子
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Translingual[edit]
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Han character[edit]
子 (radical 39, 子+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 弓木 (ND), four-corner 17407, composition ⿻了一)
- Kangxi radical #39, ⼦.
Derived characters[edit]
- Appendix:Chinese radical/子
- 仔, 存, 𫥱, 吇, 好, 㞨, 汓, 𤜭, 䦻, 杍, 𣬥, 𤘅, 㺭, 䢊, 𭾝, 矷, 秄, 籽, 耔, 虸, 覎(觃), 𧴯, 𧺙, 屘, 釨(𫓦), 𧆰, 𩲇, 䰵, 𪐣, 𫜠, 𬛧
- 𮬪, 𧏄, 𣏍, 𣫮, 𠯂, 𡕕, 𡵇, 芓, 𢻯, 斈, 㫗, 李, 𪞐, 𥤪, 享, 𥫞, 𡱬, 𩇫, 箰, 𦽆, 𧃯, 𪭋, 𠨯, 㞌, 𭙒, 𤴳, 𨳕(𨸀), 囝, 斿, 㳺, 逰, 𨘋
References[edit]
- KangXi: page 277, character 1
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6930
- Dae Jaweon: page 543, character 15
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1006, character 6
- Unihan data for U+5B50
Further reading[edit]
Chinese[edit]
| simp. and trad. |
子 | |
|---|---|---|
Glyph origin[edit]
| Historical forms of the character 子 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shang | Western Zhou | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
| Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Chu slip and silk script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
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Pictogram (象形) – an image of a baby, with a large head and spread arms. The legs are wrapped in a blanket. Compare with 了, where the arms are wrapped.
The big seal script form is much more elaborate, showing a baby with hair on a head (囟) and arms on the two sides of the body, sitting on a stool (几).
Etymology[edit]
- child
- From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsa ~ za (“child, offspring, relatives; to come forth (as child at birth); to love; loving”).
- Cognate with 字 (OC *zlɯs, “character; letter”), 慈 (OC *zɯ, “loving; kind”), 滋 (OC *ʔsɯ, “to grow, to breed, to propagate, to bring about, to increase”), 孳 (OC *ʔsɯ, *zɯs, “to breed, to propagate”).
- Additionally, Smith (2011) proposes that 子 (OC tsəʔ), which originated from a Sino-Tibetan root meaning "to come forth", intially represented the sixth earthly branch - which denoted the moon's "coming forth" stage (i.e. early waning-gibbous phase) - before being displaced by 巳 (OC *s-ləʔ), "due to phonological closeness (combined with the semantic opacity of the Branch terms at later eras)".
- first earthly branch
- Observing that this branch had been represented by ancestral forms of the graph 甾 in oracle bones and bronze inscriptions and that 甾 is closely linked with 緇 "dark, stained", 淄 "murky (water)", 菑 "field cleared by burning" (all pronounced *tsrə), Smith (2011) proposes that initially the first earthly branch 甾 (OC *ts[r]əʔ) denoted the new moon phase and meant "darkened, voided, the darkened stage". Later on 甾 (OC *ts[r]əʔ) was confused with and displaced by 子 (OC tsəʔ).
- Association with the rat was possibly arbitrary, analogous to how 辰, the fifth earthly branch, was arbitrarily associated with the dragon (Ferlus, 2013).
Pronunciation 1[edit]
Definitions[edit]
子
- † child; offspring
- 不康禋祀，居然生子。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, circa 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Bù kāng yīn sì, jū rán shēng zǐ. [Pinyin]
- Had He not accepted her pure offering and sacrifice, So that thus easily she brought forth her son?
- ⁜ son
- † descendant; posterity
- (Christianity) the Son
- 所以，你們要去，使萬民作我的門徒，奉父、子、聖靈的名給他們施洗。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 馬太福音 (Matthew) 28:19
- Suǒyǐ, nǐmen yào qù, shǐ wànmín zuò wǒ de méntú, fèng Fù, Zǐ, Shènglíng de míng gěi tāmen shīxǐ. [Pinyin]
- Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
所以，你们要去，使万民作我的门徒，奉父、子、圣灵的名给他们施洗。 [MSC, simp.]
- ⁜ person
- 女子 ― nǚzǐ ― female; woman
- † master; teacher
- † A respectful suffix for teachers, usually attached to their surnames.
- † (polite) you
- 匪我愆期，子無良媒。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, circa 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Fěi wǒ qiān qī, zǐ wú liáng méi. [Pinyin]
- It is not I who would protract the time; but you have had no good go-between.
匪我愆期，子无良媒。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
- Alternative form of 籽 (zǐ, “seed”); also its second-round simplified form.
- 葵花子 ― kuíhuāzǐ ― sunflower seed
- ⁜ egg
- young; tender; small
- Prefix attached to nouns, denoting "a part of", "belonging to" or "individual". sub-
- (astrology) First earthly branch: rat in the Chinese zodiac, 11th solar month, midnight (11:00 pm to 1:00 am)
- Viscount, fourth of five ranks of Chinese aristocracy under the Zhou dynasty.
- (physics, biology) -on
- A surname.
- (Min Nan) grain-like object; particle; granule
- (Min Nan, music) rhythm
- (Min Nan) Classifier for small, round objects: granule, grain, particle, piece
Synonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Compounds[edit]
Pronunciation 2[edit]
Definitions[edit]
子
- Suffix for small objects or general diminutive suffix.
- 瓶子 ― píngzi ― bottle
Synonyms[edit]
Dialectal synonyms of 子 (“general diminutive suffix”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 子 | |
| Mandarin | Beijing | 子 |
| Taiwan | 子 | |
| Singapore | 子 | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 仔1 |
| Hong Kong | 仔1 | |
| Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 仔1 | |
| Singapore (Guangfu) | 仔1 | |
| Hakka | Meixian | 仔6 |
| Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 仔6 | |
| Pingtung (Neipu, S. Sixian) | 仔6 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong, Hailu) | 仔6 | |
| Senai (Huiyang) | 仔1 | |
| Min Dong | Fuzhou | 囝 |
| Min Nan | Xiamen | 仔2 |
| Quanzhou | 仔2 | |
| Jinjiang | 仔2 | |
| Zhangzhou | 仔2 | |
| Zhangpu | 仔2 | |
| Tainan | 仔2 | |
| Penang (Hokkien) | 囝 | |
| Singapore (Hokkien) | 囝, 仔2 | |
| Manila (Hokkien) | 仔2 | |
| Shantou | 囝 | |
| Shantou (Chenghai) | 囝 | |
| Jieyang | 囝 | |
| Haifeng | 仔2 | |
| Bangkok (Teochew) | 囝 | |
| Johor Bahru (Teochew) | 囝 | |
| Singapore (Teochew) | 囝 | |
| Wenchang | 囝 | |
| Singapore (Hainanese) | 囝 | |
Compounds[edit]
Pronunciation 3[edit]
Definitions[edit]
子 (Hokkien)
- small, round object
- 算盤子 / 算盘子 [Hokkien] ― sǹg-pôaⁿ-jí [Pe̍h-ōe-jī] ― abacus bead
- (Xiamen, Quanzhou) Classifier for small objects.
- (Zhangzhou, Taiwan) Classifier for bananas.
Descendants[edit]
Others:
- → Vietnamese: tí (“a little bit”)
Japanese[edit]
Kanji[edit]
子
- child
- honorific for an adult man
- honorific for a learned man, master
- man (in general)
- fourth rank of nobility in Meiji-postwar Japan, viscount
- egg, fruit, seed
- small object
- interest
- diminutive suffix
- Rat (earthly branch)
- midnight
- north
- (midnight, north): Antonyms : 午
Readings[edit]
- Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
- Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
- Tō-on: す (su, Jōyō)
- Sō-on: つ (tsu)
- Kan’yō-on: ず (zu)
- Kun: こ (ko, 子, Jōyō); ね (ne, 子); み (mi, 子)
- Nanori: このえ (konoe); さね (sane); しげ (shige); しげる (shigeru); たか (taka); ただ (tada); たね (tane); ちか (chika); つぐ (tsugu); とし (toshi); みる (miru); やす (yasu)
Compounds[edit]
Usage notes[edit]
子 is also an obsolete variant form of the katakana ネ (ne).
Etymology 1[edit]
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 子 |
| こ Grade: 1 |
| kun’yomi |
⟨ko1⟩ → */kʷo/ → /ko/
From Old Japanese,[1] attested in the Kojiki (712 C.E.) and the Man'yōshū (c. 759 C.E.), two of the oldest examples of written Japanese.
Cognate with 蚕 (ko, “silkworm”) and possibly 小 (ko, “little”, diminutive prefix).
Pronunciation[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Noun[edit]
- a child
- 2007 October 20, Izawa, Hiroshi; Yamada, Kotaro, “第39話 竜の咆哮 [Chapter 39: Dragon’s Roar]”, in ファイアーエムブレム 覇者の剣 [Fire Emblem: Sword of Champions], volume 5 (fiction), Jump Remix edition, Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 113:
- ここまで戦ってきたのに…まんまと封印されちまって手も足も出ないなんて…何が…ハルトムートの子だ…何が竜の子だ‼
- Koko made tatakatte kita no ni… manmato fūin sarechimatte te mo ashi mo denai nan te… Nani ga… Harutomūto no ko da… Nani ga ryū no ko da‼
- I’ve fought my way to this point… only to end up being sealed, unable to move at all… So what… if I’m Hartmut’s son… So what if I’m a dragon child!?
- ここまで戦ってきたのに…まんまと封印されちまって手も足も出ないなんて…何が…ハルトムートの子だ…何が竜の子だ‼
- 2007 October 20, Izawa, Hiroshi; Yamada, Kotaro, “最終話 それぞれの道へ [Final Chapter: Epilog]”, in ファイアーエムブレム 覇者の剣 [Fire Emblem: Sword of Champions], volume 5 (fiction), Jump Remix edition, Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 355:
- 後にラグナのセルディアと結ばれ８人の子を儲けた
- Nochi ni Raguna no Serudia to musubare hachi-nin no ko o mōketa
- He later had 8 children with Celdia of Ragna
- 後にラグナのセルディアと結ばれ８人の子を儲けた
- (figuratively) a girl, especially a dear or desired one (compare use of English baby, babe)
- c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 7, poem 1266), text here
- 大舟乎荒海尓榜出八船多氣吾見之兒等之目見者知之母 [Man'yōgana]
- 大船を荒海に漕ぎ出や船たけ我が見し子らがまみはしるしも [Modern spelling]
- ōbune o arumi ni kogi de ya fune take waga mishi kora ga mami wa shirushi mo
- Rowing the big boat into the rough seas, putting our backs into it, the looks of those girls I saw are clear [in my mind]
- c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 7, poem 1266), text here
- a smaller or younger version of a bigger object
- (hanafuda, card games, by extension, board games, gambling) person who is dealt cards
- Coordinate term: 親 (oya)
Derived terms[edit]
Prefix[edit]
- an object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another object
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms
- 子犬 (koinu, “puppy”)
- 子会社 (kogaisha, “subsidiary”)
Suffix[edit]
- suffix used in female given names, such as 智子 (Tomoko), 英子 (Eiko), 秀子 (Hideko), 美奈子 (Minako)
- (rare) suffix used in male given names
- an object having a particular state or property (sometimes diminutive)
- roe (only when preceded by a fish name, or fish-related prefix)
- 明太子 (mentaiko, “pollock roe”)
- 飛子 (tobiko, “flying fish roe”)
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms
- 穴子 (anago, “conger eel”)
- 団子 (dango, “dango”, a kind of dumpling)
- 糠子 (nukago, “biting midge”)
- 愛子 (manago, “beloved child”)
Proper noun[edit]
- a surname
Etymology 2[edit]
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 子 |
| す Grade: 1 |
| on’yomi |
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 子 |
| し Grade: 1 |
| on’yomi |
From Middle Chinese 子 (MC t͡sɨX), also used in the Man'yōshū (c. 759 C.E.) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨si⟩. Compare modern Mandarin 子 (zǐ).
The goon reading of shi is likely the original borrowing:
- /t͡sɨ/ → /sɨ/ → */ɕɨ/ → /ɕi/
The tōon reading su appears later, and only shows up in certain set terms borrowed from Chinese, where it seems to serve as a kind of nominalizing suffix:
- /t͡sɨ/ → /sɨ/ → */sʉ/ → /su/
Pronunciation[edit]
Affix[edit]
- a child
- Short for 子爵 (shishaku): the fourth rank of nobility in Meiji-postwar Japan, equivalent to a viscount
- an honorific for a learned man, such as teacher or master
- a philosophy branch of Chinese literature, either derived from or outside of the Hundred Schools of Thought
- an object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another object
- an object having a particular state or property (sometimes diminutive)
Usage notes[edit]
- This affix is never used in isolation. It is only used in on'yomi compounds.
- In some kanji compounds, 子 is part of the word but does not carry much meaning in Japanese, as in 椅子 (isu, “chair”). Possibly because of this erosion of meaning, spelling out 子 in some compounds has become optional, as in 椰子 vs. 椰 (yashi, “a palm tree”), or 柚子 vs. 柚 (yuzu, “an aromatic citron”).
- In some compounds, the shi or su reading becomes voiced as ji or zu due to rendaku.
Derived terms[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
- (archaic) second-person pronoun: you (of one's equals)
Proper noun[edit]
- (Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches
Etymology 3[edit]
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 子 |
| ね Grade: 1 |
| kun’yomi |
Contracted from 鼠 (nezumi, “mouse, rat”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Proper noun[edit]
- (Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches:
- a place name
Derived terms[edit]
Syllable[edit]
子 • (ne)
- (dated, until the 19th century) variant katakana syllable ネ (ne).
- Udagawa Yōan, 遠西医方名物考, vol. 4, 1822
- 剥篤亞斯蘭 「シ子レス、カラーヘルラチ」羅
[…] 是ヲ燒ク法、曠野ニ一大坑ヲ穿チ其底ト内圍ニ遍ク瓦磗ヲ敷連子、樹ノ幹枝𪜈ニ截テ其内ニ積ミ焚シ了テ煙消シ通紅トナルトキ尋常ノ灰汁ヲ取テ少シ宛頻〻ニ撒ストキハ其灰ノ鹽氣凝結𬼀堅キ塊片トナル。
- 剥篤亞斯蘭 「シ子レス、カラーヘルラチ」羅
- 第1回国会参法一覧
- 小杉イ子議員
- Udagawa Yōan, 遠西医方名物考, vol. 4, 1822
Etymology 4[edit]
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 子 |
| み Grade: 1 |
| kun’yomi |
Noun[edit]
- (archaic, rare) Alternative spelling of 実 (mi): a fruit, nut, or seed (of a plant, tree, etc.); ingredients put in a soup; a content, substance
References[edit]
Korean[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Chinese 子 (MC t͡sɨX). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄌᆞ〮 (Yale: có) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [t͡ɕa̠]
- Phonetic hangul: [자]
Hanja[edit]
Compounds[edit]
Compounds
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. [1]
Vietnamese[edit]
| Hán tự in this term |
|---|
| 子 |
Hán tự[edit]
子: Hán Việt readings: tý (
子: Nôm readings: tý[1][2], tử[2][4], tí[1], tít[2], tở[3]
- Hán tự form of tý (“first earthly branch”).
- Hán tự form of tí (“a little bit; small”).
- Nôm form of tử (“child; son; small thing”).
- 1888, Trương Vĩnh Ký, Chuyện Đời Xưa, sheet 40
- 父業子能乘，君恩臣可報。
- Phụ nghiệp, tử năng thừa; Quân ân, thần khả báo.
- A father's lifework, the child shall succeed; the King's graces, the subjects shall repay.
- 父業子能乘，君恩臣可報。
- 1873, “Bích Câu Kỳ Ngộ”, lines 17-18
- 朝黎當會太和，固陳公子𠸛羅秀渊。
- Triều Lê đương hội thái hòa, Có Trần công tử tên là Tú Uyên.
- In the Lê court's festival of Great Peace, there exists a noble lord named Tran Tu Uyen.
- 朝黎當會太和，固陳公子𠸛羅秀渊。
- 1888, Trương Vĩnh Ký, Chuyện Đời Xưa, sheet 40
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