峨眉山

Chinese

		Mount Emei; Emei	mountain; hill
trad. (峨眉山)		峨眉	山
simp. #(峨眉山)		峨眉	山
alternative forms		峨嵋山

峨眉山

note how the feelers of this moth resemble the peaks of Mount Emei (pictured above)

Etymology

峨眉 derives from the word 蛾眉 (éméi, “the feathery feelers of a moth”), so named because the peaks of Mount Emei do in fact resemble the feelers of a moth (see pictures). The “insect” radical (虫) on the left side of the first character 蛾 (é) was later replaced with the “mountain” radical (山 (shān)). Thus, 蛾 (é) eventually became 峨 (é), so as to denote the mountain. The “mountain” radical can be optionally added to the second character 眉 (méi). Both 峨嵋 (Éméi) and 峨眉 have been used through the centuries. 山 (shān) simply means “mountain”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Éméi Shān

  (Zhuyin): ㄜˊ ㄇㄟˊ ㄕㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngo⁴ mei⁴ saan¹
• Gan (Wiktionary): ngo⁴ mi san¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Éméi Shān
    • Zhuyin: ㄜˊ ㄇㄟˊ ㄕㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Éméi Shan
    • Wade–Giles: O²-mei² Shan¹
    • Yale: É-méi Shān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Ermei Shan
    • Palladius: Эмэй Шань (Emɛj Šanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀɤ³⁵ meɪ̯³⁵ ʂän⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngo⁴ mei⁴ saan¹
    • Yale: ngòh mèih sāan
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngo⁴ mei⁴ saan¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngo⁴ méi⁴ san¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɔː²¹ mei̯²¹ saːn⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: ngo⁴ mi san¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋo³⁵ mi² san⁴²/

Proper noun

峨眉山

1. Mount Emei
2. (～市) Emeishan (a county-level city in Sichuan, China)