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U+5B50, 子
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5B50

[U+5B4F]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+5B51]
U+2F26, ⼦
KANGXI RADICAL CHILD

[U+2F25]
Kangxi Radicals
[U+2F27]
Commons:Category
Commons:Category
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Translingual edit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character edit

(Kangxi radical 39, +0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 弓木 (ND), four-corner 17407, composition )

  1. Kangxi radical #39, .

Derived characters edit

References edit

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 277, character 1
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6930
  • Dae Jaweon: page 543, character 15
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1006, character 6
  • Unihan data for U+5B50

Further reading edit

Chinese edit

simp. and trad.
alternative forms

Glyph origin edit

Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Oracle bone script Chu slip and silk script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
           

Pictogram (象形) – an image of a baby, with a large head and spread arms. The legs are wrapped in a blanket. Compare with , where the arms are wrapped.

The big seal script form is much more elaborate, showing a baby with hair on a head () and arms on the two sides of the body, sitting on a stool ().

Etymology edit

child
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsa ~ za (child, offspring, relatives; to come forth (as child at birth); to love; loving).
Cognate with (OC *zlɯs, “character; letter”), (OC *zɯ, “loving; kind”), (OC *ʔsɯ, “to grow, to breed, to propagate, to bring about, to increase”), (OC *ʔsɯ, *zɯs, “to breed, to propagate”).
first earthly branch
In oracle bone and Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, was the sixth earthly branch; the first earthly branch was denoted differently (Smith, 2011; Matsumaru, 2015). One of the forms survived in Shuo Wen (𢀇).
Smith (2011) proposed this character is . Observing that is closely linked with "dark, stained", "murky (water)", "field cleared by burning" (all pronounced *tsrə), Smith (2011) proposes that initially the first earthly branch (OC *ts[r]əʔ) denoted the new moon phase and meant "darkened, voided, the darkened stage". Additionally, Smith (2011) proposes that (OC tsəʔ), which originated from a Sino-Tibetan root meaning "to come forth", denoted the moon's "coming forth" stage (i.e. early waning-gibbous phase).
Sometime in Warring States period, a change occured that became the first earthly branch and (OC *s-ləʔ) filled the void of the sixth earthly branch (Matsumaru, 2015), "due to phonological closeness (combined with the semantic opacity of the Branch terms at later eras)" (Smith, 2011).
Association with the rat was possibly arbitrary, analogous to how , the fifth earthly branch, was arbitrarily associated with the dragon (Ferlus, 2013).

Pronunciation 1 edit


Note: cī - “seed”.
Note:
  • chú/chír - literary;
  • chí - colloquial (“seed; egg”).
Note:
  • ze2/zu2 - literary (zu2 - Chaoyang);
  • zi2 - colloquial.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

  • Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (13)
    Final () (19)
    Tone (調) Rising (X)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Baxter tsiX
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /t͡sɨX/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /t͡sɨX/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /t͡sieX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /t͡sɨX/
    Li
    Rong
    /t͡siəX/
    Wang
    Li
    /t͡sĭəX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /t͡siX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    zi2
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ tsiX › ‹ tsiX ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*[ts]əʔ/ /*tsəʔ/
    English 1st earthly branch child; gentleman, master

    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
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 17857
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*ʔslɯʔ/

    Definitions edit

    1. (literary) child; offspring
    2. son
      獨生独生  ―  dúshēng  ―  only son
        ―  ài  ―  beloved son
        ―  yī nǚ  ―  one son and one daughter
    3. (literary) descendant; posterity
    4. (Christianity) the Son
    5. (in compounds) person
        ―    ―  female; woman
    6. (literary) master; teacher
    7. (literary) A respectful title for teachers, usually attached after their surnames.
        ―  Kǒng  ―  Master Kong (Confucius)
        ―  Lǎo  ―  Laozi
    8. (literary, polite) you
    9. Alternative form of (, seed); also its second-round simplified form.
      葵花  ―  kuíhuāzǐ  ―  sunflower seed
    10. egg
        ―    ―  caviar
    11. young; tender; small
    12. Prefix attached to nouns, denoting "a part of", "belonging to" or "individual". sub-
      目錄目录  ―  zǐmùlù  ―  subdirectory
    13. (astrology) First earthly branch: rat in the Chinese zodiac, 11th solar month, midnight (11:00 pm to 1:00 am)
    14. (historical) viscount (fourth of five ranks of Chinese aristocracy under the Zhou dynasty)
    15. (physics, biology) -on
    16. a surname
    17. (Southern Min) grain-like object; particle; granule
    18. (Southern Min, music) rhythm
    19. (Southern Min) Classifier for small, round objects: granule, grain, particle, piece
    Synonyms edit
    Coordinate terms edit

    Compounds edit

    Pronunciation 2 edit



    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (13)
    Final () (19)
    Tone (調) Rising (X)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Baxter tsiX
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /t͡sɨX/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /t͡sɨX/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /t͡sieX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /t͡sɨX/
    Li
    Rong
    /t͡siəX/
    Wang
    Li
    /t͡sĭəX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /t͡siX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    zi2
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ tsiX › ‹ tsiX ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*[ts]əʔ/ /*tsəʔ/
    English 1st earthly branch child; gentleman, master

    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
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 17857
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*ʔslɯʔ/

    Definitions edit

    1. Suffix:
      1. Used to nominalize.
          ―  píngzi  ―  bottle
          ―  shuāzi  ―  brush
          ―  pàngzi  ―  fat person
      2. (colloquial) Used in some classifiers.
        一下  ―  yīxiàzi  ―  all of a sudden
    Synonyms edit

    Compounds edit

    Pronunciation 3 edit

    Definitions edit

    (Hokkien)

    1. small, round object
      算盤算盘 [Hokkien]  ―  sǹg-pôaⁿ- [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  abacus bead
    2. (Xiamen, Quanzhou) Classifier for small objects.
    3. (Zhangzhou, Taiwan) Classifier for bananas.

    Descendants edit

    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Japanese: () (shi); () (su)
    • Korean: 자(子) (ja)
    • Vietnamese: tử ()

    Others:

    • Vietnamese: (a little bit)

    Japanese edit

    Kanji edit

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. (gender-neutral) child
    2. (archaic) honorific for an adult man
    3. (archaic) honorific for a learned man, master
    4. (archaic) man (in general)
    5. (historical) fourth rank of nobility in Meiji-postwar Japan, viscount
    6. egg, fruit, seed
    7. small object
    8. interest
    9. diminutive suffix
    10. Rat (earthly branch)
    11. midnight
    12. north
    • (midnight, north): Antonyms :

    Readings edit

    Compounds edit

    Usage notes edit

    Not to be confused with the visually similar  , an obsolete variant form (変体仮名) of the katakana (ne) not encoded in Unicode.

    Etymology 1 edit

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi
    Alternative spellings
    (uncommon)
    (female)

    ⟨ko1 → */kʷo//ko/

    From Old Japanese,[1] attested in the Kojiki (712 CE) and the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE), two of the oldest examples of written Japanese.

    Cognate with (ko, silkworm) and possibly (ko, little, diminutive prefix).

    Possibly cognate with Goguryeo (*gu), which appears in an ancient place name with an apparent meaning of child.[2]

    Pronunciation edit

    Noun edit

    () (ko (counter )

    1. a child
      うち()すみません
      Uchi no ko ga sumimasen.
      I'm terribly sorry for my child's conduct.
      (otoko no ko): male childboy
      いい (ii ko): good boy; good girl
    2. (figuratively) a girl, especially a dear or desired one (compare use of English baby, babe)
      あの()(だれ)
      Ano ko wa dare?
      Who's that chick?
      • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 7, poem 1266:
        , text here
        大舟(おほぶね)()荒海(あるみ)()(こぎ)()()船多(ふね)(たけ)(わが)見之(みし)()等之(らが)目見者(まみは)(しる)之母(しも) [Man'yōgana]
        大船(おほぶね)荒海(あるみ)()()(ふね)たけ()()()らがまみはしるしも [Modern spelling]
        ōbune o arumi ni kogi de ya fune take waga mishi kora ga mami wa shirushi mo
        Rowing the big boat into the rough seas, putting our backs into it, the looks of those girls I saw are clear [in my mind]
    3. (endearing) creature
      この()は「ミシシッピアカミミガメ」と()います。
      Kono ko wa “Mishishippi akamimigame” to iimasu.
      This little guy is called a "red-eared slider".
      この()()ます。
      Kono ko wa kamimasu.
      This little fella might bite.
    4. a smaller or younger version of a bigger object
      (ki no ko): tree + child/little one (kinoko, mushroom)
      (take no ko): bamboo + child/little one (takenoko, bamboo shoot)
    5. (hanafuda, card games, by extension, board games, gambling) person who is dealt cards
      Coordinate term: (oya)
    Derived terms edit

    Prefix edit

    () (ko-

    1. an object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another object
      会社 (kogaisha): derivative + company → a subsidiary
      (koinu): derivative + dog → a puppy
    Derived terms edit

    Suffix edit

    () (-ko

    1. suffix used in female given names, such as 智子 (​Tomoko), 英子 (​Eiko), 秀子 (​Hideko), 美奈子 (​Minako), 有希子 (​Yukiko)
    2. (rare) suffix used in male given names
    3. an object having a particular state or property (sometimes diminutive)
      (furiko): an object that swings → a pendulum
    4. roe (only when preceded by a fish name, or fish-related prefix)
      明太 (mentaiko, pollock roe)
      (tobiko, flying fish roe)
    Derived terms edit

    Proper noun edit

    () (Ko

    1. a surname

    Etymology 2 edit

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    on’yomi
    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    From Middle Chinese (MC tsiX), also used in the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨si⟩. Compare modern Mandarin ().

    The goon reading of shi is likely the original borrowing:

    /t͡sɨ//sɨ/ → */ɕɨ//ɕi/

    The tōon reading su appears later, and only shows up in certain set terms borrowed from Chinese, where it seems to serve as a kind of nominalizing suffix:

    /t͡sɨ//sɨ/ → */sʉ//su/

    Pronunciation edit

    Affix edit

    () or () or (su) or (shi) (shi or su

    1. a child
    2. Short for 子爵 (shishaku): the fourth rank of nobility in Meiji-postwar Japan, equivalent to a viscount
    3. an honorific for a learned man, such as teacher or master
    4. a philosophy branch of Chinese literature, either derived from or outside of the Hundred Schools of Thought
    5. an object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another object
    6. an object having a particular state or property (sometimes diminutive)
      中性 (chūseishi): neutral + small thing → a neutron
      (isu): chair + small thing → a chair
    Usage notes edit
    • This affix is never used in isolation. It is only used in on'yomi compounds.
    • In some kanji compounds, is part of the word but does not carry much meaning in Japanese, as in 椅子 (isu, chair). Possibly because of this erosion of meaning, spelling out in some compounds has become optional, as in 椰子 vs. (yashi, a palm tree), or 柚子 vs. (yuzu, an aromatic citron).
    • In some compounds, the shi or su reading becomes voiced as ji or zu due to rendaku.
    Derived terms edit

    Pronoun edit

    () (shi

    1. (archaic) second-person pronoun: you (of one's equals)

    Proper noun edit

    () (Shi

    1. (Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches

    Etymology 3 edit

     
    Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia ja
     
    English Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia
    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    Contracted from (nezumi, mouse, rat).

    Pronunciation edit

    Proper noun edit

    () (Ne

    1. (Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches:
      1. north
        Synonym: (kita)
      2. the hours between 11:00 P.M./midnight and 1:00/2:00 A.M.
      3. a day or year assigned to the Rat
      4. the eleventh month of the lunar calendar
    2. a place name
    Derived terms edit

    Syllable edit

    () (ne

    1. (obsolete) variant katakana syllable (ne) [until the 19th century]
       
      Variant of katakana (ne)
      • Udagawa Yōan, 遠西医方名物考, vol. 4, 1822
        剥篤(ポット)亞斯(アス) 「シレス、カラーヘルラチ」
        […] 是ヲ燒ク法、曠野ニ一大坑ヲ穿チ其底ト内圍ニ(アマ)ク瓦磗ヲ(シキ)、樹ノ幹枝𪜈ニ(キリ)テ其内ニ積ミ(モヤ)(オハリ)テ煙消シ通紅トナルトキ尋常()灰汁(アク)ヲ取テ少シ(ツヽ)頻〻ニ(マキチラ)ストキハ其灰ノ鹽氣凝結𬼀堅キ塊片トナル。
      • 第1回国会参法一覧
        小杉イ議員

    Etymology 4 edit

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    Noun edit

    () (mi

    1. (archaic, rare) Alternative spelling of (mi): a fruit, nut, or seed (of a plant, tree, etc.); ingredients put in a soup; a content, substance

    References edit

    1. ^ 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
    2. ^ John R. Bentley (2008), “The Search for the Language of Yamatai”, in Japanese Language and Literature[1], volume 42, issue 1, page 17:
      This etymology is indirectly supported by evidence from the Koguryo onomastic data: ‘child peak’ is preserved as 仇斯波衣, where 仇 *gu is ‘child’. Thus, the peninsular word is likely *ku, and a plural suffix -ra was later attached. This may have been reinterpreted later as singular ‘child’, much as modern Japanese ko-domo ‘child-plural’ is used as a singular with ko-domo-tati ‘child-plural-plural’ as the plural.
    3. 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998) NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN

    Korean edit

    Etymology edit

    From Middle Chinese (MC tsiX). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄌᆞ〮 () (Yale: ) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

    Pronunciation edit

    Hanja edit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    (eumhun 아들 (adeul ja))

    1. Hanja form? of (son; man).
    2. Hanja form? of (offspring).
    3. Hanja form? of (a noun suffix).

    Compounds edit

    References edit

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [2]

    Vietnamese edit

    chữ Hán Nôm in this term

    Han character edit

    : Hán Việt readings: ((tức)()(thiết))[1][2], tử[2][3], [3]
    : Nôm readings: [1][2], tử[2][4], [1], tít[2], tở[3]

    1. chữ Hán form of (first earthly branch).
    2. Nôm form of (a little bit; small).
    3. chữ Hán form of tử (child; son; small thing).
      • 1873, Bích Câu Kỳ Ngộ, lines 17–18:
        朝黎當會太和,固陳公𠸛羅秀渊。
        Triều Lê đương hội thái hòa, Có Trần công tử tên là Tú Uyên.
        In the Lê court's festival of Great Peace, there exists a noble lord named Tran Tu Uyen.

    References edit