Wiktionary

太

See also: 大 and 犬
太 U+592A, 太
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-592A
← 天
[U+5929] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 夫 →
[U+592B]

Translingual

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Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character

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太 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+1, 4 strokes, cangjie input 大戈 (KI), four-corner 40030, composition ⿵大丶)

Derived characters

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Descendants

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 248, character 10
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5834
  • Dae Jaweon: page 505, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 524, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+592A

Chinese

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Wikipedia has an article on:

Glyph origin

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Characters in the same phonetic series (大) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
馱 *daːl, *daːds
大 *daːds, *daːds
忕 *tʰaːds, *daːds, *djads
太 *tʰaːds
汰 *tʰaːds
汏 *daːds, *tʰaːd
軑 *daːds, *deːds
釱 *daːds, *deːds
达 *tʰeːds
杕 *deːds

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *tʰaːds): phonetic 大 (OC *daːds, *daːds, “big; great”) + semantic 丶 – excessive, too (much). The phonetic component however points out the concept of "great" (quantity), so it adds part of the meaning. See also the original version of 泰, with the component 大 on top.

Etymology 1

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simp. and trad.
 太
alternative forms 冭

A superlative derivative of 大 (OC *daːds, *daːds, “big”) – be too great, very great, excessive.

Pronunciation 1

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Rime
Character 太
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 透 (6)
Final (韻) 泰 (25)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 他蓋切
Baxter thajH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/tʰɑiH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/tʰɑiH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/tʰɑiH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/tʰajH/
Li
Rong 		/tʰɑiH/
Wang
Li 		/tʰɑiH/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/tʰɑiH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		tài
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		taai3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 太
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		tài
Middle
Chinese 		‹ thajH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*l̥ˁa[t]-s/
English great

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 太
Reading # 1/1
No. 1937
Phonetic
component 		大
Rime
group 		祭
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		泰
Old
Chinese 		/*tʰaːds/
Definitions
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太

  1. too; so (modifying adjectives; often used with 了 (le) at the end of the sentence for emphasis)
    太熱了！／太热了！  ―  Tài rè le!  ―  It's so hot!
    別吃太多派。／别吃太多派。  ―  Bié chī tài duō pài.  ―  Don't eat too much pie.
  2. (usually in negative sentences) very; quite
    他不太舒服。 [Taiwanese Mandarin]  ―  Tā bù tài shūfú. [Pinyin]  ―  He's not very well.
  3. most; utmost
  4. highest; greatest
  5. senior; noble
  6. (of relatives of older generations) great-
    太公 [Cantonese]  ―  taai3 gung1 [Jyutping]  ―  great-grandfather
  7. Short for 太湖 (Tài Hú, “Lake Tai, a lake in Southern Jiangsu, China”).
  8. Short for 太平洋 (Tàipíngyáng, “Pacific Ocean”).
Synonyms
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Dialectal synonyms of 太 (“too; excessively”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 太, 過於
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 太, 忒
Taiwan 太
Malaysia 太
Singapore 太
Jilu Mandarin Tianjin 太, 忒
Jinan 太, 忒
Central Plains Mandarin Wanrong 太
Xi'an 太
Xuzhou 忒
Donghai 太
Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan) 太
Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 太
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 太
Wuhan 太, 忒
Guiyang 太
Guilin 太
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 太
Yangzhou 太
Baoying 太
Taizhou 太
Zhenjiang 太
Yancheng 太
Hefei 太
Cantonese Guangzhou 太, 得滯 >, 過頭 >
Hong Kong 太, 太過, 得滯 >, 過頭 >, 過龍 >
Taishan 得滯 >
Dongguan 得滯 >
Yangjiang 得滯 >
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 太
Singapore (Guangfu) 太
Gan Nanchang 太
Lichuan 太
Pingxiang 太
Hakka Meixian 忒
Dongguan (Qingxi) 太, 過頭 >
Wuhua (Huacheng) 忒
Heyuan (Bendihua) 太
Wengyuan 太
Liannan 太
Jiexi 忒
Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan) 太, 忒
Changting 忒
Wuping 忒
Wuping (Yanqian) 忒
Liancheng 忒
Ninghua 忒
Yudu 太
Ningdu 太, 忒
Tonggu (Sandu) 忒
Ganzhou (Panlong) 太
Dayu 太
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 忒
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 忒
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 忒
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 忒
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 忒
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 忒
Hong Kong 太, 過頭 >
Yangxi (Tangkou) 太
Yangchun (Sanjia) 太
Xinyi (Sihe) 太
Xinyi (Qianpai) 太
Gaozhou (Xindong) 太
Maoming (Shalang, Dianbai) 太
Huazhou (Xin'an) 忒
Lianjiang (Shijiao) 忒
Lianjiang (Qingping) 太
Mengshan (Xihe) 太
Luchuan 太
Senai (Huiyang) 過頭 >
Kuching (Hepo) 過頭
Huizhou Jixi 太
Jin Taiyuan 太
Northern Min Jian'ou 忒
Jian'ou (Dikou) 忒
Songxi 忒
Zhenghe 忒
Zhenghe (Zhenqian) 忒
Jianyang 忒
Wuyishan 忒
Pucheng (Shibei) 忒
Eastern Min Fuzhou 過, 恰
Fuzhou (Changle) 恰
Lianjiang 恰
Fuqing 恰
Pingtan 恰
Yongtai 恰
Minqing 恰
Gutian 恰
Pingnan 恰
Luoyuan 恰
Fu'an 恰
Ningde 恰
Xiapu 恰
Zherong 恰
Shouning 恰
Zhouning 恰
Fuding 恰
Southern Min Xiamen 傷, 傷過
Xiamen (Tong'an) 傷
Quanzhou 傷, 傷過
Jinjiang 傷, 太
Nan'an 傷
Shishi 傷
Hui'an 傷
Anxi 傷
Yongchun 傷
Dehua 傷
Zhangzhou 傷, 傷過
Zhangzhou (Longhai) 傷
Zhangzhou (Changtai) 傷
Hua'an 傷
Nanjing 傷
Pinghe 傷
Zhangpu 傷
Yunxiao 傷
Zhao'an 傷
Dongshan 傷
Taipei 傷
New Taipei (Sanxia) 傷
Kaohsiung 傷
Yilan 傷
Changhua (Lukang) 傷
Taichung 傷
Tainan 傷
Hsinchu 傷
Kinmen 傷
Penghu (Magong) 傷
Penang (Hokkien) 傷, 太
Singapore (Hokkien) 傷, 傷過, 過, 佮
Manila (Hokkien) 傷, 傷過
Longyan 蓋
Zhangping 傷
Chaozhou 佮
Shantou 佮, 過
Jieyang 佮, 過
Bangkok (Teochew) 佮
Johor Bahru (Teochew) 佮
Singapore (Teochew) 佮, 過
Puxian Min Putian 傷
Xianyou 傷
Central Min Yong'an 太
Sanming (Sanyuan) 忒
Sanming (Shaxian) 太
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 太, 過頭 >
Wu Shanghai 忒, 過於, 忒煞, 忒以 dated
Shanghai (Chongming) 忒
Suzhou 忒
Changshu 脫
Nantong (Haimen) 忒
Danyang 太
Nanjing (Gaochun) 太
Hangzhou 忒
Ningbo 忒
Wenzhou 忒
Jinhua 太, 忒
Xiang Changsha 太
Shuangfeng 太, 忒
Note > - after adjective or adverb
See also
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Pronunciation 2

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Note:
  • tài - when used as 1-character title;
  • tai - when used after 太.
Note: taai3-2 - “Mrs.” when used on its own.
Definitions
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太

  1. Short for 太太 (tàitai, “wife; Miss; Mrs”).
    李太 [Cantonese]  ―  lei5 taai3-2 [Jyutping]  ―  Mrs. Li
    陳太／陈太 [Cantonese]  ―  can4 taai3-2 [Jyutping]  ―  Mrs. Chan

Pronunciation 3

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Definitions
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太

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) Only used in 太末.

Compounds

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Etymology 2

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See Korean 太.

Definitions

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太

  1. (Korean Classical Chinese) soybean
    Synonym: 大豆 (dàdòu)

Etymology 3

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For pronunciation and definitions of 太 – see 泰 (“big; large; great; extensive; etc.”).
(This character is the second-round simplified form of 泰).
Notes:

Japanese

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Kanji

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太

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. (adjective): fat

Readings

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Compounds

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Etymology 1

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From Old Japanese.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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太(ふと) • (futo) 

  1. fatness
  2. a fat person, a fatty
  3. fat-necked shamisen
  4. thick thread
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Prefix

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太(ふと) • (futo-) 

  1. added to words describing gods or the emperor or other exalted subjects to denote greatness or excellence
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 17, poem 4031:
      ; text here
      奈加等美乃 敷刀能里⟨等其⟩等 伊比波良倍 安⟨賀⟩布伊能知毛 多我多米尓奈礼
      中臣の 太祝詞言 言ひ祓へ 贖ふ命も 誰がために汝れ
      なかとみの ふとのりとごと いひはらへ あかふいのちも たがためになれ
      Nakatomi no / futonoritogoto / iiharae / akau inochi mo / ta ga tame ni nare
      Reciting the Nakatomi's excellent ritual offering, whose [long] life was prayed for? Yours.
  2. added to regular nouns to denote fatness or thickness
    太(ふと)腿(もも)、太(ふと)箸(ばし)
    futo-momo, futo-bashi
    the thigh (the thick part of the leg), fat chopsticks (used at New Years)
Derived terms
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Derived terms

Etymology 2

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The Old Japanese 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal (sentence-final) form”) of adjective 太い (futoi, “fat, thick, big”).[2]

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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太(ふとし) • (Futoshi) 

  1. a male given name

Etymology 3

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Derived from the root word 大 (ō, “great, big”).

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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太(おお) • (Ō) ←おほ (Ofo)?

  1. a surname

Etymology 4

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From Middle Chinese 太 (thajH). Compare modern Mandarin 太 (tài).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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太(たい) • (tai-) 

  1. big, fat, great
Usage notes
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  • Only found in compounds.
Derived terms
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Derived terms

Etymology 5

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From a colloquial form of 太 in Middle Chinese. Compare the similar corruption in Mandarin 大 (dà).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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太(た) • (ta-) 

  1. big, fat, great
Usage notes
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Only found in compounds.

Derived terms
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Derived terms

References

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  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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  2. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource


Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Chinese 太 (MC thajH). The "pollock" sense is supposedly from the surname, after a fisherman.

Hanja

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太 (eumhun 클 태 (keul tae))

  1. hanja form? of 태 (“large; great; big; excessive”) [affix]
  2. hanja form? of 태 [surname]
  3. hanja form? of 태 (“pollock”) [affix]

Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 2

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A Korean graphic abbreviation of Chinese 大豆 (dàdòu, “soybean”, literally “big bean”), perhaps attested as early as the eighth century.

Presumably, it was originally used as a logogram for the native Korean word 코ᇰ (Yale: khwòng, “soybean”), without a Sino-Korean reading of its own. At some point—perhaps after the logogramic representation of native Korean words declined following the invention of the hangul alphabet in the 1400s—it became conflated with the visually identical character 太 (“large; great”) and now shares its Sino-Korean reading, 태 (tae).

Hanja

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太 (eumhun 콩 태 (kong tae))

  1. hanja form? of 태 (“soybean”) [affix]

Compounds

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Compounds

Vietnamese

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Han character

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太: Hán Nôm readings: Thái

Proper noun

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太

  1. chữ Hán form of Thái (“a male given name from Chinese”).

Note

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  1. This is not to be confused with the homophonous 泰 and 彩, both being given names and being pronounced as Thái.
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