U+5357, 南
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5357

[U+5356]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+5358]

Translingual edit

Stroke order
 

Han character edit

(Kangxi radical 24, +7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十月廿十 (JBTJ), four-corner 40227, composition 𢆉)

Derived characters edit

References edit

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 157, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
  • Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 65, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+5357

Chinese edit

simp. and trad.
2nd round simp. ⿱十冂
 
Wikipedia has articles on:

Glyph origin edit

Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Ancient script Small seal script
               

This character has been explained as a pictogram (象形) of a hanging percussion instrument, originally identical to the left side of 㱿. Under this hypothesis its borrowing for the word “south” is difficult to explain.

Sagart (1988) instead proposes that it is a pictogram of the front of a house. Archaeological evidence confirms that in antiquity, at least in some regions, houses were built to face south.

Etymology 1 edit

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-nam (sky, sun) (STEDT; Schuessler (2007); Benedict (1972)); the south is traditionally associated with the sun & light, compare (OC *laŋ, “light, sun-lit south-side of a hill”).

If so, cognate with Tibetan གནམ (gnam, sky), ནམ (nam, night), Tshangla ngam (sun, noon, day, sky), Chepang न्‍याम् (nyam, sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates this word to Old Chinese *nɨm (revised to *nˤ[ə]m in 2014) "belly, front of the body", further "south" to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nam (rib(s)), as one term for one body-part often shifts its meaning to another body-part nearby.

If so, is cognate with (OC *njɯms, “to carry inside one's belly → to be pregnant”), (OC *njɯm, *njɯms, “to carry a burden, especially in front of the body”), also (OC *nuːmʔ, “belly (of an ox)”), Southern Pumi nõ⁵⁵, Burmese နံရိုး (nam-rui:, side of the body, rib), and thus is a semantic counterpart to (OC *pɯːɡ, “north”), which is related to (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs, “back of the body”).

Pronunciation edit


Note:
  • lam5 - Chaozhou, Raoping;
  • nam5 - Shantou, Chaoyang, Jieyang;
  • nang5 - Chenghai.

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location
Mandarin Beijing /nan³⁵/
Harbin /nan²⁴/
Tianjin /nan⁴⁵/
Jinan /nã⁴²/
Qingdao /nã⁴²/
Zhengzhou /nan⁴²/
Xi'an /nã²⁴/
Xining /nã²⁴/
Yinchuan /nan⁵³/
Lanzhou /lɛ̃n⁵³/
Ürümqi /nan⁵¹/
Wuhan /nan²¹³/
Chengdu /nan³¹/
Guiyang /nan²¹/
Kunming /nã̠³¹/
Nanjing /laŋ²⁴/
Hefei /læ̃⁵⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /næ̃¹¹/
Pingyao /nɑŋ¹³/
Hohhot /næ̃³¹/
Wu Shanghai /nø²³/
Suzhou /nø¹³/
Hangzhou /nẽ̞²¹³/
Wenzhou /nø³¹/
Hui Shexian /lɛ⁴⁴/
Tunxi /lɔ⁴⁴/
Xiang Changsha /lan¹³/
Xiangtan /nan¹²/
Gan Nanchang /lan⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /nam¹¹/
Taoyuan /nɑm¹¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /nam²¹/
Nanning /nam²¹/
Hong Kong /nam²¹/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /lam³⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /naŋ⁵³/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /naŋ³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /nam⁵⁵/
Haikou (Hainanese) /nam³¹/

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (8)
Final () (159)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () I
Fanqie
Baxter nom
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/nʌm/
Pan
Wuyun
/nəm/
Shao
Rongfen
/nɒm/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/nəm/
Li
Rong
/nᴀm/
Wang
Li
/nɒm/
Bernard
Karlgren
/năm/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
nán
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
naam4
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
nán
Middle
Chinese
‹ nom ›
Old
Chinese
/*nˁ[ə]m/
English south

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. 9355
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
2
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*nuːm/

Definitions edit

  1. south; southern

Coordinate terms edit

西北 (xīběi) 東北东北 (dōngběi)
西 ()   (dōng)
西南 (xīnán) 東南东南 (dōngnán)


Descendants edit

Sino-Xenic ():
  • Japanese: (なん) (nan)
  • Okinawan: (なん) (nan)
  • Korean: 남(南) (nam)
  • Vietnamese: nam ()

Others:

Compounds edit

Etymology 2 edit

Pronunciation edit


Definitions edit

  1. Only used in 南無南无 (nāmó).

References edit

Japanese edit

Kanji edit

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings edit

Compounds edit

Etymology 1 edit

Kanji in this term
みなみ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi
 
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

⟨mi1nami1 → */mʲinamʲɨ//minami/

From Old Japanese.

Pronunciation edit

(Can we verify(+) this pronunciation?)

Noun edit

(みなみ) (minami

  1. the south (cardinal point)
    • c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo[3]
      和可夜之奈比乃可波利爾波(わがやしなひのかはりには)於保末之末須(おほまします)美奈美(みなみ)乃末知奈流(のまちなる)(やつこ)乎宇氣與止(をうけよと)... [Man'yōgana]
      ()(やしな)ひの(かは)りには、おほ()します、(みなみ)(まち)なる(やつこ)()けよと... [Modern spelling]
      waga yashinai no kawari ni wa, ōmashimasu, minami no machi naru yatsuko o ukeyo to...
      (please add an English translation of this example)
    Antonym: (kita)
  2. a southerly, south wind
    Synonym: 南風 (minamikaze, hae)
    Antonym: (kita)
Coordinate terms edit
西(せい)(ほく) (seihoku) (西(せい)(ほく) (seihoku))
(ほく)西(せい) (hokusei) ((ほく)西(せい) (hokusei))
(きた) (kita) ((きた) (kita)) (とう)(ほく) (tōhoku) ((とう)(ほく) (tōhoku))
(ほく)(とう) (hokutō) ((ほく)(とう) (hokutō))
西(にし) (nishi) (西(にし) (nishi))   (ひがし) (higashi) ((ひがし) (higashi))
西(せい)(なん) (seinan) (西(せい)(なん) (seinan))
(なん)西(せい) (nansei) ((なん)西(せい) (nansei))
(みなみ) (minami) ((みなみ) (minami)) (とう)(なん) (tōnan) ((とう)(なん) (tōnan))
(なん)(とう) (nantō) ((なん)(とう) (nantō))


Derived terms edit

Proper noun edit

(みなみ) or (ミナミ) (Minami

  1. (historical) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo (as it was located south of Edo Castle)
  2. the name of a ward in various cities throughout Japan, especially a former ward in the city of Osaka which is now part of Chūō Ward
  3. a male given name
  4. a female given name
  5. a surname

Verb edit

(みなみ)する (minami surusuru (stem (みなみ) (minami shi), past (みなみ)した (minami shita))

  1. (archaic) to go south
    • 1789, Seikashū (haikai by Takai Kitō)
      紅楓(もみぢ)(ふか)し、みなみし西(にし)す、(みづ)(すみ)
      momiji fukashi, minami shi nishi su, mizu no sumi
      (please add an English translation of this example)
Conjugation edit

Etymology 2 edit

Kanji in this term
みんなみ
Grade: 2
irregular

/minami//minːami/

Appears in The Pillow Book, completed in 1002.

Alteration of minami.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(みんなみ) (minnami

  1. (archaic) the south

Proper noun edit

(みんなみ) (Minnami

  1. (historical, archaic) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo

Etymology 3 edit

Kanji in this term
なん
Grade: 2
goon

/namʉ//naɴ/

From Middle Chinese (MC nom).

Noun edit

(なん) (nan

  1. the south
    Synonym: 南方 (nanpō)
  2. Short for 南鐐 (nanryō): beautiful silver; a type of silver coin in the Edo period
Derived terms edit

Affix edit

(なん) (nan

  1. south, southern
  2. Used in Sanskrit transliterations
Derived terms edit

Proper noun edit

(なん) (Nan

  1. a female given name
  2. a surname

Etymology 4 edit

Kanji in this term
なん
Grade: 2
irregular

From Mandarin (nán).

Noun edit

(ナン) (nan

  1. (mahjong) south wind (mahjong tile)
    Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
  2. (mahjong) a (yaku, winning hand) with a triplet or quad of south wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 (han, doubles)
    Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)
Coordinate terms edit

Etymology 5 edit

Kanji in this term
みなん
Grade: 2
irregular

Shift from standard Japanese minami, dropping the final vowel and keeping the nasal.

  • /minami//minaɴ/

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(みなん) (minan

  1. (dialect, Kagoshima) south (cardinal point)

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 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
  3. ^ Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, →ISBN.

Korean edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle Chinese (MC nom).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 (Yale: nàm)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] (Yale: àlp) (Yale: nàm)
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576 (Yale: namnyek)
(Yale: alp)
(Yale: nam)

Pronunciation edit

Hanja edit

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

(eumhun 남녘 (namnyeok nam))

  1. Hanja form? of (south; southern).

Compounds edit

Etymology 2 edit

Pronunciation edit

Hanja edit

(eumhun 나무 (namu na))

  1. Hanja form? of (Only used in 나무 (南無, namu)).

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. [3]

Okinawan edit

Alternative forms edit

Kanji in this term
ふぇー
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Kanji edit

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings edit

Compounds edit

Etymology edit

Cognate to Yonaguni (hai, south, southerly) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, southerly winds).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(ふぇー) (

  1. the south (cardinal point)
  2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

Derived terms edit

References edit

Old Japanese edit

Etymology edit

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Compound of (mi1, uncertain, possibly “sea” or “water) +‎ (na, apophonic form of attributive particle (no2)) +‎ (mi1, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, stem form) of verb 見る (mi1ru), “to look, see)?”

Noun edit

(mi1nami1) (kana みなみ)

  1. the south (cardinal point)
  2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 18, poem 4106:
      , text here
      ...吹雪消益而射水河流水沫能余留弊奈美...
      ...mi1nami1 puki1 yuki1ke2 *masarite Imi1du-gapa nagaru mi1nawa no2 yo2ru pe1 nami1...
      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Usage notes edit

Also used in the Man'yōshū (759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨na⟩ and 借訓 (shakkun) kana for ⟨namu⟩.

Descendants edit

  • Japanese: (minami)

Tày edit

Noun edit

(nam)

  1. Nôm form of nam (south).

References edit

  • Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎[4] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

Vietnamese edit

Han character edit

: Hán Nôm readings: nam

Adjective edit

(nam)

  1. south, southern

References edit

Yonaguni edit

Kanji edit

Readings edit

Etymology edit

Cognate to Okinawan (, south, southerly) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, southerly winds).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(hiragana はい, romaji hai)

  1. the south (cardinal point)
  2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

References edit

Zhuang edit

Noun edit

  1. Sawndip form of namz