间的同源词等三个方面。

关键词: 汉语方言, 考本字, 研究方法