劉

	Old Chinese
卯	*mruːʔ
昴	*mruːʔ
泖	*mruːʔ
茆	mruːʔ, m·ruʔ
奅	*m̥ʰruːs
窌	m̥ʰruːs, m·ruː, *m·rus
聊	*m·rɯːw
貿	*mlus
鄮	*mlus
劉	*m·ru
留	m·ru, m·rus
蒥	*m·ru
鶹	*m·ru
騮	*m·ru
榴	*m·ru
瑠	*ru
瘤	m·ru, m·rus
遛	*m·ru
鎦	*m·ru
飀	*m·ru
鰡	*m·ru
嵧	*m·ru
餾	m·ru, m·rus
瀏	m·ru, m·ruʔ
懰	m·ru, m·ruʔ
柳	*m·ruʔ
珋	*m·ruʔ
罶	*m·ruʔ
嬼	m·ruʔ, m·rus
溜	*m·rus
霤	*m·rus
廇	*m·rus
塯	*m·rus

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

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

Etymology

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 Lěi, 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.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): liú (liu²)

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄡˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): niu²
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): lau⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): liu³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): liù

(Hailu, HRS): liu

(Meixian, Guangdong): liu²
Northern Min (KCR): liǔ
Eastern Min (BUC): làu
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): lao² / liu²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): lâu / liû

(Teochew, Peng'im): lao⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶lieu

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: liú
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄡˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: lióu
  - Wade–Giles: liu²
  - Yale: lyóu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: liou
  - Palladius: лю (lju)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯oʊ̯³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: niu²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: liu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /niəu²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - 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 Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: liù
  - Hakka Romanization System: liu^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: liu²
  - Sinological IPA: /li̯u¹¹/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: liu
  - Sinological IPA: /liu⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: liu²
  - Sinological IPA: /liu¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: liǔ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu²¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: làu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃au⁵³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: lao²
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: láu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau¹³/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: lao²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau²⁴/
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: liu²
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: liú
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu¹³/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: liu²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu²⁴/

Note:

lao2 - vernacular (incl. surname);
liu2 - literary.

Southern Min
- (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:

lâu - vernacular (incl. surname);
liû - literary.

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

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶lieu
  - MiniDict: lieu^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lieu
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /liɤ²³/

Middle Chinese: ljuw

Rime
Character	劉
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	力求切
Baxter	ljuw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɨu/
Pan Wuyun	/liu/
Shao Rongfen	/liəu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/luw/
Li Rong	/liu/
Wang Li	/lĭəu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/li̯ə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	liú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lau⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*mə-ru/

(Zhengzhang): /*m·ru/

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.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	劉
Reading #	1/1
No.	8881
Phonetic component	卯
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	劉
Old Chinese	/*m·ru/

Definitions

劉

(obsolete) 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).
(obsolete) 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.
(obsolete) to conquer
(obsolete) 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)

Compounds

Descendants

→ English: Liu, Lau
→ Tagalog: Lao

Japanese

Kanji

劉

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

axe
kill

Readings

Go-on: る (ru)
Kan-on: りゅう (ryū)^{←りう (riu, historical)}
Kun: ころす (korosu, 劉す)、つらねる (tsuraneru, 劉ねる)

Proper noun

Kanji in this term
劉
りゅう Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
刘 (rare)

劉(りゅう) • (Ryū) ^{←りう (Riu)^?}

a surname from Chinese
- (Can we date this quote?), 中華若木詩抄巻之上‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 December 2021, page 3a:
  
  蜀(しょく)ノ刘(りゅう)備(び)
  Shoku no Ryū Bi
  Liu Bei of Shu

Korean

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

劉

Wikisource

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

hanja form^? of 류/유 (“to kill”)

Vietnamese

Han character

劉: Hán Nôm readings: Lưu

chữ Hán form of Lưu (“a surname from Chinese”)