核

See also: 覈

核 U+6838, 核 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6838 ← 样 [U+6837] CJK Unified Ideographs 根 → [U+6839]

Translingual

Han character

核 (radical 75, 木+6, 10 strokes, cangjie input 木卜女人 (DYVO), four-corner 4098₂, composition ⿰木亥)

Derived characters

• 𫈺

Related characters

• 覈 (Variant form in mainland China)

References

• KangXi: page 524, character 4
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14743
• Dae Jaweon: page 912, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 1206, character 4
• Unihan data for U+6838

---

Chinese

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (亥) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
該	*kɯː
垓	*kɯː
賅	*kɯː
陔	*kɯː
豥	*kɯː, *ɡɯː
荄	*kɯː, *krɯː
郂	*kɯː
姟	*kɯː
絯	*kɯː, *ɡrɯːʔ
晐	*kɯː
峐	*kɯː
侅	*kɯː, *kʰɯː, *ɡɯːʔ, *ɡrɯːʔ
胲	*kɯː
頦	*kɯːʔ, *ɡɯː
奒	*kʰɯː
輆	*kʰɯːʔ
欬	*kʰɯːɡs, *qraːds
硋	*ŋɡɯːɡs
閡	*ŋɡɯːɡs
咳	*qʰɯː, *ɡɯː
孩	*ɡɯː
亥	*ɡɯːʔ
劾	*ɡɯːɡs, *kʰrɯːɡs, *ɡɯːɡ
痎	*krɯː
烗	*kʰrɯːɡs
骸	*ɡrɯː
駭	*ɡrɯːʔ
刻	*kʰɯːɡ
餩	*qɯːɡ
核	*ɡuːd, *ɡrɯːɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡuːd, *ɡrɯːɡ): semantic 木 (“tree”) + phonetic 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ) – a kind of tree. Modern meanings are borrowed.

Etymology 1

Sino-Tibetan: "kernel" -> "to investigate". Related to 骸 (hái); compare Tibetan [script needed] (rag) and Karbi rak (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation 1

simp. and trad.		核
variant forms		𣝗

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): hé, hú (he², hu²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ, ㄏㄨˊ

  (Chengdu, SP): he²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): wat⁶, hat⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): fu̍t / het / ha̍k / he̍t
• Min Dong (BUC): hŏk
• Min Nan (POJ): hu̍t / hia̍k / he̍k / ha̍t
• Wu (Wiktionary): hheq (T5); hhueq (T5)

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: hé
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ
    • Wade–Giles: ho²
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: her
    • IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (核兒／核儿)⁺
    • Pinyin: hér
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊㄦ
    • Wade–Giles: hêrh²
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: herl
    • IPA ^(key): /xɤɻ³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, colloquial variant)⁺
    • Pinyin: hú
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨˊ
    • Wade–Giles: hu²
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hwu
    • IPA ^(key): /xu³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (核兒／核儿)⁺
    • Pinyin: húr
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨˊㄦ
    • Wade–Giles: hurh²
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hwl
    • IPA ^(key): /xuɻ³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: he²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xe
    • IPA ^(key): /xɛ²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: wat⁶, hat⁶
    • Yale: waht, haht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: wat⁹, hat⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: wed⁶, hed⁶
    • IPA ^(key): /wɐt̚²/, /hɐt̚²/

Note:

• wat6 - seed, kernel;
• hat6 - (physics/chemistry/biology) nucleus or nuclear.

Hakka

• (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fu̍t / het / ha̍k / he̍t
  • Hakka Romanization System: fud / hed` / hag / hed
  • Hagfa Pinyim: fud⁶ / hed⁵ / hag⁶ / hed⁶
  • IPA: /fut̚⁵/, /het̚²/, /hak̚⁵/, /het̚⁵/

Min Dong

• (Fuzhou)
  • Bàng-uâ-cê: hŏk
  • IPA ^(key): /houʔ⁵/

Min Nan

• (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hu̍t
  • Tâi-lô: hu̍t
  • Phofsit Daibuun: hut
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /hut̚²⁴/
  • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /hut̚⁴/
  • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hut̚¹²¹/
• (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hia̍k
  • Tâi-lô: hia̍k
  • Phofsit Daibuun: hiak
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /hiak̚²⁴/
• (Hokkien: mainstream Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: he̍k
  • Tâi-lô: hi̍k
  • Phofsit Daibuun: hek
  • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung, Xiamen): /hiɪk̚⁴/
  • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hiɪk̚¹²¹/
• (Hokkien: mainstream Taiwanese, Xiamen)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ha̍t
  • Tâi-lô: ha̍t
  • Phofsit Daibuun: hat
  • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung, Xiamen): /hat̚⁴/

Note:

• ha̍t - vernacular;
• hia̍k/he̍k/hu̍t - literary.

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: hheq (T5); hhueq (T5)
  • IPA ^(key): /ɦəʔ¹²/, /ɦɯə̯ʔ¹²/

---

• Dialectal data▼

Variety	Location	edit 核
Mandarin	Beijing	/xɤ³⁵/
	Harbin	/xɤ²⁴/
	Tianjin	/xɤ⁴⁵/ ～算 /xu⁴⁵/ 棗～兒
	Jinan	/xə⁴²/
	Qingdao	/xɛ⁴²/ ～心 /xuə⁴²/ ～桃
	Zhengzhou	/xai⁴²/
	Xi'an	/xai²¹/ ～算 /xu²⁴/ 桃～儿
	Xining	/xɛ⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/xa¹³/ ～算 /xɛ¹³/ ～算 /xə¹³/ ～算 /xɯ¹³/ ～桃
	Lanzhou	/xə⁵³/ /xu⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/xɤ⁵¹/ /xu⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/xɤ²¹³/
	Chengdu	/xe³¹/
	Guiyang	/xɛ²¹/
	Kunming	/xə³¹/
	Nanjing	/xəʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/xɐʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/xəʔ²/ ～算 /kəʔ⁵⁴/ ～桃
	Pingyao	/kʌʔ⁵³/ ～桃 /kʰʌʔ¹³/ 審～
	Hohhot	/xaʔ⁴³/ ～算 /xu³¹/ 棗～子
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦəʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/ŋəʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦɑʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/jy²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/xɛʔ²¹/ ～對 /xɛ²²/ 山～桃
	Tunxi	/xə¹¹/ /uən²⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/xə²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/hæ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/hɛʔ²/
Hakka	Meixian	/hak̚⁵/
	Taoyuan	/het̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/hɐt̚²/ ～對 /wɐt̚²/ 桃～
	Nanning	/wɐt̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/hɐt̚²/ ～對 /wɐt̚²/ 桃～
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/hik̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/houʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/xo⁴⁴/ 名 /xɛ²⁴/ 動
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/hek̚²/ /huk̚⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/hut̚⁵/

---

• Old Chinese▼

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤ<r>ək/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡuːd/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	核
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hé
Middle Chinese	‹ hɛk ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˤ<r>ək/
English	kernel fruit; scrutinize
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	核
Reading #	1/2
No.	4334
Phonetic component	骨
Rime group	物
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	搰
Old Chinese	/*ɡuːd/
Notes	𣝗字訓讀

Definitions

核

1. seed; kernel; core; nut
2. (physics, chemistry, biology) nucleus
3. (physics) nuclear

Pronunciation 2

simp. and trad.		核
variant forms		覈

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): hé (he²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ

  (Chengdu, SP): he²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hat⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: hé
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ
    • Wade–Giles: ho²
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: her
    • IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: he²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xe
    • IPA ^(key): /xɛ²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: hat⁶
    • Yale: haht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hat⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: hed⁶
    • IPA ^(key): /hɐt̚²/

---

• Dialectal data▼

Variety	Location	edit 核
Mandarin	Beijing	/xɤ³⁵/
	Harbin	/xɤ²⁴/
	Tianjin	/xɤ⁴⁵/ ～算 /xu⁴⁵/ 棗～兒
	Jinan	/xə⁴²/
	Qingdao	/xɛ⁴²/ ～心 /xuə⁴²/ ～桃
	Zhengzhou	/xai⁴²/
	Xi'an	/xai²¹/ ～算 /xu²⁴/ 桃～儿
	Xining	/xɛ⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/xa¹³/ ～算 /xɛ¹³/ ～算 /xə¹³/ ～算 /xɯ¹³/ ～桃
	Lanzhou	/xə⁵³/ /xu⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/xɤ⁵¹/ /xu⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/xɤ²¹³/
	Chengdu	/xe³¹/
	Guiyang	/xɛ²¹/
	Kunming	/xə³¹/
	Nanjing	/xəʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/xɐʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/xəʔ²/ ～算 /kəʔ⁵⁴/ ～桃
	Pingyao	/kʌʔ⁵³/ ～桃 /kʰʌʔ¹³/ 審～
	Hohhot	/xaʔ⁴³/ ～算 /xu³¹/ 棗～子
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦəʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/ŋəʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦɑʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/jy²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/xɛʔ²¹/ ～對 /xɛ²²/ 山～桃
	Tunxi	/xə¹¹/ /uən²⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/xə²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/hæ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/hɛʔ²/
Hakka	Meixian	/hak̚⁵/
	Taoyuan	/het̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/hɐt̚²/ ～對 /wɐt̚²/ 桃～
	Nanning	/wɐt̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/hɐt̚²/ ～對 /wɐt̚²/ 桃～
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/hik̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/houʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/xo⁴⁴/ 名 /xɛ²⁴/ 動
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/hek̚²/ /huk̚⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/hut̚⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: /ɦˠɛk̚/▼

Rime
Character	核
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	麥 (119)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	下革切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠɛk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦᵚæk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɐk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦəɨjk̚/
Li Rong	/ɣɛk̚/
Wang Li	/ɣæk̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣæk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hé

• Old Chinese▼

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤ<r>ək/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡrɯːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	核
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hé
Middle Chinese	‹ hɛk ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˤ<r>ək/
English	kernel fruit; scrutinize
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	核
Reading #	2/2
No.	4843
Phonetic component	亥
Rime group	職
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	覈
Old Chinese	/*ɡrɯːɡ/

Definitions

核

1. rigorous; detailed; reliable
2. to examine; to check; to verify

Usage notes

• In mainland China, 覈 is considered a variant form (異體字／异体字) of 核 that is simplified to 核.

Compounds

Derived terms from 核

• 內核／内核 (nèihé)
• 剋核／克核
• 卵核
• 原子核 (yuánzǐhé)
• 反核 (fǎnhé)
• 地下核爆
• 地下核試／地下核试
• 察核
• 審核／审核 (shěnhé)
• 山核桃
• 杏核兒／杏核儿
• 果核
• 查核 (cháhé)
• 核仁 (hérén)
• 核傘／核伞
• 核備／核备
• 核准 (hézhǔn)
• 核分裂
• 核力
• 核化學／核化学
• 核半徑／核半径
• 核反應／核反应 (héfǎnyìng)
• 核反應器／核反应器
• 核可
• 核四
• 核型
• 核塵／核尘
• 核子 (hézǐ)
• 核子作用
• 核子分裂
• 核子力
• 核子反應／核子反应
• 核子戰爭／核子战争
• 核子戰略／核子战略
• 核子武器
• 核子燃料
• 核子能
• 核子試爆／核子试爆
• 核子試驗／核子试验
• 核子醫學／核子医学
• 核子防護／核子防护

• 核定 (hédìng)
• 核實／核实 (héshí)
• 核對／核对 (héduì)
• 核廢料／核废料
• 核彈頭／核弹头 (hédàntóu)
• 核心 (héxīn)
• 核心分子
• 核心區／核心区
• 核心家庭 (héxīn jiātíng)
• 核批
• 核果 (héguǒ)
• 核查 (héchá)
• 核桃 (hétao)
• 核武器 (héwǔqì)
• 核汙染／核污染
• 核派
• 核減／核减
• 核潛艇／核潜艇
• 核燃料 (héránliào)
• 核爆
• 核物理學／核物理学 (héwùlǐxué)
• 核發／核发
• 核磁共振 (hécígòngzhèn)
• 核示
• 核算 (hésuàn)
• 核糖核酸 (hétánghésuān)
• 核糖體／核糖体 (hétángtǐ)
• 核能 (hénéng)
• 核能廢料／核能废料
• 核能潛艇／核能潜艇
• 核能發電／核能发电
• 核能電廠／核能电厂
• 核膜 (hémó)
• 核苷 (hégān)
• 核苷酸 (hégānsuān)
• 核蛋白
• 核融合 (hérónghé)
• 核裝置／核装置
• 核覆
• 核計／核计 (héjì)
• 核辦／核办

• 核酸 (hésuān)
• 核銷／核销
• 核閱／核阅
• 核電／核电 (hédiàn)
• 核電廠／核电厂 (hédiànchǎng)
• 核黃疸／核黄疸
• 核黃素／核黄素 (héhuángsù)
• 桃核雕
• 棗核臉／枣核脸
• 殽核
• 海核 (Hǎihé)
• 煤核
• 熱核反應／热核反应
• 痔核
• 稽核 (jīhé)
• 簡核／简核
• 精核
• 細胞核／细胞核 (xìbāohé)
• 結核／结核 (jiéhé)
• 結核病／结核病
• 結核菌／结核菌
• 統核／统核
• 經濟核算／经济核算
• 綜核／综核
• 綜核名實／综核名实
• 考核 (kǎohé)
• 肺結核／肺结核 (fèijiéhé)
• 腎結核／肾结核
• 腸結核／肠结核
• 菌核
• 複核／复核 (fùhé)
• 覆核
• 賣李鑽核／卖李钻核
• 鑒核／鉴核
• 鑒核備查／鉴核备查
• 陰核／阴核 (yīnhé)
• 雙核都市／双核都市
• 非核武區／非核武区
• 骨結核／骨结核
• 麻核桃

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		核

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): gāi (gai¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄞ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: gāi
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄞ
    • Wade–Giles: kai¹
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gai
    • IPA ^(key): /kaɪ̯⁵⁵/

Definitions

核

1. a kind of tree
2. Alternative form of 荄 (gāi).

Etymology 3

simp. and trad.		核

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kài (kai⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄞˋ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: kài
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄞˋ
    • Wade–Giles: k'ai⁴
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kay
    • IPA ^(key): /kʰaɪ̯⁵¹/

Definitions

核

1. eaves of a house

References

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A01911
• Multi-function Chinese Character Database (漢語多功能字庫)

---

Japanese

Kanji

核

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: ぎゃく (gyaku)
• Kan’on: かく (kaku, Jōyō)
• Kun: さね (sane, 核)

Compounds

• 原子核 (げんしかく) (genshikaku, “atomic nucleus”)
• 細胞核 (さいぼうかく) (saibōkaku, “cell nucleus”)
• 核実験 (かくじっけん) (kakujikken, “nuclear test”)
• 核兵器 (かくへいき) (kakuheiki, “nuclear weapons”)
• 尾状核 (びじょうかく) (bijōkaku, “caudate nucleus”)
• 扁桃核 (へんとうかく) (hentōkaku, “amygdala”)

Pronunciation

Kanji in this term
核
かく Grade: S
on’yomi

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) か​く [káꜜkù] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • (Tokyo) かく​ [kàkúꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠kɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

核 (hiragana かく, rōmaji kaku)

1. atomic nucleus
2. (algebra) kernel
3. (astronomy) core, nucleus
4. cell nucleus

Synonyms

• (atomic nucleus): 原子核 (げんしかく) (genshikaku)
• (cell nucleus): 細胞核 (さいぼうかく) (saibōkaku)

---

Korean

Hanja

核 • (haek, hol) (hangeul 핵, 홀, revised haek, hol, McCune–Reischauer haek, hol, Yale hayk, hol)

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

---

Vietnamese

Han character

核 (hạch, cây, cơi, hột)

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

References

• Nom Foundation