大同

Chinese

		big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	like; same; similar like; same; similar; together; alike; with
simp. and trad. (大同)		大	同

Etymology

The philosophical sense is from the Book of Rites, Book 9 (《禮記·禮運》):

……是故謀閉而不興，盜竊亂賊而不作，故外戶而不閉，是謂大同。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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……是故谋闭而不兴，盗窃乱贼而不作，故外户而不闭，是谓大同。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

...... Shìgù móu bì ér bù xīng, dàoqiè luànzéi ér bù zuò, gù wàihù ér bù bì, shì wèi dàtóng. [Pinyin]

… In this way (selfish) schemings were repressed and found no development. Robbers, filchers, and rebellious traitors did not show themselves, and hence the outer doors remained open, and were not shut. This was (the period of) what we call the Grand Union.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dàtóng

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄊㄨㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): daai⁶ tung⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): thai-thùng

  (Hailu, HRS): tai^˖ tung

• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): dai⁵ dorng²
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): tāi-tông

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dàtóng
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄊㄨㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dàtóng
    • Wade–Giles: ta⁴-tʻung²
    • Yale: dà-túng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dahtorng
    • Palladius: датун (datun)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹ tʰʊŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: daai⁶ tung⁴
    • Yale: daaih tùhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: daai⁶ tung⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: dai⁶ tung⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /taːi̯²² tʰʊŋ²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thai-thùng
    • Hakka Romanization System: tai tung^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tai⁴ tung²
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰai̯⁵⁵ tʰuŋ¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: tai^˖ tung
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰai³³ tʰuŋ⁵⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: dai⁵ dorng² [Phonetic: dai⁵ lorng²]
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: dāi-dó̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tai¹¹ ^(t-)lɒŋ¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: dai⁵ dorng² [Phonetic: dai⁵ lorng²]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tai²¹ ^(t-)lɒŋ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāi-tông
    • Tâi-lô: tāi-tông
    • Phofsit Daibuun: daixdoong
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /tai²²⁻²¹ tɔŋ²⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /tai⁴¹⁻²² tɔŋ²⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /tai²²⁻²¹ tɔŋ¹³/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /tai³³⁻¹¹ tɔŋ²⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /tai³³⁻²¹ tɔŋ²³/

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• Middle Chinese: dajH|daH duwng

Rime
Character	大	大	同
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	定 (7)	定 (7)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	泰 (25)	歌 (94)	東 (1)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Departing (H)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I	I
Fanqie	徒蓋切	唐佐切	徒紅切
Baxter	dajH	daH	duwng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/dɑiH/	/dɑH/	/duŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/dɑiH/	/dɑH/	/duŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/dɑiH/	/dɑH/	/duŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dajH/	/daH/	/dəwŋ/
Li Rong	/dɑiH/	/dɑH/	/duŋ/
Wang Li	/dɑiH/	/dɑH/	/duŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/dʱɑiH/	/dʱɑH/	/dʱuŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	dài	duò	tóng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	daai6	do6	tung4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*lˤat-s|lˤa[t]-s  lˤoŋ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*daːds  doːŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	大	大	同
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	dà	dà	tóng
Middle Chinese	‹ daH ›	‹ dajH ›	‹ duwng ›
Old Chinese	/*lˁat-s/ (MC F!)	/*lˁa[t]-s/	/*lˁoŋ/
English	big	big	together, join
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	大	大	同
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
No.	1934	1939	12446
Phonetic component	大	大	同
Rime group	祭	祭	東
Rime subdivision	1	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	䭾	大	同
Old Chinese	/*daːds/	/*daːds/	/*doːŋ/
Notes			甲金文象有節筒管與口協合， 如此方能音律諧和， 爲筒（簫）初文

Noun

大同

1. (Chinese philosophy) Great Unity (utopian vision of the world in which everyone and everything is at peace)
2. (formal) significant similarities
3. (～卦) A combination 四上三中四下 in the Lingqijing.
4. (Taiwanese Hokkien, chiefly Tainan and Magong Hokkien) green pepper

Synonyms

• (green pepper): 青椒 (qīngjiāo); (Hokkien) 大同仔, 青番薑／青番姜

Derived terms

• 世界大同
• 大同世界
• 大同主義 / 大同主义 (dàtóngzhǔyì)
• 大同之世
• 大同大學 / 大同大学
• 大同小異 / 大同小异 (dàtóngxiǎoyì)
• 大同教 (dàtóngjiào)
• 大同書 / 大同书
• 大同煤礦 / 大同煤矿
• 大同盟
• 大同社會 / 大同社会
• 求大同，存小異 / 求大同，存小异 (qiú dàtóng, cún xiǎoyì)

Proper noun

大同

1. (～市) Datong (a prefecture-level city of Shanxi, China)
2. (～縣) (historical) Datong (a former county of Datong, Shanxi, China; modern Yunzhou District)
3. (～區) Datong (a district of Taipei, Taiwan)
4. (～區) Datong District (a district of Daqing, Heilongjiang, China)
5. (～鄉) Datong Township (various townships in Mainland China)
6. (～鄉) Datong (a mountain indigenous township in Yilan County, Taiwan)
7. (～鎮) Datong Town (various towns in Mainland China)
8. (～社區) Datong (a residential community in Zhicheng, Yidu, Yichang, Hubei, China)
9. (historical) the Datong era (a Chinese era name):
   1. The fifth era of Emperor Wu of Liang, from 535 to 546.
   2. The third era of Emperor Wuxuan of Dafengmin (formerly Nanzhao), ending in 888.
   3. The third era of Emperor Taizong of Liao, in 947.
   4. The second era of Puxian Wannu as emperor of Eastern Xia, from 1224 to 1233.
   5. The era of Puyi as chief executive of the Japanese puppet state of the State of Manchuria (Manchukuo), from 1932 until his enthronement as emperor with the establishment of the Empire of Manchuria in 1934.

Coordinate terms

• 康德 (Kāngdé) (era name of Manchukuo from 1934–45)

Descendants

• → English: Datong, Tatung

References

• “大同”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
大	同
だい Grade: 1	どう Grade: 2
goon	kan'yōon

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) だいどー [dàídóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [da̠ido̞ː]

Noun

大(だい)同(どう) • (daidō) 

1. roughly the same
2. unity with a common goal

Derived terms

• 大同小異(だいどうしょうい) (daidōshōi)
• 大同団結(だいどうだんけつ) (daidōdanketsu)

Proper noun

大(だい)同(どう) • (Daidō) 

1. the Daidō era, 806-810
2. Datong (a city in Shaanxi, China)

See also

• 延暦(えんりゃく) (Enryaku) (era preceding Daidō)
• 弘仁(こうにん) (Kōnin) (era following Daidō)

References

• “大同”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026