曰

See also: 日, 臼, and 白

曰 U+66F0, 曰 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-66F0 ← 曯 [U+66EF] CJK Unified Ideographs 曱 → [U+66F1]

⽈ U+2F48, ⽈ KANGXI RADICAL SAY ← ⽇ [U+2F47] Kangxi Radicals ⽉ → [U+2F49]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

曰 (Kangxi radical 73, 曰+0, 4 strokes, cangjie input 日 (A) or 難日 (XA), four-corner 6010₀, composition ⿴囗一)

1. Kangxi radical #73, ⽈.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/曰
• 抇, 汩, 㫗, 𡿯, 𣅕, 𣌰, 𧴴, 𬵅, 昌, 㫚, 𣆩, 㑹, 暜, 魯, 䖜, 曆

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with 日, which is generally slimmer and taller, and has a middle stroke that often extends to both sides in non-regular script fonts. In some handwritten forms, the horizontal and vertical stroke at the upper left corner are not connected because of the glyph origin.

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 502, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14278
• Dae Jaweon: page 872, character 30
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1482, character 2
• Unihan data for U+66F0

Chinese

trad.		曰
simp. #		曰
alternative forms		粵／粤 syllable filler

Glyph origin

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

Characters in the same phonetic series (曰) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
曰	*ɢʷad
汩	*kʷɯːd, *ɡʷɯd

Ideogram (指事) : a mouth (口) with word or breath (一) coming out. Compare 今 and 言, where a small stroke is also used to represent words.

Etymology

Cognate with 話 (OC *ɡroːds) according to Sagart (1999); if so, it is from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *grwas (“to speak; word”), whence Tibetan གྲོས་སྡུར་བྱེད་པ (gros sdur byed pa, “to consult; to discuss”) (STEDT).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): yuē (yue¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄩㄝ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): yue¹

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jyut⁶ / joek⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yet / yat
• Northern Min (KCR): uā
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): oa̍t
• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁸yoq; ⁸yuq / ⁸yuaeq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ye⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yuē
    • Zhuyin: ㄩㄝ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yue
    • Wade–Giles: yüeh¹
    • Yale: ywē
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iue
    • Palladius: юэ (jue)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɥɛ⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: yue¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ye
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ye⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: jyut⁶ / joek⁶
    • Yale: yuht / yeuhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jyt⁹ / joek⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yud⁶ / yêg⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyːt̚²/, /jœːk̚²/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yet
    • Hakka Romanization System: ied`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yad<sup>5</sup>
    • Sinological IPA: /i̯et̚²/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yat
    • Hakka Romanization System: (r)iad`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yad⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /(j)i̯at̚²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: uā
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ua⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: oa̍t
    • Tâi-lô: ua̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: oat
    • IPA (Xiamen): /uat̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /uat̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /uat̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /uat̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /uat̚⁴/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁸yoq; ⁸yuq
    • MiniDict: yoh^入; yuih^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵hhioq; ⁵hhyq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦioʔ¹²/, /ɦyɪʔ¹²/
  • (Northern: Suzhou)
    • Wugniu: ⁸yuaeq
    • MiniDict: yuaeh^入
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /ɦyaʔ²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ye⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /y̯e̞²⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: hjwot

Rime
Character	曰
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	云 (35)
Final (韻)	月 (68)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	王伐切
Baxter	hjwot
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦʉɐt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦʷiɐt̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣiuɐt̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦuat̚/
Li Rong	/ɣiuɐt̚/
Wang Li	/ɣĭwɐt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/i̯wɐt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yuè
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jyut6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɢ]ʷat/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɢʷad/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	曰
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yuē
Middle Chinese	‹ hjwot ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɢ]ʷat/
English	say
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	曰
Reading #	1/1
No.	16312
Phonetic component	曰
Rime group	月
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	越
Old Chinese	/*ɢʷad/

Definitions

曰

1. (literary or Shuangfeng Xiang) to say; to speak

   • 子曰：「溫故而知新，可以為師矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     子曰：「温故而知新，可以为师矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Zǐ yuē: “Wēn gù ér zhī xīn, kěyǐ wèi shī yǐ.” [Pinyin]

     The Master said, "If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others."

   • 翁笑曰：「平昔不相往還，何由遺魂吾家？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     翁笑曰：「平昔不相往还，何由遗魂吾家？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 聊齋志異, 第2卷

     Wēng xiào yuē: “Píng xī bù xiàng wǎng hái, hé yóu yí hún wú jiā?” [Pinyin]

     The old man laughed and said, "In normal days we don't have much of a relation, why would you want to call back the dead's soul in my house?"

2. (literary) to be called (the name of)

   • 帝高陽之苗裔兮，朕皇考曰伯庸。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     帝高阳之苗裔兮，朕皇考曰伯庸。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Verses of Chu, 4^th century BCE – 2^nd century CE

     Dì Gāoyáng zhī miáoyì xī, zhèn huángkǎo yuē Bóyōng. [Pinyin]

     Springing forth from the seeds of King Gaoyang
     My glorious late Father was styled Boyong.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 說 (“to say, to speak”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		言, 云, 曰, 道
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		說, 道 literary
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	說
	Taiwan	說, 講
	Malaysia	說, 講
	Singapore	說, 講
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	說
	Jinan	說
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Qingdao	說, 講
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	說
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	說
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	說
	Wuhan	說
	Guilin	講
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	講
	Pematangsiantar	講
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	講
Cantonese	Guangzhou	講, 話
	Hong Kong	講, 話
	Macau	講, 話
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	講, 話
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	講
	Taishan	話
	Taishan (Guanghai)	講
	Yunfu	話
	Yangjiang	講, 話
	Beihai	講
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	講
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	講
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	講
	Danzhou	講
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	講, 話
	Penang (Guangfu)	講, 話
	Singapore (Guangfu)	講, 話
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	講
	Móng Cái	講
	Mandalay (Taishan)	講
Gan	Nanchang	話
Hakka	Meixian	講, 話
	Wuhua (Meilin)	講
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	講
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	講
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	講
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	講
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	講
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	講
	Hong Kong	講
	Kuching (Hepo)	講
	Singapore (Dabu)	講
Huizhou	Jixi	講
Jin	Taiyuan	說
Northern Min	Jian'ou	話
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	講
	Fuqing	講
	Singapore (Fuqing)	講
Southern Min	Xiamen	講
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	講
	Quanzhou	說
	Jinjiang	說
	Shishi	說, 講
	Zhangzhou	講
	Zhao'an	呾, 講
	Dongshan	講
	Taipei	講
	Kaohsiung	講
	Tainan	講
	Penang (Hokkien)	講
	Singapore (Hokkien)	講
	Manila (Hokkien)	說, 講
	Chaozhou	呾
	Raoping	呾
	Shantou	呾
	Shantou (Chenghai)	呾
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	呾
	Jieyang	呾
	Lufeng	講
	Haifeng	講
	Bangkok (Teochew)	呾
	Phnom Penh (Teochew)	呾
	Ho Chi Minh City (Teochew)	呾
	Singapore (Teochew)	呾
	Pontianak (Teochew)	呾
	Leizhou	講
	Wenchang	講
	Haikou	講
	Qionghai	講
	Singapore (Hainanese)	講
Puxian Min	Putian	講
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	講
Southern Pinghua	Binyang	講, 說
Wu	Shanghai	講
	Shanghai (Chongming)	話
	Suzhou	講, 說
	Hangzhou	說, 話, 講
	Hangzhou (Yuhang)	講, 話
	Ningbo	講, 話
	Wenzhou	講
Xiang	Changsha	講
	Xiangtan	講
	Xiangxiang	講
	Xiangxiang (Meiqiao)	講
	Shuangfeng	曰, 講

Compounds

• 吊子曰兒／吊子曰儿
• 子曰 (zǐyuē)
• 子曰行
• 子曰詩云 (zǐyuēshīyún)
• 念子曰
• 或曰 (huòyuē)
• 詩云子曰
• 調子曰兒／调子曰儿

 

References

• “曰”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

曰

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. say

Readings

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

• Go-on: おち (ochi)^{←をち (woti, historical)}
• Kan-on: えつ (etsu)^{←ゑつ (wetu, historical)}
• Kun: いう (iu, 曰う)^{←いふ (ifu, 曰ふ, historical)}; いわく (iwaku, 曰く)^{←いはく (ifaku, 曰く, historical)}; のたばく (notabaku, 曰ばく); のたまう (notamau, 曰う)^{←のたまふ (notamafu, 曰ふ, historical)}; のたもう (notamou, 曰う)^{←のたまふ (notamafu, 曰ふ, historical)}; のたまわく (notamawaku, 曰く)^{←のたまはく (notamafaku, 曰く, historical)}; のたまわす (notamawasu, 曰わす)^{←のたまはす (notamafasu, 曰はす, historical)}; のとうぶ (notōbu, 曰ぶ)^{←のたうぶ (notaubu, 曰ぶ, historical)}

Usage notes

Named as 平日 (hirabi, literally “wide hi”) to distinguish from the 日 (hi, “sun, day”) kanji.

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 曰 (MC hjwot).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	ᅌᅯᇙ〮 (Yale: ngwélq)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576	ᄀᆞᆯ (Yale: kol)	왈 (Yale: wal)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [wa̠ɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [왈]

Hanja

曰 (eumhun 가로 왈 (garo wal))

1. Hanja form^? of 왈 (“...said (denoting the creator of a quote)”). [adverb]

Compounds

Compounds

• 자왈 (子曰, jawal)
• 혹왈 (或曰, hogwal)
• 왈가왈부 (曰可曰否, walgawalbu)

Vietnamese

Han character

曰: Hán Việt readings: viết (王(vương)伐(phạt)切(thiết))
曰: Nôm readings: viết, vít, vết, vịt, vệt, vắt, vất

1. Nôm form of viết (“to write”).
2. Nôm form of vít (“wound; scar”).