鏡

See also: 镜

Translingual

Han character

鏡 (radical 167 金+11, 19 strokes, cangjie input 金卜廿山 (CYTU), four-corner 8011₆)

1. mirror
2. lens
3. glass
4. glasses

References

• KangXi: page 1320, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 40812
• Dae Jaweon: page 1820, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 6, page 4250, character 10
• Unihan data for U+93E1

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Cantonese

Hanzi

鏡 (simplified 镜, Jyutping geng3, Yale geng3)

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

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Japanese

Kanji

鏡

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. mirror

Readings

• Goon: きょう (kyō)
• Kan’on: けい (kei)
• Kun: かがみ (kagami)
• Nanori: あき (aki), かが (kaga), かがん (kagan)

Compounds

Compounds

鏡鞍 (かがみぐら, kagamigura): a type of saddle 鏡映 (きょうえい, kyōei): a mirror image, a mirrored projection 鏡王女 (かがみのおおきみ, Kagami no Ōkimi): one of the poets of the Man'yōshū 鏡架 (きょうか, kyōka): a mirror stand 鏡花 (きょうか, kyōka): "a flower in a mirror" → a metaphor for something that can be seen but not touched 鏡花水月 (きょうかすいげつ, kyōka suigetsu): "a flower in a mirror, the moon in the water" → a metaphor for something that can be seen but not touched 鏡花水月法 (きょうかすいげつほう, kyōka suigetsuhō): a style of expression or storytelling that does not directly describe things, and instead indirectly evokes the appearance of things

Etymology

Originally a compound of 影 (kage, “shadow, figure, image”) +‎ 見 (mi, “see”), with the kage changing to kaga.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): /ka.ɡa.mi/, [käɡämi], [käŋämi]

Alternative forms

• 鑑, 鑒

Noun

鏡 (hiragana かがみ, romaji kagami)

1. an instrument that reflects an image: a mirror
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 14, poem #3468)

     夜麻杼里乃 乎呂能波都乎尓 可賀美可家 刀奈布倍美許曽 奈尓与曽利鶏米

     やまとりの をろのはつをに かがみかけ となふべみこそ なによそりけめ

     yamatori no oro no hatsuo ni kagami kake tonau bemi koso na ni yosori kemu

2. (Noh) the panel at the back of a Noh stage that is painted with an image of an old pine tree
3. the barrelhead or lid of a saké barrel

   昨日 (きのう)、鏡 (かがみ)を抜 (ぬ)いた。

   kinō, kagami o nuita.

   They removed the barrelhead yesterday. → They opened the saké barrel yesterday.

Idioms

Idioms

鏡は女の魂 (かがみはおんなのたましい, kagami wa onna no tamashī): "a mirror is a woman's soul" 鏡が曇ると魂が曇る (かがみがくもるとたましいがくもる, kagami ga kumoru to tamashī ga kumoru): "if the looking glass is cloudy, so too is one's soul" → (particularly regarding women) one's appearance is a reflection of one's psyche, and a disordered appearance indicates a disordered mind 鏡は重磨によって輝く (かがみはじゅうまによってかがやく, kagami wa jūma ni yotte kagayaku): "a mirror shines from heavy polishing" → practice makes perfect 鏡は容貌を見せ酒は心を現す (かがみはかたちをみせ、さけはこころをあらわす, kagami wa katachi o mise, sake wa kokoro o arawasu):"a mirror shows one's appearance; alcohol brings out one's true thoughts" → a metaphor for how drinking can lead to freer expression of what one really thinks 鏡に掛く (かがみにかく, kagami ni kaku): "show in a mirror" → extremely clear, extremely certain: as clear as day 鏡を掛く (かがみをかく, kagami o kaku): "hang a mirror" → to know something in detail as if looking at it in a mirror: to know something like the back of one's hand, to know something inside and out

Derived terms

Derived terms

鏡いご (かがみいご, kagami igo): a type of gelatin made from cooked-down seaweed, used as a side dish during Obon in certain regions 鏡ケ池 (かがみがいけ, Kagami-ga-Ike, Kagamigaike): "Mirror Pond", a place name: any of several ponds in Tokyo, Aichi, and elsewhere 鏡なす (かがみなす, kagaminasu): to hold something dear and treat it with care (as one used to do when mirrors were rare and expensive); to be mirror-like (obsolete, and only applied to specific bodies of water) 鏡の家 (かがみのいえ, kagami no ie): a box or case for a mirror 鏡の奩 (かがみのす, kagami no su): a box or case for a mirror 鏡の間 (かがみのま, kagami no ma): in Noh, a room or alcove behind the curtain and affixed with a mirror for players to check their appearance; a similar space in other theaters; a room with mirrors on all four walls, such as at Versailles 鏡板 (かがみいた, kagami ita): a panel that forms the back wall of a Noh stage and is traditionally painted with a picture of an old pine tree 鏡の松 (かがみのまつ, kagami no matsu): a painting of an old pine tree on the 鏡板 (kagami ita) that forms the back wall of a Noh stage 鏡の御影 (かがみのみえい, kagami no miei): (painting) a depiction of a round window through which can be seen gods, spirits, or Buddhas

References

• 2002 [c. 759], Akihiro Satake; Hideo Yamada, Rikio Kudō, Masao Ōtani, Yoshiyuki Yamazaki, Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 3: Man'yōshū 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 4-00-240003-4:

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Korean

Hanja

鏡 (gyeong) (hangeul 경, revised gyeong, McCune-Reischauer kyŏng, Yale kyeng)

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

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Mandarin

Hanzi

鏡 (simplified 镜, Pinyin jìng (jing4), Wade-Giles ching⁴)

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

Compounds

• 鏡子

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Middle Chinese

Han character

鏡 (*giæ̀ng)

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Okinawan

Kanji

鏡 (hiragana かがん, romaji kagan)

Noun

鏡 (hiragana かがん, romaji kagan)

1. mirror

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Vietnamese

Han character

鏡 (kính, kẻng, gương, kiếng)

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

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Yonaguni

Kanji

鏡 (hiragana かか゚ん, romaji kaŋan)

Noun

鏡 (hiragana かか゚ん, romaji kaŋan)

1. mirror