布穀

Chinese

		to declare; to announce; to spread to declare; to announce; to spread; to make known; spread; (cotton) cloth	grain; corn
trad. (布穀)		布	穀
simp. (布谷)		布	谷
alternative forms		勃姑 撥穀／拨谷

Etymology

Phono-semantic matching of the characteristic two-note call of the cuckoos.

Literally “to spread grain” – The cuckoos' chirps are usually heard during the seed-sowing times, and their call symbolises the commencement of a new farming season.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bùgǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bou³ guk¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bùgǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùgǔ
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴-ku³
    • Yale: bù-gǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: buhguu
    • Palladius: бугу (bugu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bou³ guk¹
    • Yale: bou gūk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bou³ guk⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: bou³ gug¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pou̯³³ kʊk̚⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: puH kuwk

Rime
Character	布	穀
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	模 (23)	東 (3)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	愽故切	古禄切
Baxter	puH	kuwk
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/puoH/	/kuk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/puoH/	/kuk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/poH/	/kuk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pɔH/	/kəwk̚/
Li Rong	/poH/	/kuk̚/
Wang Li	/puH/	/kuk̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/puoH/	/kuk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bù	gu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	bou3	guk1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*pˤa-s  [k]ˤok/

  (Zhengzhang): /*paːs  kloːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	布	穀
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bù	gǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ puH ›	‹ kuwk ›
Old Chinese	/*pˁa-s/	/*[k]ˁok/
English	cloth	grain
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	布	穀
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	3495	7423
Phonetic component	父	殻
Rime group	魚	屋
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime		穀
Old Chinese	/*paːs/	/*kloːɡ/

Noun

布穀

1. (～鳥) cuckoo

   • 臣聞布穀鳴於孟夏，蟋蟀吟於始秋。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     臣闻布谷鸣于孟夏，蟋蟀吟于始秋。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5^th century CE

     Chén wén bùgǔ míng yú mèngxià, xīshuài yín yú shǐqiū. [Pinyin]

     I [the subject] know that cuckoos call during the first month of summer, and crickets chirp in the early autumn.

Synonyms

• 可穀／可谷 (dialectal)
• 姑姑蟲／姑姑虫 (gu¹ gu^1-3 cung¹) (Jin)
• 子規／子规 (zǐguī)
• 子規鳥／子规鸟 (zǐguīniǎo)
• 布穀鳥／布谷鸟 (bùgǔniǎo)
• 杜宇 (dùyǔ) (literary)
• 杜鵑／杜鹃 (dùjuān)
• 杜鵑鳥／杜鹃鸟 (dùjuānniǎo)
• 種穀蟲兒／种谷虫儿 (Jin)
• 穀穀鳥／谷谷鸟 (dialectal)
• 豆仔鳥／豆仔鸟 (Xiamen Hokkien, Zhangzhou Hokkien)
• 陽雀子／阳雀子 (ian² cio⁶ zr) (Xiang)
• 鳲鳩／鸤鸠 (shījiū) (literary)