三

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See also: Ξ, ≡, ミ, 叁, 彡, and 丰
三 U+4E09, 三
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E09
← 丈
[U+4E08] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 上 →
[U+4E0A]
Commons:Category
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Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
3 strokes
Stroke order
三-order.gif

Han character[edit]

三 (radical 1, 一+2, 3 strokes, cangjie input 一一一 (MMM), four-corner 10101, composition ⿱一二 or ⿱𠄟一)

  1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №4

Derived characters[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 76, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 12
  • Dae Jaweon: page 138, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 4, character 3
  • Unihan data for U+4E09

Further reading[edit]

Chinese Wikisource has digitized text of the Kangxi Dictionary entry for 三:

Wikisource

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
 三
alternative forms 叄／叁／參／参 financial
弎
𢦘
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • 三 (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • 三 (Cantonese)
  • 三 (Classical)

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 三
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu Slip and silk script Qin slip script Ancient script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
三-oracle.svg 三-bronze.svg ACC-b00375.svg 三-silk.svg 三-slip.svg 三-ancient.svg 三-seal.svg 三-bigseal.svg
Oracle bone script
ACC-j00545.svg

j00545

ACC-j00546.svg

j00546

ACC-j00547.svg

j00547

ACC-j00548.svg

j00548

ACC-j00549.svg

j00549

ACC-j00550.svg

j00550

ACC-j00551.svg

j00551

ACC-j00552.svg

j00552

ACC-j00553.svg

j00553

ACC-j00554.svg

j00554

Bronze inscriptions
ACC-b00355.svg

b00355

ACC-b00356.svg

b00356

ACC-b00357.svg

b00357

ACC-b00358.svg

b00358

ACC-b00359.svg

b00359

ACC-b00360.svg

b00360

ACC-b00361.svg

b00361

ACC-b00362.svg

b00362

ACC-b00363.svg

b00363

ACC-b00364.svg

b00364

ACC-b00365.svg

b00365

ACC-b00366.svg

b00366

ACC-b00367.svg

b00367

ACC-b00368.svg

b00368

ACC-b00369.svg

b00369

ACC-b00370.svg

b00370

ACC-b00371.svg

b00371

ACC-b00372.svg

b00372

ACC-b00373.svg

b00373

ACC-b00374.svg

b00374

ACC-b00375.svg

b00375

Small seal script
ACC-s00097.svg

s00097

Transcribed ancient scripts
ACC-L12758.svg

L12758

ACC-L12759.svg

L12759

ACC-L12760.svg

L12760

ACC-L12761.svg

L12761

ACC-L12762.svg

L12762

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (三) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
三 *suːm, *suːms
弎 *suːm

Ideogram (指事) - three parallel lines. Compare with 一, one line meaning “one”, 二, two lines meaning “two”, and 亖, four lines meaning “four”. Triplication of 一 (“one”).

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-sum.

Pronunciation 1[edit]

Note: sānr - (1) "the other woman; the other man", (2) "rfdef".
Note:
  • saⁿ - vernacular;
  • sam - literary.
Note:
  • san1 - vernacular;
  • sam1 - literary.
  • Wu
  • Xiang
    Rime
    Character 三
    Reading # 1/2
    Initial (聲) 心 (16)
    Final (韻) 談 (143)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division (等) I
    Fanqie 蘇甘切
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang         		/sɑm/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/sɑm/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/sɑm/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/sam/
    Li
    Rong         		/sɑm/
    Wang
    Li         		/sɑm/
    Bernard
    Karlgren         		/sɑm/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex         		sān
    Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 三
    Reading # 1/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)         		sān
    Middle
    Chinese         		‹ sam ›
    Old
    Chinese         		/*s.rum/ (*s.r- > s-; infl. by 四 *s-?)
    English three

    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 三
    Reading # 1/2
    No. 10963
    Phonetic
    component         		三
    Rime
    group         		侵
    Rime
    subdivision         		3
    Corresponding
    MC rime         		三
    Old
    Chinese         		/*suːm/

    Definitions[edit]

    三

    1. three
    2. (Mainland China, slang, neologism) the other woman; the other man
    3. (Mainland China, slang, neologism) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
    4. A surname​.
    See also[edit]
    Chinese numbers
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 102 103 104 108 1012
    Normal
    (小寫／小写)     		〇 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 千 萬／万 億／亿 兆 (Taiwan)
    萬億／万亿 (Mainland China)
    Financial
    (大寫／大写)     		零 壹 貳／贰 參／叁 肆 伍 陸／陆 柒 捌 玖 拾 佰 仟
    Playing cards in Chinese · 撲克牌／扑克牌 (pūkèpái) (layout · text)
    40 Asso di picche.jpg 41 Due di picche.jpg 42 Tre di picche.jpg 43 Quattro di picche.jpg 44 Cinque di picche.jpg 45 Sei di picche.jpg 46 Sette di picche.jpg
    尖兒／尖儿 二 三 四 五 六 七
    47 Otto di picche.jpg 48 Nove di picche.jpg 49 Dieci di picche.jpg 50 J di picche.jpg 51 Q di picche.jpg 52 K di picche.jpg Jolly Nero.jpg
    八 九 十 鉤兒／钩儿 圈兒／圈儿, 皮蛋 (regional) K 小王 (black), 大王 (red), 小鬼 (black), 大鬼 (red)

    Compounds[edit]

    Derived terms from 三

    Descendants[edit]

    Sino-Xenic (三):
    • → Japanese: 三(さん) (san)
    • → Korean: 삼 (三, sam)
    • → Vietnamese: tam (三)

    Others:

    Pronunciation 2[edit]

    Rime
    Character 三
    Reading # 2/2
    Initial (聲) 心 (16)
    Final (韻) 談 (143)
    Tone (調) Departing (H)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division (等) I
    Fanqie 蘇暫切
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang         		/sɑmH/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/sɑmH/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/sɑmH/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/samH/
    Li
    Rong         		/sɑmH/
    Wang
    Li         		/sɑmH/
    Bernard
    Karlgren         		/sɑmH/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex         		sàn
    Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 三
    Reading # 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)         		sān
    Middle
    Chinese         		‹ samH ›
    Old
    Chinese         		/*s.r[u]m-s/ (*s.r- > *s-, infl. by 四 *s-?)
    English three times

    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 三
    Reading # 2/2
    No. 10965
    Phonetic
    component         		三
    Rime
    group         		侵
    Rime
    subdivision         		3
    Corresponding
    MC rime         		三
    Old
    Chinese         		/*suːms/

    Definitions[edit]

    三

    1. † repeatedly; thrice
      三思  ―  sānsī  ―  to think carefully

    Compounds[edit]

    Derived terms from 三

    References[edit]

    Japanese[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    三

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. three

    Readings[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Compounds

    Alternative forms[edit]

    • (Financial/formal form): 参

    Etymology 1[edit]

    Japanese cardinal numbers
     <  2 3 4  > 
        Cardinal : 三
    Kanji in this term
    三
    さん
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    */sam/ → /samu/ → /saɴ/

    From Middle Chinese 三 (MC sɑm, sɑmH). Compare modern Mandarin 三 (sān).

    In Old Japanese, this kanji was used phonetically to transcribe さむ (samu).

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Numeral[edit]

    三(さん) • (san) 

    1. three, 3
      Synonym: スリー (surī)
    2. third
    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    三
    さん
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    Borrowing from Chinese 三 (sān), with the pitch accent different from etymology 1. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Numeral[edit]

    三(サン) • (san) 

    1. three
    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms

    Etymology 3[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    三
    み
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    ⟨mi1⟩ → /mi/

    From Old Japanese.

    Likely an apophonic form of 六 (mu, “six”), compare 四 (yo, “four”) with 八 (ya, “eight”). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Numeral[edit]

    三(み) • (mi) 

    1. three
      一(ひ)、二(ふ)、三(み)、四(よ)、[…]
      hi, fu, mi, yo, […]
      one, two, three, four, […]
    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms

    Etymology 4[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    三
    みい
    Grade: 1
    Irregular

    /mi/ → /miː/

    Shift from mi above.[1]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Numeral[edit]

    三(みい) • (mī) 

    1. (colloquial) three
      一(ひい)、二(ふう)、三(みい)、四(よお)、五(いつ)、六(むう)、七(なあ)、八(やあ)、九(こお)、十(とお)
      hī, fū, mī, yō, itsu, mū, nā, yā, kō, tō
      one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten

    Coordinate terms[edit]

    Japanese numbers
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
    Regular 零(れい) (rei)
    零(ゼロ) (zero)     		一(いち) (ichi) 二(に) (ni) 三(さん) (san) 四(よん) (yon)
    四(し) (shi)     		五(ご) (go) 六(ろく) (roku) 七(なな) (nana)
    七(しち) (shichi)     		八(はち) (hachi) 九(きゅう) (kyū)
    九(く) (ku)     		十(じゅう) (jū)
    Formal 壱(いち) (ichi) 弐(に) (ni) 参(さん) (san) 拾(じゅう) (jū)
    90 100 300 600 800 1,000 3,000 8,000 10,000 100,000,000
    Regular 九(きゅう)十(じゅう) (kyūjū) 百(ひゃく) (hyaku)
    一(いっ)百(ぴゃく) (ippyaku)     		三(さん)百(びゃく) (sanbyaku) 六(ろっ)百(ぴゃく) (roppyaku) 八(はっ)百(ぴゃく) (happyaku) 千(せん) (sen)
    一(いっ)千(せん) (issen)     		三(さん)千(ぜん) (sanzen) 八(はっ)千(せん) (hassen) 一(いち)万(まん) (ichiman) 一(いち)億(おく) (ichioku)
    Formal 一(いち)萬(まん) (ichiman)
    1012 8×1012 1013 1016 6×1016 8×1016 1017 1018
    一(いっ)兆(ちょう) (itchō) 八(はっ)兆(ちょう) (hatchō) 十(じゅっ)兆(ちょう) (jutchō) 一(いっ)京(けい) (ikkei) 六(ろっ)京(けい) (rokkei) 八(はっ)京(けい) (hakkei) 十(じゅっ)京(けい) (jukkei) 百(ひゃっ)京(けい) (hyakkei)

    References[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

    Korean[edit]

    Hanja[edit]

    三 (eumhun 셋 삼 (set sam))

    1. Hanja form? of 삼 (“three”).

    Compounds[edit]

    Vietnamese[edit]

    Han character[edit]

    三: Hán Việt readings: tam (蘇(tô)甘(cam)切(thiết))[1][2][3][4]
    三: Nôm readings: tam[1][2][3][4][5][6], ba[1], tám[5]

    1. Hán tự form of tam (“three”).

    Compounds[edit]

    References[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nguyễn (2014).
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nguyễn et al. (2009).
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Trần (2004).
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bonet (1899).
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Génibrel (1898).
    6. ^ Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).
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