單于

See also: 单于

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (單于)		單	于
simp. (单于)		单	于

Etymology

Earliest extant attestations of this title (reconstructed as *darƣʷa) are in Chinese language inscriptions found in ruins of Xiongnu's capital 龍城／龙城 (Lóngchéng), in modern Mongolia.

Cognate with Mongolian ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (darug-a) / дарга (darga, “chief; head; governor”), Persian داروغه (dâruğe, “governor”), Old Turkic 𐱃𐰺𐰴𐰣 (tarqan, “commander”).

Related to 答剌罕 (“tarkhan”), 達魯噶／达鲁噶 (“darugha”), 達魯花赤／达鲁花赤 (“darughachi”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chányú

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄢˊ ㄩˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sim⁴ jyu⁴, sin⁴ jyu⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): siân-û / siân-u / siân-î

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chányú
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄢˊ ㄩˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chányú
    • Wade–Giles: chʻan²-yü²
    • Yale: chán-yú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: charnyu
    • Palladius: чаньюй (čanʹjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰän³⁵ y³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sim⁴ jyu⁴, sin⁴ jyu⁴
    • Yale: sìhm yùh, sìhn yùh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sim⁴ jy⁴, sin⁴ jy⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: xim⁴ yu⁴, xin⁴ yu⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːm²¹ jyː²¹/, /siːn²¹ jyː²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siân-û
    • Tâi-lô: siân-û
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sien'uu
    • IPA (Xiamen): /siɛn²⁴⁻²² u²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siân-u
    • Tâi-lô: siân-u
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sien'w
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siɛn²⁴⁻²² u³³/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siân-î
    • Tâi-lô: siân-î
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sien'ii
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /siɛn¹³⁻²² i¹³/

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• Middle Chinese: dzyen hju

Rime
Character	單	于
Reading #	2/4	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)	云 (35)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)	虞 (24)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	市連切	羽俱切
Baxter	dzyen	hju
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑiᴇn/	/ɦɨo/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑiɛn/	/ɦio/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑjæn/	/ɣio/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑian/	/ɦuə̆/
Li Rong	/ʑiɛn/	/ɣio/
Wang Li	/ʑĭɛn/	/ɣĭu/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʑi̯ɛn/	/i̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chán	yú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sin4	jyu4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*dar  ɦʷa/

  (Zhengzhang): /*djan  ɢʷa/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	單	于
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chán	yú
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyen ›	‹ hju ›
Old Chinese	/*dar/ (< *[d]ar)	/*ɦʷa/ (< *ɢʷ(r)a)
English	單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn)	單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	單	于
Reading #	2/4	1/1
No.	2027	15706
Phonetic component	單	于
Rime group	元	魚
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	鋋	于
Old Chinese	/*djan/	/*ɢʷa/
Notes		王筠雲籲初文

Noun

單于

1. Chanyu (chief of the Xiongnu)

   • 於是匈奴貴人大臣皆服，以冒頓單于為賢。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     于是匈奴贵人大臣皆服，以冒顿单于为贤。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Yúshì Xiōngnú guìrén dàchén jiē fú, yǐ Mòdùn chányú wéi xián. [Pinyin]

     Therefore, all Xiongnu nobles and high officials were won over and considered Modun chanyu to be worthy.

Proper noun

單于

1. a surname: Chanyu

Japanese

Kanji in this term
單	于
ぜん Jinmeiyō	う Hyōgaiji
goon	on’yomi

Kanji in this term
單	于
せん Jinmeiyō	う Hyōgaiji
kan’on	on’yomi

Noun

單(ぜん)于(う) or 單(せん)于(う) • (zen'u or sen'u) 

1. Kyūjitai form of 単于 (“Chanyu”)

Korean

Hanja in this term
單	于

Noun

單于 • (seonu) (hangeul 선우)

1. Hanja form^? of 선우 (“Chanyu”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
單	于

Noun

單于

1. chữ Hán form of thiền vu (“Chanyu”).