Chinese edit

quiet; secluded silent; write from memory
trad. (幽默)
simp. #(幽默)

Pronunciation edit



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Initial () (34) (4)
Final () (138) (131)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open
Division () III I
Fanqie
Baxter 'jiw mok
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ʔiɪu/ /mək̚/
Pan
Wuyun
/ʔɨu/ /mək̚/
Shao
Rongfen
/ʔieu/ /mək̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ʔjiw/ /mək̚/
Li
Rong
/ʔiĕu/ /mək̚/
Wang
Li
/iəu/ /mək̚/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ʔieu/ /mək̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
yōu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
jau1 mak6
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
yōu
Middle
Chinese
‹ ʔjiw ›
Old
Chinese
/*[ʔ](r)iw/
English dark; secluded

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 1/1
No. 14620 5107
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
2 0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*qɯw/ /*mlɯːɡ/
Notes

Etymology 1 edit

Of native origin, as the combination of (yōu, “dark”) and (, “quiet”); attested in the Chu Ci (《楚辭·九章·懷沙》).

杳杳幽默 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
杳杳幽默 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Verses of Chu, 4th century BCE – 2nd century CE
Xuàn xī yǎoyǎo, kǒng jìng yōumò. [Pinyin]
Wherever I see, it is dark and empty, amid total silence.

Adjective edit

幽默

  1. (archaic) quiet; tranquil

Etymology 2 edit

Phono-semantic matching of English humor, by linguist Lin Yutang in 1924.

Adjective edit

幽默

  1. humorous
Synonyms edit

Noun edit

幽默

  1. humor; hilarity

Derived terms edit