刃

See also: 刄

Translingual

shinjitai	刃
simplified	刃
traditional	刃

Alternative forms

Note the compositional differences between traditional, simplified, and Japanese shinjitai in the placement of the additional stroke.

Han character

刃 (radical 18 刀+1, 3 strokes, cangjie input 尸竹戈 (SHI), four-corner 1742₀, composition ⿹刀丿)

1. edged tool, cutlery, blade, knife edge

Derived characters

• 仞 㣼 訒 (讱) 扨 屻 紉 (纫) 韌 (韧) 杒 軔 (轫) 牣 肕 衂 籾 釰 靭 刅 岃 忍 歰 (涩)

References

• KangXi: page 136, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1850
• Dae Jaweon: page 304, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 320, character 3
• Unihan data for U+5203

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Chinese

		-
simp. and trad.		刃

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rèn (ren⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jan⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: rèn
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˋ
    • Wade-Giles: jên⁴
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: renn
    • IPA ^(key): /ʐən⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: jan⁶
    • Yale: yahn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jan⁶
    • IPA ^(key): /jɐn²²/

Middle Chinese pronunciation (刃, reconstructed)
Character (刃), Pronunciation 1/1
Initial: 日 (38) Final: 眞 Division: III			Openness: Open Tone: Departing (H)			Fanqie: 而振切
Zhengzhang Shangfang	Bernard Karlgren	Li Rong	Pan Wuyun	Edwin Pulleyblank	Wang Li	Shao Rongfen
/ȵiɪnH/	/ȵʑi̯ĕnH/	/ȵiĕnH/	/ȵinH/	/ȵinH/	/ȵʑĭĕnH/	/ȵʑjenH/

Old Chinese pronunciation (刃, reconstructed)
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character								Modern Beijing (Pinyin)								Middle Chinese								Old Chinese								English
刃								rèn								‹ nyinH ›								/*nə[n]-s/								edge of a blade
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					No.					Phonetic component					Rime group					Rime subdivision					Corresponding MC rime					Old Chinese					Notes
刃					10831					刃					文					1					刃					/*njɯns/

Compounds

• 刃角

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Japanese

Wikipedia ^ja

Wikipedia

Kanji

刃

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: にん (nin)
• Kan’on: じん (jin)
• Kun: は (ha), (obsolete) な (na), やいば (yaiba), (rare) き-る (ki-ru)
• Nanori: ち (chi), と (to)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term

刃

な Grade: S

kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Possibly cognate with Korean 날 (nal, “blade”).

Obsolete in modern Japanese. Only found as an element in compounds.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [na̠]

Noun

刃 (hiragana な, romaji na)

1. (obsolete) a blade, an edge
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 4, poem #616)

     劔大刀 名惜雲 吾者無 君尓不相而 年之経去礼者

     剣太刀 (つるぎたち)名 (な)の惜 (を)しけくも我 (わ)れはなし君 (きみ)に逢 (あ)はずて年 (とし)の経 (へ)ぬれば

     tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo ware wa nashi kimi ni ahazute toshi no henureba

     I do not even miss precious you, given the years that have passed without meeting with you.

     [Note: tsurugi tachi (“sword”) is a pillow word establishing a poetic association with the following na, literally meaning blade or edge and alluding to sharpness and importance. This na could also elliptically mean name (名 na) or even you (汝 na), depending on context, based on the homophonic readings.]

Derived terms

• 刀 (かたな) (katana)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term

刃

は Grade: S

kun'yomi

From Old Japanese, cognate with 歯 (ha, “tooth”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) は​ [háꜜ] (Atamadaka - [1])
• IPA^(key): [ha̠]

Noun

刃 (hiragana は, romaji ha)

1. an edge, a blade

Derived terms

• 刃 (yaiba): a sword, a blade, particularly one that has been forged: see below

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term

刃

やいば Grade: S

kun'yomi

Originally a compound of 焼き (yaki, “burned, fired”) +‎ 刃 (ha, “edge, blade”). The ha changes to ba due to rendaku (連濁).

/jaki/ + /ha/ → /jakiba/ → /jaiba/

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) や​いば [yáꜜìbà] (Atamadaka - [1])
• (Tokyo) やいば [yàíbá] (Heiban - [0])
• IPA^(key): [ja̠iβa̠]

Noun

刃 (hiragana やいば, romaji yaiba)

1. a forged blade, such as a sword
2. the wavy pattern formed in the metal on the surface of a forged blade
3. a sword or similar edged weapon
4. something sharp like a sword
5. someone or something powerful

Idioms

Idioms

刃 (やいば)は切 (き)れるが重宝 (ちょうほう) (yaiba wa kireru ga chōhō): “for a blade, cutting [sharpness] is precious” → the highest value of a tool is its ability to do what it is designed for

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term

刃

じん Grade: S

on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 刃 (nyin^H, “edge of a blade”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) じ​ん [jíꜜǹ] (Atamadaka - [1])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑĩɴ]

Noun

刃 (hiragana じん, romaji jin)

1. a blade, a sword

Idioms

Idioms

刃 (じん)を迎 (むか)えて解 (と)く (jin o mukaete toku): “to fall before the blade” → a metaphor for extreme strength or power

References

• 1999 [c. 759], Akihiro Satake; Hideo Yamada, Rikio Kudō, Masao Ōtani, Yoshiyuki Yamazaki, Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 1: Man'yōshū 1 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 4-00-240001-8:

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Korean

Hanja

刃 (in) (hangeul 인, revised in, McCune-Reischauer in)

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Vietnamese

Han character

刃 (nhận, nhẫn, nhấn)

1. This entry needs a definition. Please add one, then remove {{defn}}.