冠

See also: 冦

Translingual

Han character

冠 (Kangxi radical 14, 冖+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 月一山戈 (BMUI), four-corner 3721₄, composition ⿱冖㝴)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 130, character 23
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1580
• Dae Jaweon: page 292, character 27
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 303, character 18
• Unihan data for U+51A0

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		冠
alternative forms		𠖌 𠙙 𠜍 𢃙

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 冠
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (元) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
冠	*kŋoːn, *kŋoːns
莞	*kŋoːn, *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋroːnʔ
脘	*ŋkoːnʔ
筦	*ŋkoːnʔ
梡	*ŋ̊ʰoːnʔ, *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋoːnʔ
岏	*ŋoːn
刓	*ŋoːn
园	*ŋoːn
忨	*ŋoːn, *ŋoːns
蚖	*ŋoːn, *ŋon
黿	*ŋoːn, *ŋon
抏	*ŋoːn
玩	*ŋoːns
貦	*ŋoːns
翫	*ŋoːns
妧	*ŋoːns
完	*ɦŋoːn
捖	*ɦŋoːn
垸	*ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋoːns
綄	*ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋoːnʔ
院	*ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋons
皖	*ɦŋoːnʔ, *ɦŋroːnʔ
晥	*ɦŋoːnʔ
浣	*ɦŋoːnʔ
頑	*ŋroːn, *ŋroːn
睆	*ɦŋroːnʔ
鯇	*ɦŋroːnʔ
元	*ŋon
沅	*ŋon
芫	*ŋon
杬	*ŋon
邧	*ŋon, *ŋonʔ
阮	*ŋon, *ŋonʔ
俒	*ɦŋuːn, *ɦŋuːns

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kŋoːn, *kŋoːns) : semantic 冖 (“hat”) + phonetic 元 (OC *ŋon, “head”) + semantic 寸 (“hand”) – a hand putting a hat on the head. Also ideogrammic (會意／会意) .

Earlier forms are phono-semantic (形聲／形声, OC *kŋoːn, *kŋoːns) : semantic 冃 (“hat”) + phonetic 元 (OC *ŋon).

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(g/k)wa-n (“to put on; to wear; to clothe”). Cognate with Tibetan བགོ (bgo, “to put on; to wear; clothing”), གོས (gos, “clothes; garments; dress”), གོན (gon), གྱོན (gyon, “to put on; to wear”), སྐོན (skon, “to dress; to clothe”).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): guān (guan¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gun¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kôn
• Eastern Min (BUC): guăng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): koàn

  (Teochew, Peng'im): guang¹ / guêng¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹kuoe

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guān
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guan
    • Wade–Giles: kuan¹
    • Yale: gwān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guan
    • Palladius: гуань (guanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯än⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gun¹
    • Yale: gūn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gun¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuːn⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kôn
    • Hakka Romanization System: gon´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gon¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kon²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: guăng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuaŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: koàn
    • Tâi-lô: kuàn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: koaxn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kuan²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kuan⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kuan²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kuan¹¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kuan²¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: guang¹ / guêng¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kuang / kueng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuaŋ³³/, /kueŋ³³/

Note:

• guang1 - Shantou;
• guêng1 - Chaozhou.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹kuoe
    • MiniDict: kuoe^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kuoe
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kuø⁵³/

---

• Middle Chinese: kwan

Rime
Character	冠
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	桓 (62)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古丸切
Baxter	kwan
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuɑn/
Pan Wuyun	/kʷɑn/
Shao Rongfen	/kuɑn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kwan/
Li Rong	/kuɑn/
Wang Li	/kuɑn/
Bernard Karlgren	/kuɑn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	guān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gun1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[k.ʔ]ˤor/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kŋoːn/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	冠
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	guān
Middle Chinese	‹ kwan ›
Old Chinese	/*[k.ʔ]ˁor/
English	cap (n.)
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	冠
Reading #	1/2
No.	16107
Phonetic component	元
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	官
Old Chinese	/*kŋoːn/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 冠

1. hat; cap

   皇冠  ―  huángguān  ―  crown

2. top part; cap; top
3. hat-shaped thing

   花冠  ―  huāguān  ―  wreath; crown

   雞冠／鸡冠  ―  jīguān  ―  cockscomb

4. cock's crest; comb

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 冠

1. ^† to put on a hat; to wear a hat
2. (historical) ceremony marking a male's coming of age at 20
3. ^† (of a male) to reach adulthood
4. ^† to rank first; to excel; to surpass
5. ^† to cover; to put on top of
6. to precede (e.g. with a title); to attach; to put on
7. ^† superior; excellent; outstanding

   冠軍／冠军  ―  guànjūn  ―  champion

8. ^† first place
9. champion; winner; victor
10. (linguistics) Short for 冠詞／冠词 (guàncí, “article”).
11. a surname

---

Japanese

Kanji

冠

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. crown
2. best, peerless

Readings

• Go-on: かん (kan, Jōyō)^{←くわん (kwan, historical)}
• Kan-on: かん (kan, Jōyō)^{←くわん (kwan, historical)}
• Kun: かんむり (kanmuri, 冠, Jōyō)
• Nanori: かもり (kamori); まさる (masaru)

Compounds

• 冠(かん)詞(し) (kanshi, “article”)

Derived terms

• 瓜(か)田(でん)に履(くつ)を納(い)れず、李(り)下(か)に冠(かんむり)を正(ただ)さず (kaden ni kutsu o irezu, rika ni kanmuri o tadasazu)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
冠
かがふり Grade: S
kun'yomi

/kaɡapuri/ → /kaɡafuri/

From Old Japanese.

Noun

冠(かがふり) • (kagafuri) 

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) head covering; headdress, crown
2. (by extension, archaic) order, rank

See also

• 位(い)階(かい) (ikai, “court rank”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
冠
かぶり Grade: S
kun'yomi

Likely a shift from kagafuri above, ancient kagapuri. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Alternative forms

• 被り, 頭

Noun

1. headdress, crown
2. (theater) large attendance, full house
3. (archaic) order, rank

Synonyms

• (full house): 大(おお)入(い)り (ōiri)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
冠
かむり Grade: S
kun'yomi

A shift from kaburi above. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Noun

冠(かむり) • (kamuri) 

1. headdress, crown
2. distance from the tunnel's roof to the surface directly above it
3. (poetry) first (traditionally, five) morae of a haiku, etc.; specifically, the first verse or line of a poem

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
冠
こうぶり Grade: S
kun'yomi

A shift from kagafuri above, ancient kagapuri.

Noun

冠(こうぶり) • (kōburi) ^{←かうぶり (kauburi)?}

1. headdress, crown
2. order, rank
3. Synonym of 年爵 (“an annual salary in the Heian period”)

Compounds

• 初(うい)冠(こうぶり) (uikōburi, “crowning a boy for the first time at a coming-of-age ceremony​”)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
冠
かんむり Grade: S
kun'yomi

The modern spelling. A shift from kōburi above, historical kauburi. Also encountered is kanburi.

Pronunciation

}

Noun

冠(かんむり) or 冠(かんぶり) • (kanmuri or kanburi) 

1. a crown (royal headdress)
   • 1999 November 18, “冠(かんむり)を戴(いただ)く蒼(あお)き翼(つばさ) [Crowned Blue Wings]”, in Vol.6, Konami:

     頭(あたま)の毛(け)が冠(かんむり)のように見(み)える、青(あお)白(じろ)く燃(も)えるトリ。

     Atama no ke ga kanmuri no yō ni mieru, aojiroku moeru tori.

     A bluish fiery bird whose feathers on its head resemble a crown.

2. a type of traditional cap
3. name; title; named sponsorship of a program, event, team, etc.​
4. the top radical of a kanji, such as 冖 as in 冠 itself

Compounds

Terms derived from かんむり

• 冠(カンムリ)海(ウミ)雀(スズメ) (kanmuri-umisuzume, “Japanese murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)”)
• 冠(カンムリ)鳰(カイツブリ) (kanmuri-kaitsuburi, “great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus)”)
• 冠(カンムリ)狐(キツネ)猿(ザル) (kanmuri-kitsunezaru, “crowned lemur ()”)
• かんむり座(ざ) (Kanmuriza, “Corona Borealis)”)
• 冠(カンムリ)鷲(ワシ) (kanmuriwashi, “crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela)”)
• 初(うい)冠(かんむり) (uikanmuri, “type of cap in Noh”)
• お冠(かんむり), 御(お)冠(かんむり) (o-kanmuri, “bad temper, bad mood”)

Radical names containing 冠

• 麻(あさ)冠(かんむり) (asa-kanmuri, "hemp" radical)
• 穴(あな)冠(かんむり) (ana-kanmuri, "hole" radical)
• 雨(あま)冠(かんむり) (ama-kanmuri), 雨(あめ)冠(かんむり) (ame-kanmuri, "rain" radical)
• ウ冠(かんむり) (u-kanmuri, katakana "u" radical)
• 老(おい)冠(かんむり) (oi-kanmuri, "old" radical)
• 髪(かみ)冠(かんむり) (kami-kanmuri, "hair" radical)
• 草(くさ)冠(かんむり) (kusa-kanmuri, "grass" radical)
• 卦(けい)算(さん)冠(かんむり) (keisan-kanmuri, "kettle lid" radical)
• 尸(しかばね)冠(かんむり) (shikabane-kanmuri, "corpse" radical)
• 大(だい)冠(かんむり) (dai-kanmuri, top "big" radical)
• 竹(たけ)冠(かんむり) (take-kanmuri, "bamboo" radical)
• 爪(つめ)冠(かんむり) (tsume-kanmuri, top "claw" radical)
• 戸(と)冠(かんむり) (to-kanmuri, "door" radical)
• 虎(とら)冠(かんむり) (tora-kanmuri, "tiger" radical)
• 山(やま)冠(かんむり) (yama-kanmuri, top "mountain" radical)
• ワ冠(かんむり) (wa-kanmuri), 平(ひら)冠(かんむり) (hira-kanmuri), 冖(べき)冠(かんむり) (beki-kanmuri, katakana "wa" radical)

Proper noun

冠(かんむり) • (Kanmuri) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
冠
さか Grade: S
irregular

Clipping of 鶏(と)冠(さか) (tosaka). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Noun

冠(さか) • (saka) 

1. comb, crest (of a bird, particularly a chicken or pheasant); cockscomb

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
冠
かん Grade: S
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 冠 (MC kwan|kwanH).

Noun

冠(かん) • (kan) ^{←くわん (kwan)?}

1. headpiece, crown

Compounds

Compounds derived from かん

• 冠(かん)位(い) (kan'i)
• 冠(かん)水(すい) (kansui, “being covered in water; being submerged or inundated”)
• 栄(えい)冠(かん) (eikan, “laurels, garland”)
• 王(おう)冠(かん) (ōkan, “crown”)
• 極(きょっ)冠(かん) (kyokkan, “polar cap”)
• 鶏(けい)冠(かん) (keikan, “cockscomb”)
• 月(げっ)桂(けい)冠(かん) (gekkeikan, “laurel wreath”)
• 主(しゅ)教(きょう)冠(かん) (shukyōkan, “mitre, miter”)
• 戴(てい)冠(かん) (teikan, “coronation”)
• 宝(ほう)冠(かん) (hōkan, “diadem”)
• 林(ほう)冠(かん) (hōkan, “tree canopy”)

Derived terms

• 冠(かん)たる (kantaru, “best, unrivalled”)

Adjectival noun

冠(かん) • (kan) ^{←くわん (kwan)?†}-tari (adnominal 冠(かん)とした (kan to shita) or 冠(かん)たる (kan taru), adverbial 冠(かん)と (kan to) or 冠(かん)として (kan to shite))

1. crown; champion

---

Korean

Hanja

冠 • (gwan)

• Eumhun:
  • Sound (hangeul): 관 (revised: gwan, McCune–Reischauer: kwan)
  • Name (hangeul): 갓 관
    

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

---

Vietnamese

Han character

冠: Hán Nôm readings: quan, quán

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