卵

See also: 卯 and 卬

卵 U+5375, 卵 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5375 ← 却 [U+5374] CJK Unified Ideographs 卶 → [U+5376]

卵 U+F91C, 卵 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F91C ← 亂 [U+F91B] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 欄 → [U+F91D]

Translingual

Han character

卵 (radical 26, 卩+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 竹竹尸中戈 (HHSLI), four-corner 7772₀, composition ⿰𠂑卪)

References

• KangXi: page 159, character 20
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2857
• Dae Jaweon: page 365, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 313, character 4
• Unihan data for U+5375

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		卵

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 卵
Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Chu Slip and silk script	Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (卵) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
卵	*ɡ·roːlʔ, *ɡ·roːnʔ
關	*kroːn
関	*kroːn
聯	*ɡ·ron

Pictogram (象形) – spawn, egg.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-row (“egg, nit”). Cognate with Tibetan སྲོ་མ (sro ma, “egg of a louse, nit, small bubble”).

鯤 (OC *kuːn) may represent a doublet resulting from prefix preemption. Compare its variant 𡖉.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): luǎn (luan³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄨㄢˇ

  (Chengdu, SP): nuan³

• Cantonese (Jyutping): leon⁵, leon^5-2
• Gan (Wiktionary): lon³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): lón

  (Meixian, Guangdong): lon³

• Jin (Wiktionary): luan²
• Min Bei (KCR): sō̤ng / lǔing
• Min Dong (BUC): lâung / luāng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): nn̄g / nňg / nūi / loán

  (Teochew, Peng'im): neng⁶

• Wu (Wiktionary): lu (T3); loe (T3)
• Xiang (Wiktionary): lonn³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: luǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄨㄢˇ
    • Wade–Giles: luan³
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: loan
    • IPA ^(key): /lu̯a̠n²¹⁴/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: nuan³
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: luan
    • IPA ^(key): /nuan⁵³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: leon⁵, leon^5-2
    • Yale: léuhn, léun
    • Cantonese Pinyin: loen⁵, loen^5-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: lên⁵, lên²
    • IPA ^(key): /lɵn¹³/, /lɵn¹³⁻³⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: lon³
    • IPA ^(key): /lɵn²¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lón
    • Hakka Romanization System: lon`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lon³
    • IPA: /lon³¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: lon³
    • IPA: /lɔn³¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: luan²
    • IPA (old-style): /luæ̃⁵³/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: sō̤ng / lǔing
    • IPA ^(key): /sɔŋ⁵⁵/, /luiŋ²¹/

Note:

• sō̤ng - vernacular;
• lǔing - literary.

Min Dong

• (Fuzhou)
  • Bàng-uâ-cê: lâung / luāng
  • IPA ^(key): /l̃ɑuŋ²⁴²/, /l̃uaŋ³³/

Note:

• lâung - vernacular;
• luāng - literary.

Min Nan

• (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Sanxia, Kinmen, Magong, Hsinchu, Taichung)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nn̄g
  • Tâi-lô: nn̄g
  • Phofsit Daibuun: nng
  • IPA (Xiamen, Kinmen): /nŋ̍²²/
  • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /nŋ̍³³/
• (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Lukang, Philippines, Jinjiang)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nňg
  • Tâi-lô: nňg
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /nŋ̍²²/
  • IPA (Philippines, Jinjiang): /nŋ̍³³/
• (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Yilan)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nūi
  • Tâi-lô: nuī
  • Phofsit Daibuun: nui
  • IPA (Zhangzhou): /nuĩ²²/
• (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: loán
  • Tâi-lô: luán
  • Phofsit Daibuun: loarn
  • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /luan⁵³/
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /luan⁵⁵⁴/
  • IPA (Kaohsiung): /luan⁴¹/

Note:

• nn̄g/nňg/nūi - vernacular;
• loán - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: neng⁶
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nṳ̆ng
  • IPA ^(key): /nɯŋ³⁵/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: lu (T3); loe (T3)
  • IPA ^(key): /lv̩ʷ²³/, /lø²³/

Note:

• 3lu - “egg”;
• 3loe - “penis”.

Xiang

• (Changsha)
  • Wiktionary: lonn³
  • IPA ^(key): /lõ⁴¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: /luɑn^X/, /luɑ^X/▼

Rime
Character	卵	卵
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	桓 (62)	戈 (95)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Closed
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	盧管切	郎果切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/luɑnX/	/luɑX/
Pan Wuyun	/lʷɑnX/	/luɑX/
Shao Rongfen	/luɑnX/	/luɑX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lwanX/	/lwaX/
Li Rong	/luɑnX/	/luɑX/
Wang Li	/luɑnX/	/luɑX/
Bernard Karlgren	/luɑnX/	/luɑX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	luǎn	luǒ

• Old Chinese▼

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*k.rˤorʔ/, /*k.rˤorʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡ·roːlʔ/, /*ɡ·roːnʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	卵	卵
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	luǎn	luǎn
Middle Chinese	‹ lwaX ›	‹ lwanX ›
Old Chinese	/*k.rˁorʔ/ (dialect: *-r > *-j)	/*k.rˁorʔ/
English	egg	egg
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	卵	卵
Reading #	1/2	2/2
No.	8639	8643
Phonetic component	卵	卵
Rime group	歌	元
Rime subdivision	3	3
Corresponding MC rime	裸	卵
Old Chinese	/*ɡ·roːlʔ/	/*ɡ·roːnʔ/

Definitions

卵

1. egg; ovum; roe; spawn
2. (entomology) fertilised egg
3. (regional) testicles
4. (regional) penis; male genitals

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 陰莖 (“penis; male genitalia”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		玉莖、陽具、陽物、陰體、人道、身根
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		陰莖、陽具
Mandarin	Beijing	雞巴、卵子、雀子 †、小雞兒 †
	Taiwan	雞雞、肉棒、老二、命根、命根子、小弟弟、小鳥 †
	Harbin	雞巴、雞巴嘚兒、雞巴頭子、嘚兒、牛子、老二、二哥、腿兒、牛牛兒 †、小牛子 †、家雀兒 †
	Jinan	屌、小雞兒 †、小雞雞 †
	Muping	鴨子、雞子、雞巴、屌、小鴨兒 †
	Luoyang	雞巴、屌、雞巴兒 †、小雞兒雞兒 †
	Jiedian	鴨子、鴨兒 †
	Xi'an	㞗、錘子、牛牛兒 †
	Xining	雞巴、㞗、錘子、雞雞 †
	Xuzhou	屌、雞巴、雞尜尜、屌頭子、老二、二哥、一家人兒、打種的 dated、小雞兒 †、雞兒 †、尜尜 †、小老雀兒 †、老雀兒 †
	Yinchuan	㞗、雞巴、雞雞 †
	Lanzhou	㞗、牛牛子 †
	Ürümqi	㞗、㞗把子、錘子、雞雞 †、㞗㞗 †
	Wuhan	鴨蒂、雞巴、卵、雀雀 †、鴨鴨 †、雞雞 †
	Chengdu	錘子、雞巴、雞棍兒、雀雀兒、雀雀、麻雀兒、毛鰱魚、老二、㞗、雞雞 †、小雞兒 †、小麻雀兒 †、小雀雀兒 †
	Guiyang	雞巴、大雞巴、乾雞巴、馬雞巴、卵子、㞗、屌、下二哥、二哥、甩甩、錘錘 dated、錘子 dated、雞雞 †、小雞兒 †、雞兒 †、麻雀 †、小麻雀 †、雀雀 †
	Liuzhou	鳥、卵、二老爺、大頭蟲、鳥崽 †
	Yangzhou	雞巴、屌子、屌、卵子、麻雀子 †
	Nanjing	雞巴、屌、麻雀、小麻雀兒 †
	Hefei	屌、雞巴、尕尕雞 †、尕雞 †
	Nantong	屌兒、屌
Cantonese	Guangzhou	㞗、𨳍、賓舟 †、脧 †、脧脧 †、㞗脧 †、脧仔 †、姑姑 †
	Hong Kong	㞗、𨳍、𡳞、賓舟、脧 †、脧脧 †、脧脧仔 †、姑姑 †、雀仔 †、弟弟、細佬、何B仔、子孫根、祠堂、第三隻腳、第五肢
	Shunde	㞗
	Foshan	㞗
	Zhongshan	㞗、𨳍
	Dongguan	𡳞、鵝必 †
	Hong Kong (Weitou)	𡳞
	Taishan	𡳞、雀 †、雀仔 †
	Doumen	㞗脧、𨳍
	Kaiping	𡳞
	Shaoguan	𨳍
	Yunfu	𨳍
	Yangjiang	㞗、𨳍
	Xinyi	𨳍
	Nanning	𨳍
	Kuala Lumpur	㞗
Gan	Nanchang	卵、卵雞子 †、卵雞 †
	Lichuan	卵、老二
	Pingxiang	卵、卵仔 †、雞仔 †
Hakka	Meixian	膦棍、膦仔、脧仔 †
	Xingning	脧哩、膦棍
	Huidong	膦棍、脧仔
	Qujiang	膦棍
	Xiaosanjiang	膦棍、脧
	Changting	膦子
	Pingyu	膦
	Wuping	膦
	Liancheng	膦、脧
	Ninghua	脧
	Yudu	卵、卵子 †、尒卵子 †
	Ruijin	卵陀
	Shicheng	卵梗
	Shangyou	卵
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	膦棍
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	膦棍
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	膦棍
	Dongshi (Dabu)	膦棍
	Zhuolan (Raoping)	膦棍
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	朘子
	Hong Kong	膦
	Sabah	脧仔
	Senai	膦棍
	Singkawang	朘
Huizhou	Jixi	鳥、老八鳥、八鳥
Jin	Taiyuan	㞗、雞巴、雀兒、雞雞 †、狗雞兒 †
	Xinzhou	㞗、雞巴、雞雞、二掌櫃、小腹、雞溜子 †、雞溜 †
Min Bei	Jian'ou	𫵓、𫵓仔、𫵓𫵓仔 †
	Dikou	𫵓
	Songxi	𫵓
	Zhenghe	𫵓
	Zhenqian	𫵓牯
	Jianyang	𫵓
	Wuyishan	脧
	Shibei	脧
Min Dong	Fuzhou	欛欛、䐯鳥、欛欛囝 †、鳥鳥囝 †
	Changle	欛欛囝
	Fuqing	䐯、鳥 †
	Yongtai	䐯鳥
	Gutian	䐯鳥
	Fu'an	䐯鳥
	Ningde	䐯
	Shouning	䐯鳥
	Zhouning	䐯鳥
	Fuding	䐯䐯、䐯鳥
	Matsu	欛欛
Min Nan	Xiamen	𡳞鳥、𡳞𦉎、𡳞
	Quanzhou	𡳞鳥、𡳞𦉎、𡳞
	Zhangzhou	𡳞鳥、𡳞𦉎、𡳞
	Taipei	𡳞鳥
	Kaohsiung	𡳞鳥
	Tainan	𡳞鳥、戛、訶
	Taichung	𡳞鳥
	Wuqi	𡳞鳥
	Hsinchu	𡳞鳥
	Taitung	𡳞鳥
	Lukang	𡳞鳥
	Sanxia	𡳞鳥
	Yilan	𡳞鳥
	Kinmen	𡳞鳥
	Magong	𡳞鳥
	Penang	𡳞鳥、小弟
	Philippines (Manila)	𡳞鳥
	Pingnan	㞗
	Chaozhou	𡳞鳥、𡳞
	Shantou	𡳞鳥、𡳞
	Johor Bahru	𡳞
	Haikou	屌、鳥 †
	Leizhou	𡳞、鳥、殼車
Pinghua	Nanning	𨳍、麻鳥、二老弟
Wu	Shanghai	卵、屌屌 †、屌屌頭 †、小雞雞 †、麻鳥 †
	Suzhou	卵、鳥、雞雞 †、小卵 †、長生果 †
	Hangzhou	雀兒、八屌、小八屌 †、麻雀兒 †、麻油壺兒 †
	Wenzhou	卵脬、卵脬兒、臀卵脬、頹、脬兒 †、脬脬兒 †、奶哥鳥兒 †
	Chongming	卵、卵子、卵卵 †、小尿螺 †
	Danyang	卵、卵子、屌子、屌、雞巴、雞雞 †、小雀雀 †、雀雀 †、八八 †、八雞 †
	Jinhua	老八兒、聊子、雀、八兒八兒 †
	Ningbo	卵、卵子、卵瓜瓜 †、瓜瓜 †
Xiang	Changsha	卵、雞巴、掉它、太鬍子、雞雞 †、鳥鳥 †、鳥 †、梗梗 †
	Shuangfeng	卵子、雞蓀子 †
	Loudi	雞巴、卵、勺欛腦殼、雞雞 †、雞崽唧 †
Note	† - of a boy

Compounds

Derived terms from 卵

• 事危累卵
• 以卵投石
• 以卵擊石／以卵击石
• 以石投卵
• 以碫投卵
• 伏卵
• 危如累卵
• 危於累卵／危于累卵
• 卵囊
• 卵囊球
• 卵圓／卵圆
• 卵圓形／卵圆形
• 卵圓窗／卵圆窗
• 卵塊／卵块
• 卵子 (luǎnzǐ)
• 卵子移植
• 卵孔
• 卵巢 (luǎncháo)
• 卵巢囊腫／卵巢囊肿 (luǎncháo nángzhǒng)
• 卵巢炎
• 卵巢癌 (luǎncháo'ái)
• 卵巢窩／卵巢窝
• 卵形 (luǎnxíng)
• 卵核
• 卵模
• 卵母細胞／卵母细胞

• 卵泡
• 卵生 (luǎnshēng)
• 卵用雞／卵用鸡
• 卵白 (luǎnbái)
• 卵石 (luǎnshí)
• 卵磷脂 (luǎnlínzhī)
• 卵精巢
• 卵細胞／卵细胞
• 卵翼 (luǎnyì)
• 卵翼之恩
• 卵育
• 卵胎生 (luǎntāishēng)
• 卵與石鬥／卵与石斗
• 卵袋
• 卵裂 (luǎnliè)
• 卵黃／卵黄 (luǎnhuáng)
• 卵黃囊／卵黄囊
• 卵黃管／卵黄管
• 卵黃腺／卵黄腺
• 受精卵 (shòujīngluǎn)
• 同卵 (tóngluǎn)
• 同卵雙生／同卵双生
• 呵脬捧卵
• 壓卵／压卵
• 孵卵機／孵卵机

• 完卵
• 巢傾卵破／巢倾卵破
• 巢毀卵破／巢毁卵破
• 排卵 (páiluǎn)
• 排卵期
• 排山壓卵／排山压卵
• 殺雞取卵／杀鸡取卵 (shājīqǔluǎn)
• 河卵石
• 泰山壓卵／泰山压卵
• 產卵／产卵 (chǎnluǎn)
• 異卵／异卵 (yìluǎn)
• 石卵
• 累卵 (lěiluǎn)
• 累卵之危
• 翼卵
• 若卵投石
• 覆巢傾卵／覆巢倾卵
• 覆巢毀卵／覆巢毁卵
• 覆巢破卵
• 赤眼卵蜂
• 輸卵管／输卵管 (shūluǎnguǎn)
• 重卵
• 雞卵／鸡卵 (jīluǎn)
• 魚卵／鱼卵 (yúluǎn)
• 鵝卵石／鹅卵石 (éluǎnshí)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 卵 – see 𡳞 (“male genitalia; penis; etc.”). (This character, 卵, is a variant form of 𡳞.)

---

Japanese

Kanji

卵

(grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. an egg

Readings

• Go-on: らん (ran, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: らん (ran, Jōyō)
• Kun: たまご (tamago, 卵, Jōyō)

Compounds

Compounds

• 卵焼 (たまごやき) (tamagoyaki), 卵焼 (たまごや)き (tamagoyaki): omelet, fried eggs
• 梵 (ぼん)卵 (らん) (bonran): world egg
• 卵 (らん)黄 (おう) (ran'ō): yolk
• 卵殻 (らんかく) (rankaku): eggshell
• 卵 (らん)子 (し) (ranshi): ovum
• 卵 (らん)生 (せい) (ransei): oviparity
• 卵 (らん)巣 (そう) (ransō): ovary
• 卵白 (らんぱく) (ranpaku): albumen

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
卵
たまご Grade: 6
kun’yomi

卵 (tamago): a selection of different eggs.

From 玉 (tama, “ball”) +‎ 子 (ko, “child, small thing”). The ko reading for 子 changes to go as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Alternative forms

• 玉子

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) たま​ご [tàmáꜜgò] (Nakadaka – [2])
  • (Tokyo) たまご [tàmágó] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [ta̠ma̠ɡo̞]

Noun

卵 (hiragana たまご, rōmaji tamago)

1. an egg, including fish roe
   • 1999 September 23, “ウィング・エッグ・エルフ [Wing Egg Elf]”, in Vol.5 (in Japanese), Konami:

     たまごのカラに身 (み)を包 (つつ)む天 (てん)使 (し)。大 (おお)きな羽 (はね)で攻 (こう)撃 (げき)を防 (ふせ)ぐ。

     Tamago no kara ni mi o tsutsumu tenshi. Ōki na hane de kōgeki o fusegu.

     An angel sheltered inside an eggshell. It fends off attacks with its massive wings.

   • 2000 July 13, “ドラゴン・エッガー [Dragon Egger]”, in Pharaoh’s Servant －ファラオのしもべ－ (in Japanese), Konami:

     卵 (たまご)のカラをかぶっているドラゴン。子 (こ)供 (ども)と間 (ま)違 (ちが)えると痛 (いた)い目 (め)にあうぞ！

     Tamago no kara o kabutte iru doragon. Kodomo to machigaeru to itaime ni au zo!

     A dragon who shelters in an eggshell. Never mistake him for a literal baby!

   • 2003 July 17, “ジェノサイドキングサーモン [Genocide King Salmon]”, in 暗黒の侵略者 [Invader of Darkness] (in Japanese), Konami:

     暗 (あん)黒 (こく)海 (かい)の主 (ぬし)として恐 (おそ)れられている巨 (きょ)大 (だい)なシャケ。その卵 (たまご)は暗 (あん)黒 (こく)界 (かい)一 (いち)の美 (び)味 (み)として知 (し)られている。

     Ankokukai no nushi to shite osorerarete iru kyodai na shake. Sono tamago wa Ankokukaiichi no bimi to shiteshirarete iru.

     A giant salmon worst feared in the Dark Sea. Its roe is best known as the ultimate delicacy of the Dark World.

2. the beginning or start of something (compare the uses of English terms kernel and seed)
3. a beginner or rookie at something
   • 1988 July 30 [Jul 25 1985], Fujiko F. Fujio, “山やま寺でらグラフィティ [Mountain Temple Graffiti]”, in 宇宙船製造法 [How to Build a Spaceship] (藤子不二雄少年SF短編集; 3), volume 3 (fiction, in Japanese), 6th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 106:

     ぼく、加 (か)藤 (とう)広 (ひろ)康 (やす)。イラストレーターの卵 (たまご)。

     Boku, Katō Hiroyasu. Irasutorētā no tamago.

     My name’s Katō Hiroyasu. I’m a rookie illustrator.

Usage notes

This term in Japanese is nearly as broad in use as English egg, indicating an egg as laid by various oviparous organisms, and egg as used in cooking. For the more specific biological sense of ovum, see 卵子 (ranshi).

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
卵
らん Grade: 6
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 卵 (MC luɑn^X).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
  • (Tokyo) ら​ん [ráꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA^(key): [ɾã̠ɴ]

Noun

卵 (hiragana らん, rōmaji ran)

1. an ovum

---

Korean

Hanja

卵 • (ran>nan)

• Eumhun:
  • Sound (hangeul): 란>난 (revised: ran, nan, McCune–Reischauer: ran, nan, Yale: lan, nan)
  • Name (hangeul): 알 (revised: al, McCune–Reischauer: al, Yale: al)

1. ovum

---

Vietnamese

Han character

卵 (noãn)

1. Hán tự form of noãn, (“botanical ovule”).