See also:
U+8C93, 貓
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8C93

[U+8C92]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+8C94]

Translingual

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Japanese
Simplified
Traditional

Han character

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(Kangxi radical 153, +8, 15 strokes, cangjie input 月竹廿田 (BHTW), four-corner 44260, composition )

References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1202, character 30
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36595
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1664, character 5
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3914, character 4
  • Unihan data for U+8C93

Chinese

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Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script
 

Phono-semantic compound (形聲形声, OC *mreːw, *mrew) : semantic + phonetic (OC *mrew). The phonetic component perhaps points to the onomatopoeic nature of this word.

Ma Xulun suggested that was the original character of 貓.

Etymology 1

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trad. /
simp.
 

Onomatopoeic. Compare (miāo, “meow, the onomatopoeic cry of a cat”).

Schuessler (2007) minimally reconstructs Old Chinese *mau, reasoning that 's place among division II syllables results from its onomatopoeic nature instead of an Old Chinese medial *-r-; onomatopoeia is also responsible for the 陰平阴平 (yīnpíng) tone instead of the expected 陽平阳平 (yángpíng).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • mao1 - vernacular;
  • miao2 - literary.
Note: miu4, maau4 - rare.
Note:
  • mau4 - vernacular;
  • mieu4 - literary.
Note:
  • mê - vernacular;
  • miâu - literary.
Note:
  • mà - vernacular;
  • mièu - literary.
Note:
  • niau/ngiau - vernacular (“cat; pockmarked; stingy; lecherous”);
  • bâu - literary.
Note:
  • ngiao1 - Shantou, Jieyang;
  • ngiou1 - Chaozhou;
  • bha5 - vernacular.
    • (Leizhou)
      • Leizhou Pinyin: bha5 / niao7 / miao5
      • Sinological IPA: /ba²²/, /niau⁵⁵/, /miau²²/
Note:
  • bha5 - vernacular;
  • niao7 - vernacular (restricted, e.g. 貓貓猫猫 (ba5 niao7));
  • miao5 - literary.
Note:
  • mau1 - vernacular;
  • miau1 - literary.

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location
    Mandarin Beijing /mɑu⁵⁵/
    Harbin /mau⁴⁴/
    Tianjin /mɑu⁴⁵/
    Jinan /mɔ⁴²/
    /mɔ²¹³/ 瞧~兒
    Qingdao /mɔ⁴²/
    Zhengzhou /mau⁴²/
    Xi'an /mau²⁴/
    Xining /mɔ²⁴/
    Yinchuan /mɔ⁵³/
    Lanzhou /mɔ³¹/
    Ürümqi /mɔ⁵¹/
    Wuhan /mau⁵⁵/
    Chengdu /mau⁵⁵/
    Guiyang /mao⁵⁵/
    Kunming /mɔ⁴⁴/
    Nanjing /mɔo²⁴/
    Hefei /mɔ²¹/
    Jin Taiyuan /mau¹¹/
    Pingyao /mɔ¹³/
    Hohhot /mɔ³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /mɔ²³/
    /mɔ⁵³/
    Suzhou /mæ¹³/
    Hangzhou /mɔ²¹³/
    Wenzhou /m̠uɔ³³/
    Hui Shexian /mɔ³¹/
    Tunxi /mən²⁴/
    Xiang Changsha /miau³³/
    /mau³³/
    Xiangtan /maɯ³³/
    Gan Nanchang /mɑu⁴⁵/
    /miɛu⁴²/
    Hakka Meixian /miau⁵³/
    Taoyuan /meu⁵⁵/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /mau⁵⁵/
    Nanning /mau⁵⁵/
    /mɛu⁵⁵/
    Hong Kong /mau⁵⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /bau³⁵/
    /niau⁵⁵/
    Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /ma⁵³/
    Jian'ou (Northern Min) /me³³/
    /miau³³/
    Shantou (Teochew) /ŋiãu³³/
    Haikou (Hainanese) /va³¹/
    /niau³⁵/
    /niau²³/

    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    Initial () (4) (4)
    Final () (92) (90)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open Open
    Division () III II
    Fanqie
    Baxter mjew maew
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /mˠiᴇu/ /mˠau/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /mᵚiɛu/ /mᵚau/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /miæu/ /mau/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /miaw/ /maɨw/
    Li
    Rong
    /mjɛu/ /mau/
    Wang
    Li
    /mĭɛu/ /mau/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /mi̯ɛu/ /mau/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    miáo máo
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    miu4 maau4
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    māo
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ maew ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*C.mˁraw/
    English cat

    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
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    No. 9101 9109
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    2 2
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*mreːw/ /*mrew/

    Definitions

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    1. cat (Classifier: m c)
    2. (Mandarin, colloquial) to hide oneself
    3. (Mandarin, colloquial) to hang around; to stay somewhere doing nothing
    4. (Cantonese) to get drunk
    5. (Hokkien) pockmarked (face)
      [Hokkien]  ―  niau-bīn [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  pockmarked face
    6. (Xiamen, Quanzhou and Singapore Hokkien; Singapore Teochew) stingy; miserly
    7. (Zhangzhou Hokkien) lecherous; lascivious
    8. (Cantonese, non-productive) person with a non-positive attribute
      花面花面 [Cantonese]  ―  faa1 min6 maau1 [Jyutping]  ―  someone with a dirty face
      為食为食 [Cantonese]  ―  wai6 sik6 maau1 [Jyutping]  ―  gourmand
      [Cantonese]  ―  beng6 maau1 [Jyutping]  ―  someone who is ill or physically weak
    Synonyms
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    Descendants

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    • English: ngeow (via Teochew)

    Compounds

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    Etymology 2

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    trad.
    simp.
    alternative forms

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Pronunciation

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    Definitions

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    1. (Mandarin, colloquial) to bend
        ―  máoyāo  ―  to bend over; to stoop
    Synonyms
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    Etymology 3

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    trad.
    simp.

    Borrowed from English modem.

    Pronunciation

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    Definitions

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    1. (Mainland China, colloquial) modem

    Compounds

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    Etymology 4

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    trad.
    simp.
    alternative forms

    Pronunciation

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    Definitions

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    1. (Hokkien) wildcat
    2. (Zhangzhou Hokkien) vicious woman; woman that suddenly turns hostile (just like a mother cat when her kittens are threatened)

    Compounds

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    References

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    Japanese

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    Kanji

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    (Hyōgai kanji)

    Readings

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    Noun

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    (ねこ) or (ネコ) (neko (counter )

    1. Alternative form of (cat)

    Korean

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    Hanja

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    (eumhun 고양이 (goyang'i myo))

    1. cat

    Vietnamese

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    Han character

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    : Hán Việt readings: miêu ((mi)(tiêu)(thiết))[1][2][3]
    : Nôm readings: mèo[1][2], miêu[4]

    1. chữ Hán form of miêu (cat).
    2. Nôm form of mèo (cat).

    References

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