Open main menu
Wiktionary β

生

See also: 主 and 玍

Contents

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 
Japanese
stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

See images of
Radical 100 生

生 (radical 100, 生+0, 5 strokes, cangjie input 竹手一 (HQM), four-corner 25100, composition ⿻𠂉土 or ⿰丿龶)

  1. Kangxi radical #100, ⽣.

Derived charactersEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • KangXi: page 754, character 26
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 21670
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1162, character 4
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2575, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+751F

ChineseEdit

simp. and trad.
 生

Glyph originEdit

Historical forms of the character 生
Shang Western Zhou Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
       
Characters in the same phonetic series (生) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
猜 *sʰlɯː
輤 *sʰleːns
綪 *sʰleːns, *ʔsreːŋ
倩 *sʰleːns, *sʰleŋs
棈 *sʰleːns
蒨 *sʰeːns
篟 *sʰeːns
生 *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs
牲 *sreŋ
笙 *sreŋ
甥 *sreŋ
鉎 *sreŋ, *sleːŋ
珄 *sreŋ
鼪 *sreŋ, *sreŋs
猩 *sreŋ, *seːŋ
狌 *sreŋ
眚 *sreŋʔ
貹 *sreŋs
崝 *zreːŋ
精 *ʔsleŋ, *ʔsleŋs
菁 *ʔsleŋ
鶄 *ʔsleŋ, *sʰleːŋ
蜻 *ʔsleŋ, *sʰleːŋ
鼱 *ʔsleŋ
婧 *ʔsleŋ, *zleŋs, *zleŋʔ
睛 *ʔsleŋ, *sʰleŋʔ
箐 *ʔsleŋ
聙 *ʔsleŋ
旌 *ʔsleŋ
清 *sʰleŋ
圊 *sʰleŋ
請 *sʰleŋʔ, *zleŋs, *zleŋ
凊 *sʰleŋs
䝼 *zleŋs, *zleŋ
靚 *zleŋs
情 *zleŋ
晴 *zleŋ
夝 *zleŋ
靜 *zleŋʔ
靖 *zleŋʔ
睲 *seŋʔ, *seːŋs
惺 *seŋʔ, *seːŋ
性 *sleŋs
姓 *sleŋs
靗 *l̥ʰeŋs
鯖 *ʔljeŋ, *sʰleːŋ
青 *sʰleːŋ
靘 *sʰleːŋ, *sʰleːŋs
掅 *sʰleːŋs
胜 *sleːŋ
曐 *sleːŋ
星 *sleːŋ
鮏 *sleːŋ
腥 *seːŋ, *seːŋs
鯹 *seːŋ
醒 *seːŋ, *seːŋʔ, *seːŋs
篂 *seːŋ

Ideogrammic compound (會意): 屮 (“bud”) + 一 (“ground”) – sprouting from the ground.

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-riŋ ~ s-r(j)aŋ (“to live; to be alive; to give birth; raw; green”). Cognate with Burmese ရှင် (hrang, “to live; alive”), Mizo hring (“to bear; to bring forth; to give birth to; green”).

Schuessler (2007) proposes that Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sriŋ is derived from the root *sri (“to exist”) (whence possibly Chinese 體 (OC *r̥ʰiːʔ, “body; shape; form”)) + *-ŋ (“terminative suffix”).

Both level tone and falling tone readings are found in Middle Chinese, but the latter has since been lost and is merged into the level-tone reading in modern dialects.

Related to 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ, “blue-green”), 蒼 (OC *sʰaːŋ, *sʰaːŋʔ, “dark blue; deep green”).

Derivatives: 性 (OC *sleŋs, “nature; character; personality; quality”), 姓 (OC *sleŋs, “family name”).

PronunciationEdit

Note:
  • saang1 - colloquial;
  • sang1 - literary.
  • Hakka
    • Note:
    • sâng - colloquial;
    • sên - literary.
  • Min Bei
    • Note:
    • sáng, cháng - colloquial;
    • sáing - literary.
  • Min Dong
    • Note:
    • săng - colloquial;
    • chăng - colloquial (“raw”);
    • sĕng - literary.
  • Min Nan
    • Note:
    • siⁿ/seⁿ - colloquial;
    • chhiⁿ/chheⁿ - colloquial (“raw”);
    • seng/sng - literary.
    Note:
    • sên1 - colloquial;
    • cên1 - colloquial (“raw”);
    • sêng1 - literary (“student”).
  • Wu
    • Note:
    • 1san - colloquial;
    • 1sen - literary.
    • Dialectal data▼
    Variety Location 生
    Mandarin Beijing /ʂəŋ⁵⁵/
    Harbin /ʂəŋ⁴/
    Tianjin /səŋ²¹/
    Jinan /ʂəŋ²¹³/
    Qingdao /ʂəŋ²¹³/
    Zhengzhou /səŋ²⁴/
    Xi'an /səŋ²¹/
    Xining /sə̃⁴⁴/
    Yinchuan /səŋ⁴⁴/
    Lanzhou /ʂə̃n³¹/
    Ürümqi /sɤŋ⁴⁴/
    Wuhan /sən⁵⁵/
    Chengdu /sən⁵⁵/
    Guiyang /sen⁵⁵/
    Kunming /sə̃/
    Nanjing /sən³¹/
    Hefei /sən²¹/
    Jin Taiyuan /səŋ¹¹/
    Pingyao /səŋ¹³/
    /ʂʐ̩e̞¹³/
    Hohhot /sə̃ŋ³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /səŋ⁵³/
    Suzhou /sã⁵⁵/
    Hangzhou /sen³³/
    Wenzhou /siɛ³³/
    Hui Shexian /sʌ̃³¹/
    /sɛ³¹/
    Tunxi /ɕiɛ¹¹/
    Xiang Changsha /sən³³/
    Xiangtan /siẽ³³/
    /sən³³/
    Gan Nanchang /sɑŋ⁴²/
    /sɛn⁴²/ ～意
    Hakka Meixian /saŋ⁴⁴/
    Taoyuan /sɑŋ²⁴/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /sɐŋ⁵³/
    /saŋ⁵³/
    Nanning /saŋ⁵⁵/
    Hong Kong /sɐŋ⁵⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /siŋ⁵⁵/
    /sĩ⁵⁵/ ～死
    /t͡sʰĩ⁵⁵/ ～肉
    Fuzhou (Min Dong) /saŋ⁴⁴/
    Jian'ou (Min Bei) /saiŋ⁵⁴/ 學～
    /t͡sʰaŋ⁵⁴/ ～熟
    Shantou (Min Nan) /seŋ³³/
    /sẽ³³/
    /t͡sʰẽ³³/
    Haikou (Min Nan) /seŋ²³/
    /sɔŋ²³/
    /tɛ²³/ ～活
    /sɛ²³/ 不熟
    Rime
    Character 生 生
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    Initial (聲) 生 (21) 生 (21)
    Final (韻) 庚 (109) 庚 (109)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø) Departing (H)
    Openness (開合) Open Open
    Division (等) II II
    Fanqie 所庚切 所敬切
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang         		/ʃˠæŋ/ /ʃˠæŋH/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/ʃᵚaŋ/ /ʃᵚaŋH/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/ʃaŋ/ /ʃaŋH/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/ʂaɨjŋ/ /ʂaɨjŋH/
    Li
    Rong         		/ʃɐŋ/ /ʃɐŋH/
    Wang
    Li         		/ʃɐŋ/ /ʃɐŋH/
    Bernard
    Karlgren         		/ʂɐŋ/ /ʂɐŋH/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex         		shēng shèng
    Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 生 生 生
    Reading # 1/3 2/3 3/3
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)         		shēng shēng shēng
    Middle
    Chinese         		‹ sræng › ‹ sræng › ‹ srjæng ›
    Old
    Chinese         		/*sreŋ/ (MC srj- > sr-; or *s.reŋ ?) /*sreŋ/ /*sreŋ/ (or *s.reŋ ?)
    English bear, be born; live fresh, raw bear, be born; live

    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 生 生
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    No. 11312 11322
    Phonetic
    component         		生 生
    Rime
    group         		耕 耕
    Rime
    subdivision         		0 0
    Corresponding
    MC rime         		生 生
    Old
    Chinese         		/*sʰleːŋ/ /*sreŋs/

    DefinitionsEdit

    生

    1. to live; to subsist; to exist
    2. to grow; to develop; to bud
    3. (causative) to bear; to give birth; to bring up; to rear
    4. to be born; to come into existence
    5. offspring; descendant
    6. pupil; disciple; student
    7. (historical) scholar; Confucian scholar
    8. (opera) actor or male character
    9. Short for 先生 (xiānsheng, “gentleman”).
    10. (Cantonese) Short for 先生 (xiānsheng, “Mr.”).
      • 陳生 / 陈生 [Cantonese]  ―  can4 saang1 [Jyutping]  ―  Mr. Chan
    11. life; existence; being; living
    12. fresh; not stale
    13. raw; uncooked
    14. uncultured; uncultivated
    15. strange; unfamiliar
    16. mechanically; forcedly
    17. † very; quite; extremely
    18. vivid; strong; forceful
    19. innate; natural; born with
    20. † Original form of 性 (xìng, “intelligence; natural endowment”).
    21. living things; organism
    22. livelihood; subsistence
      謀生 / 谋生  ―  móushēng  ―  to make a living
    23. lifetime; all one's life
    24. birthday; anniversary
    25. to bring back to life; to revive; to rescue
    26. to generate; to breed; to create
    27. to manufacture; to produce
    28. to happen; to occur; to take place
    29. (Buddhism) to go into society; to be reincarnated
    30. (dialectal) to set up; to put in; to settle
    31. to light; to ignite (a fire)

    CompoundsEdit

    Derived terms from 生

    JapaneseEdit

    Japanese stroke order
     
    Japanese
    stroke order
     

    KanjiEdit

    生

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    ReadingsEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    Compounds

    Etymology 1Edit

    Kanji in this term
    生
    なま
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    From Old Japanese. Numerous derivatives already in use in the Heian period.[1][2]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    生 (hiragana なま, rōmaji nama)

    1. a raw, uncooked state
      肉 (にく)を生 (なま)のまま食 (た)べると、腹 (はら)を壊 (こわ)すことがある。
      Niku o nama no mama taberu to, hara o kowasu koto ga aru.
      You may have a stomachache if you eat raw meat.
    2. fresh, draft
    3. Short for 生ビール.

    PrefixEdit

    生 (hiragana なま, rōmaji nama-)

    1. live
      生 (なま)演 (えん)奏 (そう)
      namaensō
      live performance
    2. fresh, draft
      生 (なま)クリーム
      nama kurīmu
      fresh cream
      生 (なま)ビール
      nama bīru
      draft beer
    3. raw, uncooked, rare
      生 (なま)卵 (たまご)
      nama tamago
      a raw egg
    4. natural, unprocessed

    Etymology 2Edit

    Kanji in this term
    生
    せい
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    From Middle Chinese 生 (MC ʃˠæŋ, ʃˠæŋH, “alive; fresh; raw; unprocessed”).

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    生 (hiragana せい, rōmaji sei)

    1. a living
      生 (せい)を営 (いとな)む
      sei o itonamu
      make a living
    2. life
      生 (せい)の喜 (よろこ)び
      sei no yorokobi
      the joys of life
      Synonym: 命

    SuffixEdit

    生 (hiragana せい, rōmaji -sei)

    1. a student
      中学 (ちゅうがく)生 (せい)、大学 (だいがく)生 (せい)、受 (じゅ)験 (けん)生 (せい)
      chūgakusei, daigakusei, jukensei
      middle-school student, university student, test-taking student → examinee
    2. (be) born in
      1950年 (せんきゅうひゃくごじゅうねん)生 (せい)
      senkyūhyakugojū nen sei
      born in 1950
      Antonyms: 歿 (ぼつ) (botsu, “died in”)

    Etymology 3Edit

    Kanji in this term
    生
    き
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    Likely a contraction from 生き (iki, “life, living; freshness”).[1]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    生 (hiragana き, rōmaji ki)

    1. purity, a lack of any admixture, a state of being undiluted
      ウィスキーを生 (き)で飲 (の)む
      wisukī o ki de nomu
      drink whiskey straight

    PrefixEdit

    生 (hiragana き, rōmaji ki-)

    1. unrefined
      生 (きい)糸 (と)
      kiito
      raw silk
    2. pure, undefiled, unadulterated
      生娘 (きむすめ)
      kimusume
      innocent young girl

    See alsoEdit

    ReferencesEdit

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

    KoreanEdit

    HanjaEdit

    生 (eumhun 날 생 (nal saeng))

    1. fresh

    CompoundsEdit

    VietnameseEdit

    Han characterEdit

    生 (sinh, sanh, siêng, xênh, xinh)

    1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

    CompoundsEdit

    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=生&oldid=50518047"