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西 U+897F, 西
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-897F

[U+897E]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+8980]
U+2EC4, ⻄
CJK RADICAL WEST TWO

[U+2EC3]
CJK Radicals Supplement
[U+2EC5]

Translingual edit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character edit

西 (Kangxi radical 146, +0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 一金田 (MCW), four-corner 10600, composition 𠁤)

Derived characters edit

References edit

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1128, character 10
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 34763
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1595, character 19
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2805, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+897F

Chinese edit

Glyph origin edit

Historical forms of the character 西
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
           

Pictogram (象形) – a bag or basket, borrowed for phonetic value. Compare (OC *toːŋ, “bundle > east”). Traditionally explained as a pictogram of a bird settling into its nest, which by analogy with the setting of the sun means “west”. This etymology has been disputed (Sears), but Sagart (2004) stands by it.

Etymology 1 edit

simp. and trad.
西
alternative forms

The word is traditionally reconstructed to have a /*s/-initial in Old Chinese, e.g. /*sɯːl/ in Zhengzhang (2003). However, recent scholarship has suggested that the Old Chinese initial should instead be reconstructed as /*s-nˤ/, one of the reasons being 西 appears to be the phonetic in (nǎi), the archaic graphic variant of (OC *nɯːʔ). The new reconstruction, /*s-nˤər/ in Baxter and Sagart (2014), also accounts for how 西 can be the phonetic in (shěn, “to smile”). For more information, see Sagart (2004), Baxter and Sagart (2014) and Nohara (2018).

In light of the new construction with the initial consonant cluster /*s-nˤ/, the possibilities of the etymology of 西, aside from being cognate with (, “to roost; to rest”) (B-S OC /*s-nˤər/), include:

Pronunciation edit


Note:
  • sai - vernacular;
  • se - literary;
  • si - vernacular (limited, e.g. 西瓜 (xīguā)).
Note:
  • sai - literary;
  • si1 - vernacular (for 西瓜).
  • Wu
  • Xiang

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location 西
    Mandarin Beijing /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Harbin /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Tianjin /ɕi²¹/
    Jinan /ɕi²¹³/
    Qingdao /si²¹³/
    Zhengzhou /si²⁴/
    Xi'an /ɕi²¹/
    Xining /ɕji⁴⁴/
    Yinchuan /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Lanzhou /ɕi³¹/
    Ürümqi /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Wuhan /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Chengdu /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Guiyang /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Kunming /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Nanjing /si³¹/
    Hefei /sz̩²¹/
    Jin Taiyuan /ɕi¹¹/
    Pingyao /ɕi¹³/
    /sei¹³/ ~瓜
    Hohhot /ɕi³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /ɕi⁵³/
    Suzhou /si⁵⁵/
    Hangzhou /ɕi³³/
    Wenzhou /sei³³/
    Hui Shexian /si³¹/
    Tunxi /se¹¹/
    Xiang Changsha /si³³/
    Xiangtan /si³³/
    Gan Nanchang /ɕi⁴²/
    Hakka Meixian /si⁴⁴/
    Taoyuan /si²⁴/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /sɐi⁵³/
    Nanning /ɬɐi⁵⁵/
    Hong Kong /sɐi⁵⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /se⁵⁵/
    /sai⁵⁵/ 東~
    /si⁵⁵/ ~瓜
    Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /sɛ⁴⁴/
    Jian'ou (Northern Min) /sai⁵⁴/
    /si⁵⁴/
    Shantou (Teochew) /si³³/
    /sai³³/
    Haikou (Hainanese) /si²³/
    /tai²³/

    Rime
    Character 西
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (16)
    Final () (39)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () IV
    Fanqie
    Baxter sej
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /sei/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /sei/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /sɛi/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /sɛj/
    Li
    Rong
    /sei/
    Wang
    Li
    /siei/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /siei/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    sai1
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 西
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ sej ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*s-nˁər/
    English west

    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 西
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 13236
    Phonetic
    component
    西
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    1
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    西
    Old
    Chinese
    /*sɯːl/

    Definitions edit

    西

    1. west; western
    2. (Cantonese, minced oath) Euphemistic form of 𲈹 (hai1).
      西 [Cantonese]  ―  sai1 jan4 [Jyutping]  ―  cunt; jerk
      西 [Cantonese]  ―  sai1 haak3 [Jyutping]  ―  bad customer
      西西 [Cantonese]  ―  sai1 hau2 sai1 min6 [Jyutping]  ―  bitch-face
    Coordinate terms edit
    西北 (xīběi) 東北东北 (dōngběi)
    西 ()   (dōng)
    西南 (xīnán) 東南东南 (dōngnán)


    Compounds edit

    Descendants edit

    Sino-Xenic (西):
    • Japanese: 西(さい) (sai); 西(せい) (sei)
    • Korean: 서(西) (seo)
    • Vietnamese: tây (西)

    Others:

    Etymology 2 edit

    simp. and trad.
    西
    alternative forms

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From English side?”)

    Pronunciation edit

    Definitions edit

    西 (Cantonese)

    1. spin (noun)
      腳趾尾西脚趾尾西 [Cantonese]  ―  goek3 zi2 mei5-1 laai1 sai1 [Jyutping]  ―  to do a sidespin with one's little toe
    2. to spin; to cause to spin
    3. carrying spin
    4. to deviate from a path due to some force
    5. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
      轉彎嗰陣西 [Cantonese, trad.]
      转弯嗰阵西 [Cantonese, simp.]
      gaa3 ce1 zyun3 waan1 go2 zan6-2 hou2 sai1. [Jyutping]
      There was strong centrifugal force when the vehicle turned.
    6. to hit (clarification of this definition is needed)
      一嘢西 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]
      jat1 je5 sai1 lok6 keoi5 dou6 [Jyutping]
      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

    Compounds edit

    Japanese edit

    Kanji edit

    西

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. west
    2. Europe, European
    3. kanji used to transliterate foreign languages
    4. Short for 西班牙 (Supein): Spain, Spanish
    5. autumn

    Readings edit

    Compounds edit

    Etymology 1 edit

    Kanji in this term
    西
    にし
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi

    Originally a compound of 去に (ini, going away, the (れん)(よう)(けい) (ren'yōkei, stem or continuative form) of the verb () (inu, to go away)) +‎ (shi, wind; (by extension) direction, as seen in other ancient-derived words as (arashi, storm, literally wild + wind), 旋風 (tsumuji, whirlwind), (higashi, east, from older pi muka si, literally “sun + facing + wind/direction”)).[1]

    First cited in the Kojiki of 712, with the phonetic spelling 爾斯 (nisi).[1]

    Pronunciation edit

    Noun edit

    西(にし) (nishi

    1. [from 770] west (one of the four cardinal directions)
      Antonym: (higashi)
    2. the West
    3. [from 712] the west wind, wind blowing from the west
      Antonym: (higashi)
    4. (theater) in kabuki:
      1. [from 1688] the left side of the stage in the Edo-style
      2. [from 1688] the right side of the stage in Kyoto and Osaka styles
    5. [date uncertain] (sumo) lower-ranked wrestlers listed on the left side of a banzuke
      Antonym: (higashi)
    6. [from 1885] the West; (later, more specifically) the capitalist states of the West (originally western Europe, as opposed to Eastern Bloc countries)
      Synonym: 西側 (nishigawa)
      Antonym: (higashi)
    Coordinate terms edit
    西(せい)(ほく) (seihoku)
    (ほく)西(せい) (hokusei)
    (きた) (kita) (とう)(ほく) (tōhoku)
    (ほく)(とう) (hokutō)
    西(にし) (nishi)   (ひがし) (higashi)
    西(せい)(なん) (seinan)
    (なん)西(せい) (nansei)
    (みなみ) (minami) (とう)(なん) (tōnan)
    (なん)(とう) (nantō)


    Derived terms edit
    Idioms edit
    Proverbs edit

    Proper noun edit

    西(にし) (Nishi

    1. (Buddhism) Synonym of 西方浄土 (Saihō Jōdo): the western paradise of Amitabha Buddha
    2. (Buddhism) Short for 西本願寺 (Nishi Hongan-ji): a Buddhist temple in Kyoto
      Synonym: お西 (o-Nishi)
    3. (historical) a red-light district in Edo-period Shinjuku (as it was located west of Edo Castle)
    4. a place name, especially the name of various wards in major cities throughout Japan
    5. a surname

    Etymology 2 edit

    Kanji in this term
    西
    しゃー
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    Possibly a corruption of Mandarin 西 (, west).

    Noun edit

    西(シャー) (shā

    1. (mahjong) west wind (mahjong tile)
      Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
    2. (mahjong) a (yaku, winning hand) with a triplet or quad of west wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 (han, doubles)
      Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)
    See also edit

    References edit

    1. 1.0 1.1 西”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
    2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    3. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997) 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    4. ^ 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN

    Korean edit

    Etymology edit

    From Middle Chinese 西 (MC sej).

    Historical Readings
    Dongguk Jeongun Reading
    Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 (Yale: syèy)
    Middle Korean
    Text Eumhun
    Gloss (hun) Reading
    Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[3] (Yale: syè-s-nyèk) (Yale: syè)

    Pronunciation edit

    Hanja edit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    西 (eumhun 서녘 (seonyeok seo))

    1. Hanja form? of (west; western).

    Compounds edit

    References edit

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [4]

    Okinawan edit

    Kanji edit

    西

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings edit

    Noun edit

    西(いり) (iri

    1. the West

    Compounds edit

    Vietnamese edit

    Han character edit

    西: Hán Việt readings: tây,
    西: Nôm readings: tây

    1. west
    2. West (the Western world)

    Compounds edit

    References edit

    • Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
    • Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
    • Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999