劉

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *m·ru): phonetic 卯 (OC *mruːʔ) + semantic 金 (“metal”) + semantic 刂 (“knife”).

Often written as 卯 (OC *mruːʔ) in the oracle bone script.

kill, slaughter: Probably Sino-Tibetan; compare Tedim Chin gou⁵³ / gɔʔ¹¹ < rouh / rɔʔ/h (Schuessler, 2007).

battle-axe: (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From sense "kill, slaughter"?”)

surname: (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From sense "battle-ax"? Compare 粵/越 "Yue peoples, state of Yue" from 戉 "battle-ax"”); Two origins are recorded: from 劉累 Liú Lĕi, descendant of Emperor Yao and dragon-keeper of King Kong Jia of Xia; and from the Liu state (劉國) ruled by Duke Kang of Liu, younger brother of King Ding of Zhou.

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: liú
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄡˊ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: liou
  - Tongyong Pinyin: lióu
  - Wade–Giles: liu²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ljoʊ̯³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: niu²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: liu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /niəu²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: lau⁴
  - Yale: làuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lau⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: leo⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɐu̯²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: liu³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu²²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: liù
  - Hakka Romanization System: liuˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: liu²
  - Sinological IPA: /li̯u¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: liu²
  - Sinological IPA: /liu¹¹/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: liǔ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu²¹/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: làu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃au⁵³/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâu / liû
  - Tâi-lô: lâu / liû
  - Phofsit Daibuun: laau, liuu
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lau²⁴/, /liu²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /lau²⁴/, /liu²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /lau¹³/, /liu¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /lau²⁴/, /liu²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lau²³/, /liu²³/

Note:

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: lao⁵
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lâu
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau⁵⁵/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	劉
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	liú
Middle Chinese	‹ ljuw ›
Old Chinese	/*mə-ru/
English	kill; surname
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.

劉

^† a type of battle axe
- 一人冕，執劉，立于東堂。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  一人冕，执刘，立于东堂。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE
  Yīrén miǎn, zhí liú, lì yú dōng táng. [Pinyin]
  One man in a great officer's cap, and holding an axe, stood in the hall, (near the steps) at the east (end).
^† to kill; to slaughter
- 我王來，既爰宅于茲；重我民，無盡劉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  我王来，既爰宅于兹；重我民，无尽刘。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE
  Wǒ wáng lái, jì yuán zhái yú zī; zhòng wǒ mín, wú jìn liú. [Pinyin]
  Our king came, and fixed on this. He did so from a deep concern for our people, and did not wish to see them all being killed.
^† to conquer; to overcome
^† to wither
(～國) State of Liu during the Zhou dynasty
A surname.
劉邦 / 刘邦 ― Liú Bāng ― Liu Bang (founding emperor of the Han Dynasty)

劉少奇 / 刘少奇 ― Liú Shàoqí ― Liu Shaoqi (Chinese revolutionary, politician and theorist)

Derived terms from 劉

Japanese[edit]

劉

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

劉

劉 (eumhun 죽일 류 (jugil ryu), South Korea 죽일 유 (jugil yu))

劉: Hán Nôm readings: Lưu