左

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
左-bw.png

Etymology[edit]

左 is a combined form of 工, meaning work, and two other strokes that signify hand (compare 又). The left hand works together with the right hand when doing a task.

Han character[edit]

左 (radical 48 工+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 大一 (KM), four-corner 40011, composition ⿸𠂇工)

  1. left
  2. east
  3. unorthodox, improper
  4. a surname

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 325, character 8
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8720
  • Dae Jaweon: page 626, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 411, character 5
  • Unihan data for U+5DE6

Cantonese[edit]

Hanzi[edit]

左 (Jyutping zo2, Yale jo2)

Japanese[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

/hidari/: *[pidari] → [ɸidari] → [çidari].

Kanji[edit]

See also:
左

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings[edit]
Compounds[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

左 (hiragana ひだり, romaji hidari)

  1. (direction) left, the side of the left hand
    • 1603–1604: Nippo Jisho (page 229)
      Fidari. ヒダリ (左) 左手, または, 左の方
  2. (politics) a leftist
Antonyms[edit]
  • (left): 右 (migi, “right”)

Etymology 3[edit]

Noun[edit]

左 (hiragana さ, romaji sa)

  1. the left in vertical writing
  2. the following (one)
    • 1905, Natsume Sōseki, 吾輩は猫である:
      吾輩 (わがはい)はまず彼 (かれ)がどのくらい無学 (むがく)であるかを試 (ため)してみようと思 (おも)って左 (さ)の問答 (もんどう)をして見 (み)た。
      wagahai wa mazu kare ga dono kurai mugaku de aru ka o tameshite miyō to omotte sa no mondō o shite mita.
      To judge just how uneducated he was, I posed the following question.

References[edit]

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

左
Eumhun:

  • Sound (hangeul): 좌 (jwa) (revised: jwa, McCune-Reischauer: chwa)
  • Name (hangeul): 左()

Mandarin[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Hanzi[edit]

左 (Pinyin zuǒ (zuo3), Wade-Giles tso3)

Compounds[edit]

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

左 (tả, tá, huy)

Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=左&oldid=25512995"