See also: , , , and
U+53E3, 口
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-53E3

[U+53E2]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+53E4]
U+2F1D, ⼝
KANGXI RADICAL MOUTH

[U+2F1C]
Kangxi Radicals
[U+2F1E]

Translingual Edit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character Edit

(Kangxi radical 30, +0, 3 strokes, cangjie input (R), four-corner 60000, composition )

  1. Kangxi radical #30, .
  2. Shuowen Jiezi radical №22

Usage notes Edit

This character () is used within characters. If a square is used as an enclosure around another character, then the character (U+56D7) is used instead.

This radical is sometimes added to characters to indicate that a certain character is onomatopoeic, e.g. (dōng) and (), or is phonetic, e.g. 咖啡 (kāfēi) and 喇嘛 (lǎma).

Derived characters Edit

Further reading Edit

  • KangXi: page 171, character 1
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3227
  • Dae Jaweon: page 379, character 17
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 566, character 14
  • Unihan data for U+53E3

Chinese Edit

simp. and trad.
alternative forms 𠙵
𠮚
 
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • (Cantonese)

Glyph origin Edit

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

Pictogram (象形) – resembles an open mouth.

In the oracle bone script, radical is used for characters having abstract meanings. Such a character can have a figurative meaning derived from the phonetic part, e.g. (OC *ɢʷɯʔ, *ɢʷɯs, “right”) = (OC *ɢʷɯs, “right hand”) + and 𪪺 (“strong; powerful”) = (OC *kʷɯŋ, “bow”) + , or be an unrelated borrowing, e.g. (OC *brɯʔ, *pɯʔ, “no”) = (OC *pɯ, *pɯʔ, *pɯ', “calyx”) + .

Etymology 1 Edit

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku(w) (mouth). Cognate with Garo ku·sik (mouth), Tangut 𗋈 (*ŋwu², mouth).

Pronunciation Edit


Note:
  • Sixian:
    • khiéu - literary;
    • héu - vernacular.
  • Meixian:
    • kêu3 - literary;
    • hêu3 - vernacular.
  • Jin
  • Min Bei
  • Min Dong
  • Note:
    • kāu - vernacular;
    • kēu - literary.
  • Min Nan
  • Note:
    • kháu - vernacular;
    • káu - vernacular (limited, e.g. 啞口);
    • khó͘/khió - literary.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location
    Mandarin Beijing /kʰou²¹⁴/
    Harbin /kʰou²¹³/
    Tianjin /kʰou¹³/
    Jinan /kʰou⁵⁵/
    Qingdao /kʰou⁵⁵/
    Zhengzhou /kʰou⁵³/
    Xi'an /kʰou⁵³/
    Xining /kʰɯ⁵³/
    Yinchuan /kʰəu⁵³/
    Lanzhou /kʰou⁴⁴²/
    Ürümqi /kʰɤu⁵¹/
    Wuhan /kʰəu⁴²/
    Chengdu /kʰəu⁵³/
    Guiyang /kʰəu⁴²/
    Kunming /kʰəu⁵³/
    Nanjing /kʰəɯ²¹²/
    Hefei /kʰɯ²⁴/
    Jin Taiyuan /kʰəu⁵³/
    Pingyao /kʰəu¹³/
    Hohhot /kʰəu⁵³/
    Wu Shanghai /kʰɤ³⁵/
    Suzhou /kʰɤ⁵¹/
    Hangzhou /kʰø⁵³/
    Wenzhou /kʰau³⁵/
    Hui Shexian /kʰiu³⁵/
    Tunxi /t͡ɕʰiu³¹/
    Xiang Changsha /kʰəu⁴¹/
    Xiangtan /kʰəɯ⁴²/
    Gan Nanchang /kʰiɛu²¹³/
    Hakka Meixian /kʰeu³¹/
    Taoyuan /kʰeu³¹/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /hɐu³⁵/
    Nanning /hɐu³⁵/
    Hong Kong /hɐu³⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /kʰɔ⁵³/
    /kʰau⁵³/
    Fuzhou (Min Dong) /kʰau³²/
    Jian'ou (Min Bei) /kʰe²¹/
    Shantou (Min Nan) /kʰau⁵³/
    Haikou (Min Nan) /xɔu²¹³/
    /xau²¹³/

    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (29)
    Final () (137)
    Tone (調) Rising (X)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Baxter khuwX
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /kʰəuX/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /kʰəuX/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /kʰəuX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /kʰəwX/
    Li
    Rong
    /kʰuX/
    Wang
    Li
    /kʰəuX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /kʰə̯uX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    kǒu
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    hau2
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    kǒu
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ khuwX ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*kʰˁ(r)oʔ/
    English mouth

    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. 7490
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*kʰoːʔ/

    Definitions Edit

    1. (anatomy) mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: c)
      See also: , 口腔
        ―  Shù shù nǐ de kǒu.  ―  Rinse your mouth out.
      出自聽來令人奇怪 [MSC, trad.]
      出自听来令人奇怪 [MSC, simp.]
      Zhè huà chūzì nǐ de kǒu, tīnglái lìngrén qíguài. [Pinyin]
      This sounds strange in your mouth.
    2. entrance; opening; mouth (of an object)
        ―  kǒu  ―  entrance
        ―  chūkǒu  ―  exit
        ―  ménkǒu  ―  doorway
    3. gateway
      張家张家  ―  Zhāngjiākǒu  ―  Zhangjiakou
        ―  Kǒuběi  ―  the area beyond the Great Wall
        ―  kǒu  ―  St. George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa)
    4. hole; cut
        ―  kǒuzi  ―  hole
        ―  shāngkǒu  ―  wound
    5. port
      電腦电脑  ―  shāngkǒu  ―  computer port
      C  ―  sēikǒu  ―  USB-C port
    6. perimeter
        ―  rénkǒu  ―  population
        ―  kǒu  ―  hukou
    7. government organ; department
    8. Classifier for family members, populations and guns.
        ―  sān kǒu zhī jiā  ―  a family of three
    9. Classifier for bites or mouthfuls.
      可以可以  ―  Wǒ kěyǐ chī yī kǒu ma?  ―  Can I have a bite?
    10. (neologism, slang) to fellate
    11. a surname

    Synonyms Edit

    Compounds Edit

    Descendants Edit

    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Japanese: () (ku); (こう) ()
    • Korean: 구(口) (gu)
    • Vietnamese: khẩu ()

    Etymology 2 Edit

    For pronunciation and definitions of – see (“name; given name; etc.”).
    (This character, , is an ancient form of .)

    References Edit

    Japanese Edit

    Kanji Edit

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings Edit

    Compounds Edit

    Etymology 1 Edit

    Kanji in this term
    くち
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi
    For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
    くち
    [noun] : mouth
    [noun] : opening
    [noun] This term needs a translation to English.
    [noun] This term needs a translation to English.
    [noun] : taste (in food), preference
    (This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

    Etymology 2 Edit

    Kanji in this term
    くつ
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi
    For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
    くつ
    [noun] : prefixal bound form of くち (kuchi, mouth)
    (This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

    Etymology 3 Edit

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    goon

    From Middle Chinese (MC khuwX). The 呉音 (goon), so likely the initial borrowing.

    Pronunciation Edit

    Noun Edit

    () (ku

    1. (Buddhism) the mouth
    2. (Buddhism) (by extension) one's speech, one's words
    3. the mouthpiece of a flute

    Counter Edit

    () (-ku

    1. used to count people
    2. used to count per-person portions
    3. used to count open-mouthed containers
    4. used to count bladed weapons or tools

    Etymology 4 Edit

    Kanji in this term
    こう
    Grade: 1
    kan’on

    From Middle Chinese (MC khuwX). The 漢音 (kan'on), so likely a later borrowing.

    Pronunciation Edit

    Counter Edit

    (こう) (-kō

    1. used to count people
    2. used to count bladed weapons or tools

    Korean Edit

    Etymology Edit

    From Middle Chinese (MC khuwX).

    Historical readings

    Pronunciation Edit

    • (in 口文, 口錢, and 口硬):
    • (mouth; entrance; hole; etc.):
      • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ku(ː)]
      • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)]
        • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

    Hanja Edit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    (eumhun (ip gu))

    1. Hanja form? of (mouth).
    2. Hanja form? of (entrance; opening).
    3. Hanja form? of (hole).

    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]

    Kunigami Edit

    Kanji Edit

    Readings Edit

    Pronunciation Edit

    Noun Edit

    (くちー) (khuchī

    1. mouth
    2. language
    3. dialect
    4. speech

    Miyako Edit

    Kanji Edit

    Readings Edit

    Pronunciation Edit

    • (Tarama): IPA(key): [ɸɨtˢɨ], [ɸs̩.tˢɨ]
    • (Ōgami): IPA(key): [ɸkɨ], [ɸks̩ ~ ɸkɯ]
    • (Ikema): IPA(key): [ɸu̥tˢɨ]
    • (Uruka): IPA(key): [ɸu̥tˢɿ]
    • (Minna): IPA(key): [ɸutˢʉ]

    Noun Edit

    (ふつ) or (ふィちィ) (futs or fïchï

    1. mouth
    2. language
    3. dialect
    4. speech

    References Edit

    Okinawan Edit

    Kanji Edit

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings Edit

    Pronunciation Edit

    Noun Edit

    (くち) (kuchi

    1. mouth
    2. language
    3. dialect
    4. speech

    Compounds Edit

    References Edit

    • ぐち【口】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

    Vietnamese Edit

    Han character Edit

    : Hán Việt readings: khẩu[1][2]
    : Nôm readings: khẩu[1][2]

    1. chữ Hán form of khẩu (mouth; opening).

    References Edit

    Yaeyama Edit

    Kanji Edit

    Readings Edit

    Pronunciation Edit

    Noun Edit

    (hiragana ふつぃ, rōmaji futsï)

    1. mouth
    2. language
    3. dialect
    4. speech

    Yonaguni Edit

    Kanji Edit

    Readings Edit

    Pronunciation Edit

    Noun Edit

    (hiragana ってぃ, rōmaji tti)

    1. mouth
    2. language
    3. dialect
    4. speech