吐蕃

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (吐蕃)		吐	蕃
simp. #(吐蕃)		吐	蕃
alternative forms		土蕃

Etymology

An exonym for Tibet that appeared in the Tang dynasty. Some scholars argue the second syllable, 蕃, was originally read with the -n coda in Middle Chinese (i.e. pʉɐn or bʉɐn, the former of which regularly gives rise to modern Mandarin fān). They argue that the modern Tǔbō reading is recent, possibly originating from French sinologist Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat’s (1788-1832) argument that the second syllable should be pronounced this way to match Tibetan བོད (bod, “Tibet”) (Pelliot, 1915). Rhymes in poetry from Tang and Yuan dynasties also suggest that the second syllable 蕃 was read with the -n coda during those times (Yao, 2014).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Tǔbō, Tǔfān

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄨˇ ㄅㄛ, ㄊㄨˇ ㄈㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tou³ bo³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Tǔbō
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄨˇ ㄅㄛ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Tǔbo
    • Wade–Giles: Tʻu³-po¹
    • Yale: Tǔ-bwō
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Tuubo
    • Palladius: Тубо (Tubo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu̯ɔ⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan, variant in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Tǔfān
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄨˇ ㄈㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Tǔfan
    • Wade–Giles: Tʻu³-fan¹
    • Yale: Tǔ-fān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Tuufan
    • Palladius: Туфань (Tufanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ fän⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tou³ bo³
    • Yale: tou bo
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tou³ bo³
    • Guangdong Romanization: tou³ bo³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰou̯³³ pɔː³³/

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• Middle Chinese: thuX pjon

Rime
Character	吐	蕃
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	模 (23)	元 (66)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	他魯切	甫煩切
Baxter	thuX	pjon
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰuoX/	/pʉɐn/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰuoX/	/pʷiɐn/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰoX/	/piuɐn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰɔX/	/puan/
Li Rong	/tʰoX/	/piuɐn/
Wang Li	/tʰuX/	/pĭwɐn/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰuoX/	/pi̯wɐn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tǔ	fān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tou2	faan1

Proper noun

吐蕃

1. (archaic) Tibet

Synonyms

• 圖伯特／图伯特 (Túbótè)

See also

• 蕃 (fán)
• 西藏 (Xīzàng)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
吐	蕃
と Grade: S	ばん Jinmeiyō
on’yomi

Proper noun

吐(と)蕃(ばん) • (Toban) 

1. (archaic) Tibet

Korean

Hanja in this term
吐	蕃

Proper noun

吐蕃 • (Tobeon) (hangeul 토번)

1. Hanja form^? of 토번 (“Tibet”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
吐	蕃

Proper noun

吐蕃

1. chữ Hán form of Thổ Phồn (“Tibet”).