危

危 U+5371, 危 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5371 ← 印 [U+5370] CJK Unified Ideographs 卲 → [U+5372]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

危 (Kangxi radical 26, 卩+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 弓一尸山 (NMSU), four-corner 2721₂, composition ⿸厃㔾)

Derived characters

• 佹, 𠱓, 垝, 姽, 尯, 峗, 𢂕, 恑, 㧪, 洈, 陒, 㫉, 𣆡, 脆, 桅, 𤙙, 𤥕, 祪, 硊, 䍯, 蛫, 觤, 詭(诡), 跪, 䤥, 鮠(𬶏), 𣢪, 䣀, 㩻, 頠(𬱟), 𡧭, 峞, 𢈌

References

• KangXi: page 159, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2849
• Dae Jaweon: page 364, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 312, character 3
• Unihan data for U+5371

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		危
alternative forms		厃 𡴲 𡵁 𡴸

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
鮠	*ŋuːl
峞	*ŋuːl, *ŋuːlʔ
頠	*ŋuːlʔ, *ŋrolʔ
詭	*krolʔ
垝	*krolʔ, *krols
陒	*krolʔ
觤	*krolʔ
恑	*krolʔ
蛫	*krolʔ
祪	*krolʔ
洈	*krolʔ, *ŋrol
姽	*krolʔ, *ŋrolʔ
桅	*krolʔ
佹	*krolʔ
跪	*kʰrolʔ, *ɡrolʔ
危	*ŋrol
峗	*ŋrol
硊	*ŋrolʔ
卼	*kʰruls

Ideogrammic compound (會意): 厃 (“person on a cliff or mountain”) + 卩 (“kneeling person”).

Written like 𡴲 during the Warring States period, an ideogrammic compound (會意): 人 (“person”) + 山 (“mountain”).

Etymology

Starostin reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ŋō̆j (~-ō̆l) (“high, rise”) and compares 危 to Burmese ငွား (ngwa:, “be large, great, be high, to project prominently above and beyond others”), Jingpho [script needed] (ŋoi, “to rise, as a hill”); & possibly Proto-Kiranti *ŋo-.

Schuessler (2007) notes that Chinese and Written Burmese can be reconciled by assuming an ST final *-l; furthermore, 危 (OC *ŋoi) may be a vocalic variant of 巍 (OC *ŋui), which in turn is related to 魏 (OC *ŋuih).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): wēi, wéi

  (Zhuyin): ㄨㄟ, ㄨㄟˊ

  (Chengdu, SP): wei²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngai⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): ngùi

  (Meixian, Guangdong): ngui²

• Min Dong (BUC): ngùi
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): gûi / hûi / ûi / lûi

  (Teochew, Peng'im): nguin⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
    • Pinyin: wēi
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄟ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: uei
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wei
    • Wade–Giles: wei1
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan; dated variant in Mainland)⁺
    • Pinyin: wéi
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˊ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wei
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wéi
    • Wade–Giles: wei2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: wei²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ui
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /uei²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngai⁴
    • Yale: ngàih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngai⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngei⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɐi̯²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngùi
    • Hakka Romanization System: nguiˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngui²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋu̯i¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: ngui²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋuɪ¹¹/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ngùi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋui⁵³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taichung, Hsinchu, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Magong)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gûi
    • Tâi-lô: guî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: guii
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Lukang, Kinmen): /ɡui²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡui¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Yilan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hûi
    • Tâi-lô: huî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: huii
    • IPA (Xiamen, Tainan, Yilan): /hui²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hui²³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ûi
    • Tâi-lô: uî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: uii
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ui¹³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ui²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Hsinchu)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lûi
    • Tâi-lô: luî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: luii

Note:

• gûi - literary;
• hûi - vernacular;
• ûi/lûi - colloquial.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: nguin⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ngûiⁿ
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋũĩ⁵⁵/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 危
Mandarin	Beijing	/uei⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/uei²¹³/
	Tianjin	/vei²¹/
	Jinan	/vei⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/ve⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/uei⁵³/
	Xi'an	/uei²¹/
	Xining	/uɨ²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/vei⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/vei³¹/
	Ürümqi	/vei⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/uei²¹³/
	Chengdu	/uei³¹/
	Guiyang	/uei²¹/
	Kunming	/uei³¹/
	Nanjing	/uəi²⁴/
	Hefei	/ue⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/vei¹¹/
	Pingyao	/uei¹³/
	Hohhot	/vei³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦue²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦue̞¹³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦui²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ȵy³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/ue⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/ue⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/uei¹³/
	Xiangtan	/uəi¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/ui⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/ŋui¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/vui¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/ŋɐi²¹/
	Nanning	/ŋɐi²¹/
	Hong Kong	/ŋɐi²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/gui³⁵/ /hui³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/ŋuoi⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/ŋy³³/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/ŋũi⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/ŋui³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: /ŋˠiuᴇ/

Rime
Character	危
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	支 (14)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	Chongniu III
Fanqie	魚爲切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ŋˠiuᴇ/
Pan Wuyun	/ŋʷᵚiɛ/
Shao Rongfen	/ŋiuɛ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ŋjwiə̆/
Li Rong	/ŋjue/
Wang Li	/ŋǐwe/
Bernard Karlgren	/ŋwie̯/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	wéi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ngai4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ŋ](r)[o]j/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ŋrol/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	危
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	wēi
Middle Chinese	‹ ngjwe ›
Old Chinese	/*[ŋ](r)[o]j/
English	in danger
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	危
Reading #	1/1
No.	12781
Phonetic component	危
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	危
Old Chinese	/*ŋrol/

Definitions

危

1. dangerous

   危在旦夕  ―  wēizàidànxī  ―  in imminent danger

   居安思危  ―  jū'ānsīwēi  ―  to think of danger in times of safety

2. (literary) precarious; high

   危峰  ―  wēifēng  ―  towering peak

3. dying

   病危  ―  bìngwēi  ―  critically ill

   垂危  ―  chuíwēi  ―  to be critically ill

4. (literary) upright; proper

   正襟危坐  ―  zhèngjīnwēizuò  ―  to sit straight solemnly

5. to endanger; to put in danger

   危及  ―  wēijí  ―  to endanger

6. to fear; to be uneasy

   人人自危  ―  rénrénzìwēi  ―  everyone feels insecure

7. (literary) roof
8. (～宿) (astronomy) the Roof, a Chinese constellation near Aquarius and Pegasus
9. a surname.

Compounds

Derived terms from 危

• 三危山 (Sānwēishān)
• 乘人之危 (chéngrénzhīwēi)
• 乘危
• 事危累卵
• 人人自危 (rénrénzìwēi)
• 人命危淺／人命危浅 (rénmìngwēiqiǎn)
• 人心惟危
• 倒懸之危／倒悬之危 (dàoxuánzhīwēi)
• 傾危／倾危 (qīngwēi)
• 危亡 (wēiwáng)
• 危及 (wēijí)
• 危在旦夕 (wēizàidànxī)
• 危坐
• 危城 (wēichéng)
• 危如累卵 (wēirúlěiluǎn)
• 危害 (wēihài)
• 危宿 (Wēixiù, Wéixiù)
• 危局 (wēijú)
• 危屋
• 危弱
• 危急 (wēijí)
• 危情 (wēiqíng)
• 危惙
• 危房 (wēifáng)
• 危於累卵／危于累卵
• 危樓／危楼 (wēilóu)
• 危機／危机 (wēijī, wéijī)
• 危機四伏／危机四伏 (wēijīsìfú)
• 危機意識／危机意识
• 危檣／危樯
• 危殆 (wēidài)
• 危竿
• 危篤／危笃 (wēidǔ)
• 危若朝露
• 危行
• 危言 (wēiyán)
• 危言危行
• 危言正色
• 危言聳聽／危言耸听 (wēiyánsǒngtīng)
• 危言讜論／危言谠论
• 危邦
• 危險／危险 (wēixiǎn)

• 危險分子／危险分子
• 危險性／危险性 (wēixiǎnxìng)
• 危險期／危险期
• 危險物／危险物
• 危難／危难 (wēinàn)
• 去危就安
• 古巴危機／古巴危机
• 國際危機／国际危机
• 垂危 (chuíwēi)
• 孤危
• 安不忘危 (ānbùwàngwēi)
• 安危 (ānwēi)
• 安必思危
• 居安思危 (jū'ānsīwēi)
• 居安慮危／居安虑危
• 居高思危
• 岌岌可危 (jíjíkěwēi)
• 忘戰必危／忘战必危
• 忘戰者危／忘战者危
• 慄慄危懼／栗栗危惧
• 扶危 (fúwēi)
• 扶危定亂／扶危定乱
• 扶危定傾／扶危定倾
• 扶危拯溺
• 扶危持顛／扶危持颠
• 扶危救困
• 扶危濟困／扶危济困
• 扶危翼傾／扶危翼倾
• 扶顛持危／扶颠持危
• 拯危扶溺
• 拯溺扶危
• 拯溺濟危／拯溺济危
• 持危扶顛／持危扶颠
• 捨安就危／舍安就危
• 排危
• 撥亂濟危／拨乱济危
• 救困扶危 (jiù kùn fúwēi)
• 整襟危坐
• 旦夕之危
• 桓殷危語／桓殷危语
• 正色危言
• 正襟危坐 (zhèngjīnwēizuò)

• 涉危履險／涉危履险
• 涉艱履危／涉艰履危
• 潛在危機／潜在危机
• 濟困扶危／济困扶危
• 濟弱扶危／济弱扶危
• 瀕危／濒危 (bīnwēi)
• 病危 (bìngwēi)
• 直言危行
• 知安忘危
• 石油危機／石油危机
• 破家危國／破家危国
• 累卵之危
• 經濟危機／经济危机 (jīngjì wēijī)
• 能源危機／能源危机
• 臨危／临危 (línwēi)
• 臨危下石／临危下石
• 臨危不亂／临危不乱 (línwēibùluàn)
• 臨危不懼／临危不惧
• 臨危不撓／临危不挠
• 臨危不顧／临危不顾
• 臨危受命／临危受命
• 臨危履冰／临危履冰
• 臨危授命／临危授命 (línwēishòumìng)
• 臨危效命／临危效命
• 臨危自悔／临危自悔
• 臨危自省／临危自省
• 臨危自計／临危自计
• 臨危致命／临危致命
• 自危
• 艱危／艰危 (jiānwēi)
• 處安思危／处安思危 (chǔ'ānsīwēi)
• 見危／见危
• 見危受命／见危受命
• 見危授命／见危授命
• 見危致命／见危致命
• 解危
• 變危為安／变危为安
• 趁人之危
• 轉危為安／转危为安
• 阽危 (diànwēi)
• 高而不危
• 齒危髮秀／齿危发秀

Pronunciation 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 危 – see 懸 (“(Teochew) high; tall”). (This character, 危, is a variant form of 懸.)

References

• “危”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

---

Japanese

Kanji

危

(grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. danger

Readings

• Go-on: ぎ (gi)^{←ぎ (gi, historical)←ぐゐ (gwi, ancient)}
• Kan-on: ぎ (gi)^{←ぎ (gi, historical)←ぐゐ (gwi, ancient)}
• Kan’yō-on: き (ki, Jōyō)
• Kun: あぶない (abunai, 危ない, Jōyō); あやうい (ayaui, 危うい, Jōyō)^{←あやふい (ayafui, historical)}; あやぶむ (ayabumu, 危ぶむ, Jōyō)

Compounds

Compounds

• 安(あん)危(き) (anki, “safety”)
• 危(き)害(がい) (kigai, “harm”)
• 危(き)機(き) (kiki, “crisis”)
• 危(き)急(きゅう) (kikyū, “emergency”)
• 危(き)惧(ぐ) (kigu, “apprehension”)
• 危(き)険(けん) (kiken, “dangerous”)
• 危(き)殆(たい) (kitai, “grave danger”)
• 危(き)篤(とく) (kitoku, “critical illness”)
• 危(き)難(なん) (kinan, “calamity”)

---

Korean

Hanja

危 (eumhun 위태할 위 (witaehal wi))

1. dangerous, precarious
2. high

---

Vietnamese

Han character

危: Hán Nôm readings: nguy, ngoay, ngoe, nguầy, ngùy/nguỳ

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