八

八 U+516B, 八 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-516B ← 兪 [U+516A] CJK Unified Ideographs 公 → [U+516C]

See also: 入 and 丷

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

八 (radical 12 八+0, 2 strokes, cangjie input 竹人 (HO), four-corner 8000₀, composition ⿹丿乁)

Stroke order

Usage notes

Minor strokes in the shape of ハ/八, as in the top of 劵, can be referred to 八. These are very frequently simplified to 丷. Contrast 劵/券, and different forms of 鬲/鬲.

Derived characters

• Index:Chinese radical/八
• 䒔

Descendants

• Japanese: ハ (ha)

References

• KangXi: page 126, character 26
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1450
• Dae Jaweon: page 274, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 241, character 3
• Unihan data for U+516B

---

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 八
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bamboo and silk script	Large seal script	Small seal script
Oracle bone script j01414 j01415 j01416 j01417 j01418 j01419 j01420 j01421 j01422 j01423 j01424 Bronze inscriptions b00933 b00934 b00935 b00936 b00937 b00938 b00939 b00940 b00941 b00942 b00943 b00944 b00945 b00946 b00947 b00948 b00949 Large seal script L26490 L26491 L26492 L26493 L26494 L26495 Small seal script s00788
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 (large seal) and Xu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (八) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
扒	*preːds, *preːd, *pred
八	*preːd
𩡩	*preːd
朳	*preːd
玐	*preːd
釟	*preːd
汃	*pʰreːd, *prɯn

Ideogrammic compound (會意): 八 is two bent lines indicating the original meaning of "to divide". This character is later borrowed to mean "eight" because of homonymy, making the original meaning obsolete (now represented by 別).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		八
alt. forms		捌 financial

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-r-gjat (“eight”). Compare Tibetan བརྒྱད (brgyad).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): bā (ba¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ

  (Chengdu, SP): ba²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baat³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): pat
• Min Dong (BUC): báik
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): peh / poeh / pat

  (Teochew, Peng'im): boih⁴

• Wu (Wiktionary): paq (T4)

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: bā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ
    • Wade-Giles: pa¹
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ba
    • IPA ^(key): /pa̠⁵⁵/

Note: bá - a less common tone sandhi variant of 八 when it occurs before a departing-tone character, e.g. 八路.

• • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ba²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ba
    • IPA ^(key): /pa²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: baat³
    • Yale: baat
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baat⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: bad³
    • IPA ^(key): /pɑːt̚³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: pat
    • Hakka Romanization System: bad`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: bad⁵
    • IPA: /pat̚²/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: báik
    • IPA ^(key): /paiʔ²⁴/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Yilan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: peh
    • Tâi-lô: peh
    • Phofsit Daibuun: peq
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /peʔ³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /peʔ³²/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Magong, Hsinchu)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: poeh
    • Tâi-lô: pueh
    • Phofsit Daibuun: poeq
    • IPA (Xiamen): /pueʔ³²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pueʔ⁵/
    • IPA (Taipei): /pueʔ³²/
    • IPA (Kinmen): /pueʔ³²/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pat
    • Tâi-lô: pat
    • Phofsit Daibuun: pad
    • IPA (Xiamen): /pat̚³²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pat̚⁵/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /pat̚³²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /pat̚³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pat̚³²/

Note:

• peh/poeh - vernacular;
• pat - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: boih⁴
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: poih
  • IPA ^(key): /poiʔ²/

• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: paq (T4)
    • IPA ^(key): /pa̱ʔ⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: /pˠɛt̚/▼

Rime
Character	八
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	鎋 (75)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	博拔切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pˠɛt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/pᵚæt̚/
Shao Rongfen	/pæt̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pəɨt̚/
Li Rong	/pɛt̚/
Wang Li	/pæt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/pat̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	ba

• Old Chinese▼

  (Baxter-Sagart): /*pˤret/

  (Zhengzhang): /*preːd/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	八
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bā
Middle Chinese	‹ pɛt ›
Old Chinese	/*pˤret/
English	eight
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	八
Reading #	1/1
No.	89
Phonetic component	八
Rime group	月
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	八
Old Chinese	/*preːd/

Definitions

八

1. eight
2. many, numerous
3. (printing) pearl; The smallest size of usual type, standardized as 5 point.
4. Short for 八卦 (bāguà).
   1. to gossip (about); to stick one's nose in
   2. (Cantonese) nosey; meddling

      八婆 [Cantonese]  ―  baat³ po⁴ [Jyutping]  ―  nosey parker; meddling woman

5. A surname​.

See also

Chinese numbers
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	102	103	104	108	1012
Cardinal	〇	一	二	三	四	五	六	七	八	九	十	百	千	萬 万	億 亿	兆 万亿
Financial	零	壹	貳 贰	參 叁	肆	伍	陸 陆	柒	捌	玖	拾	佰	仟	萬 万	億 亿	兆 万亿

Compounds

Derived terms from 八

• 一八
• 亂七八糟／乱七八糟 (luànqībāzāo)
• 二八
• 八一五
• 八丁
• 八九不離十／八九不离十 (bā jiǔ bù lí shí)
• 八九分
• 八二三砲戰／八二三炮战
• 八仙 (bāxiān)
• 八仙桌
• 八位元
• 八佰伴
• 八倍體／八倍体
• 八八六
• 八公山
• 八公山區／八公山区
• 八分
• 八分之一
• 八分音符
• 八切
• 八十 (bāshí)
• 八十天環遊地球／八十天环游地球
• 八千里路雲和月／八千里路云和月 (bā qiān lǐ lù yún hé yuè)
• 八卦 (bāguà)
• 八卦拳
• 八卦掌 (bāguàzhǎng)
• 八卦陣／八卦阵
• 八哥 (bāgē)
• 八哥兒／八哥儿
• 八哥狗
• 八國聯軍／八国联军 (bā guó liánjūn)
• 八塊腹肌／八块腹肌
• 八天
• 八婆 (bāpó)
• 八字 (bāzì)
• 八字形
• 八字方針／八字方针
• 八字步
• 八字沒一撇／八字没一撇
• 八字眉
• 八字腳／八字脚 (bāzìjiǎo)

• 八字還沒一撇／八字还没一撇 (bā zì hái méi yī piě)
• 八字髭
• 八字鬍／八字胡 (bāzìhú)
• 八字鬍鬚／八字胡须
• 八宿
• 八宿縣／八宿县
• 八寶／八宝
• 八寶山／八宝山
• 八寶菜／八宝菜 (bābǎocài)
• 八岐大蛇
• 八州
• 八帶魚／八带鱼
• 八幡 (Bāfān)
• 八年
• 八度 (bādù)
• 八廓
• 八廓街
• 八德
• 八德市
• 八成 (bāchéng)
• 八戒 (bājiè)
• 八手
• 八抬大轎／八抬大轿
• 八方 (bāfāng)
• 八旗 (bāqí)
• 八旗制度
• 八日
• 八會穴／八会穴
• 八月 (Bāyuè)
• 八月之光
• 八月份 (Bāyuèfèn)
• 八朔
• 八極拳／八极拳
• 八榮八恥／八荣八耻
• 八橋／八桥
• 八正道
• 八步
• 八步區／八步区
• 八法拳
• 八爪魚／八爪鱼 (bāzhuǎyú)

• 八珍湯／八珍汤
• 八目鰻／八目鳗 (bāmùmán)
• 八級工／八级工
• 八級風／八级风
• 八美
• 八股 (bāgǔ)
• 八苦
• 八荒
• 八萬大藏經／八万大藏经
• 八行書／八行书
• 八角 (bājiǎo)
• 八角床
• 八角形 (bājiǎoxíng)
• 八角楓／八角枫
• 八角茴香 (bājiǎo huíxiāng)
• 八角街
• 八路軍／八路军 (Bālùjūn)
• 八辺形
• 八進制／八进制
• 八道
• 八道江
• 八達／八达
• 八達嶺／八达岭 (Bādálǐng)
• 八達通／八达通
• 八邊形／八边形
• 八里
• 八重
• 八重奏
• 八開／八开
• 八面 (bāmiàn)
• 八面玲瓏／八面玲珑 (bāmiàn línglóng)
• 八面體／八面体
• 八音 (bāyīn)
• 八音盒 (bāyīnhé)
• 十八 (shíbā)
• 夾七夾八／夹七夹八
• 橫七豎八／横七竖八 (héngqīshùbā)
• 王八 (wángba)
• 間八／间八
• 雜七雜八／杂七杂八

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (八):

• Japanese: 八 (はち) (hachi)
• Korean: 팔 (八, pal)
• Vietnamese: bát (八)

Others:

• Proto-Tai: *peːtᴰ (“eight”)
  • Lao: ແປດ (pǣt)
  • Thai: แปด (bpɛ̀ɛt)

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		八

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *brat (“cut apart, cut open”). Cognate to 別／别 (bié).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bā (ba¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: bā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ
    • Wade-Giles: pa¹
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ba
    • IPA ^(key): /pa̠⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: /pˠɛt̚/▼

Rime
Character	八
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	鎋 (75)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	博拔切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pˠɛt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/pᵚæt̚/
Shao Rongfen	/pæt̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pəɨt̚/
Li Rong	/pɛt̚/
Wang Li	/pæt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/pat̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	ba

• Old Chinese▼

  (Baxter-Sagart): /*pˤret/

  (Zhengzhang): /*preːd/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	八
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bā
Middle Chinese	‹ pɛt ›
Old Chinese	/*pˤret/
English	eight
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	八
Reading #	1/1
No.	89
Phonetic component	八
Rime group	月
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	八
Old Chinese	/*preːd/

Definitions

八

1. ^† to divide; to differentiate

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of 八 – see 捌 (“to know”). (This character, 八, is a variant form of 捌.)

---

Japanese

Japanese cardinal numbers

<  7	8	9  >
Cardinal : 八

Kanji

八

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: はち (hachi, Jōyō)
• Kan’on: はつ (hatsu)
• Kun: や (ya, 八, Jōyō); やつ (yatsu, 八つ, Jōyō); やっつ (yattsu, 八つ, Jōyō); よう (yō, 八, Jōyō, uncommon)
• Nanori: な (na); は (ha); やち (yachi)

Compounds

Terms derived from 八

• 一 (いち)八 (はつ) (ichihatsu):
• 永 (えい)字 (じ)八 (はっ)法 (ぽう) (eiji happō, “the Eight Principles of Yong”)
• 間 (かん)八 (ぱち) (kanpachi):
• 尺 (しゃく)八 (はち) (shakuhachi):
• 八 (やつ)橋 (はち) (yatsuhachi):
• 八 (やつ)手 (で) (yatsude):
• 八 (やつ)切 (ぎり) (yatsugiri):
• 八 (はっ)角 (かっ)形 (けい) (hakkakkei): octagon
• 八 (はっ)掛 (かけ) (hakkake):
• 七 (しち)転 (てん)八 (はっ)起 (き) (shichitenhakki):
• 八 (はっ)九 (く)分 (ぶ) (hakkubu):
• 四 (し)苦 (く)八 (はっ)苦 (く) (shikuhakku):

• 八 (はっ)苦 (く) (hakku):
• 八 (はっ)卦 (け) (hakke):
• 八 (はち)月 (がつ) (hachigatsu): August
• 八 (はっ)紘 (こう) (hakkō):
• 八 (はっ)荒 (こう) (hakkō):
• 八 (はっ)朔 (さく) (hassaku):
• 八 (はち)字 (じ)髭 (ひげ) (hachijihige):
• 八 (はっ)州 (しょう) (hasshō):
• 八 (や)重 (え) (yae):
• 八 (はち)丈 (じょう) (hachijō):
• 八 (はち)丈 (じょう)島 (じま) (hachijōjima):
• 八 (はっ)達 (たつ) (hattatsu):

• 八 (はっ)丁 (しょう) (hasshō):
• 八 (や)潮 (しお)路 (じ) (yashioji):
• 七 (しち)転 (てん)八 (ばっ)倒 (とう) (shichitenbattō):
• 八 (はち)道 (どう) (hachidō):
• 八 (よう)日 (か) (yōka):
• 八 (はち)幡 (まん) (hachiman):
• 八分
• 八 (はち)辺 (へん)形 (げい) (hachihengei): octagon
• 八 (はっ)宝 (ぽう)菜 (さい) (happōsai):
• 八 (はっ)方 (ぽう) (happō):
• 八 (はち)面 (めん) (hachimen):

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Numeral

八 (hiragana はち, rōmaji hachi)

1. eight, 8

Noun

八 (hiragana はち, rōmaji hachi)

1. eight
2. Short for 八の字.
3. Short for 八兵衛.

Etymology 2

The ablaut form of 四 (yo, “four”), which it doubles.

Noun

八 (hiragana や, rōmaji ya)

1. eight

Related terms

• 八 (や)つ (yatsu)
• 嘘 (うそ)っ八 (ぱち) (usoppachi)
• 一 (いち)か八 (ばち)か (ichikabachika)

---

Korean

Hanja

八 • (pal, bae)

• Eumhun:
  • Sound (hangeul): 팔, 배 (revised: pal, bae, McCune-Reischauer: p'al, pae, Yale: phal, pay)
  • Name (hangeul): 여덟 (revised: yeodeolp, McCune-Reischauer: yŏdŏl, Yale: yetelp)

1. eight

Numeral

八 • (pal) (hangeul 팔)

1. (cardinal) eight

---

Vietnamese

Han character

八 (bát, bắt)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation