法

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

法 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 水土戈 (EGI), four-corner 3413₁, composition ⿰氵去)

Derived characters

• 𠵽, 𭡚, 𦝌, 琺, 鍅, 𪶏, 𭱇, 𬈅, 𧇦, 𭓼, 𦲾, 𪾁, 𪴹, 䦢, 𬰂, 𢌇, 𦝎, 𤀢, 𪫚, 𠎢

Related characters

• 灋 (Variant traditional form of 法)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 616, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17290
• Dae Jaweon: page 1010, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1579, character 4
• Unihan data for U+6CD5

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		法
alternative forms		㳒 灋 𢌇 佱 𣳴

Variant form of 法

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 法
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
法	*pqab
灋	*pqab

Simplified from earlier 灋, which was originally used to represent 廢 (OC *pads, “to cast aside; to abrogate”).

Etymology

Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Tibetan བབས (babs, “shape, form, appearance”), དབྱིབས (dbyibs, “shape, form, figure”). Possibly cognate with 凡 (OC *bom, “all, general, every; pattern, general rule”); see there for more.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): fǎ, fā, fá, fà (fa³, fa¹, fa², fa⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄚˇ, ㄈㄚ, ㄈㄚˊ, ㄈㄚˋ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): фа (fa, I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): faat³
• Gan (Wiktionary): fat⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): fap

  (Meixian, Guangdong): fab⁵

• Jin (Wiktionary): fah⁴
• Northern Min (KCR): huă
• Eastern Min (BUC): huák
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hoat

  (Teochew, Peng'im): huab⁴ / huag⁴

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁷faq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): fa⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fǎ
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄚˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fǎ
    • Wade–Giles: fa³
    • Yale: fǎ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: faa
    • Palladius: фа (fa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fä²¹⁴/
      
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fā
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fa
    • Wade–Giles: fa¹
    • Yale: fā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fa
    • Palladius: фа (fa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fä⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fá
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄚˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fá
    • Wade–Giles: fa²
    • Yale: fá
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: far
    • Palladius: фа (fa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fä³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fà
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄚˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fà
    • Wade–Giles: fa⁴
    • Yale: fà
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fah
    • Palladius: фа (fa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fä⁵¹/

Note:

• fǎ - normal pronunciation;
• fā - used in some colloquial words (e.g. 法兒 (“method”) in 沒法兒 and 想個法兒);
• fá - used in 法子 (“method”) and 法兒 (“method”);
• fà - originally Beijing dialect, also a common variant in Taiwan, used for “France; French”.

• (Dungan)
  • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: фа (fa, I)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fa²⁴/

  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: faat³
    • Yale: faat
    • Cantonese Pinyin: faat⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: fad³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /faːt̚³/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: fat⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fat̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fap
    • Hakka Romanization System: fab`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: fab⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /fap̚²/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: fab⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /fap̚¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: fah⁴
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /faʔ²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: huă
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xua²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: huák
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /huɑʔ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hoat
    • Tâi-lô: huat
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoad
    • IPA (Xiamen): /huat̚³²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /huat̚⁵/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /huat̚³²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /huat̚³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /huat̚³²/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: huab⁴ / huag⁴
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: huap / huak
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /huap̚²/, /huak̚²/

Note:

• huab4 - Chaozhou;
• huag4 - Shantou.

• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁷faq
    • MiniDict: fah^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴faq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /faʔ⁵⁵/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: fa⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɸa̠²⁴/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 法
Mandarin	Beijing	/fa²¹⁴/ /fa⁵¹/
	Harbin	/fa²¹³/
	Tianjin	/fɑ⁴⁵/ ～子 /fɑ¹³/ 方～,～國
	Jinan	/fa²¹³/
	Qingdao	/fa⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/fa²⁴/
	Xi'an	/fa²¹/
	Xining	/fa⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/fa¹³/
	Lanzhou	/fa¹³/
	Ürümqi	/fa⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/fa²¹³/
	Chengdu	/fa³¹/
	Guiyang	/fa²¹/
	Kunming	/fa̠³¹/
	Nanjing	/fɑʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/fɐʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/faʔ²/
	Pingyao	/xuʌʔ¹³/
	Hohhot	/faʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/faʔ⁵/
	Suzhou	/faʔ⁵/
	Hangzhou	/fɑʔ⁵/
	Wenzhou	/ho²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/faʔ²¹/
	Tunxi	/fuːə⁵/
Xiang	Changsha	/fa²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/ɸɒ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/faʔ⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/fap̚¹/
	Taoyuan	/fɑp̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/fat̚³/
	Nanning	/fat̚³³/
	Hong Kong	/fat̚³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/huat̚³²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/huɑʔ²³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/xua²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/huak̚²/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/fak̚⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: pjop

Rime
Character	法
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	乏 (148)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	方乏切
Baxter	pjop
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pɨɐp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/piɐp̚/
Shao Rongfen	/piɐp̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/puap̚/
Li Rong	/piɐp̚/
Wang Li	/pĭwɐp̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/pi̯wɐp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	fa
Expected Cantonese Reflex	faat3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[p.k]ap/

  (Zhengzhang): /*pqab/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	法
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	fǎ
Middle Chinese	‹ pjop ›
Old Chinese	/*[p.k]ap/
English	model, law
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	法
Reading #	1/1
No.	2867
Phonetic component	法
Rime group	盍
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	法
Old Chinese	/*pqab/
Notes	說文灋省文

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 法

1. law; rule; regulation; statute
2. norm; standard; model; example
3. method; way; solution
4. (Buddhism) dharma; principle of the universe; teachings of Buddha

   末法時期／末法时期  ―  mò fǎ shíqī  ―  Dharma-ending age

5. Buddhist; relating to Buddhism
6. ^† to imitate; to emulate
7. 40th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "law" (𝌭)
8. Short for 法國 (“France; French”).
9. a surname

Usage notes

• Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian ((deprecated template usage) 《现代汉语规范词典》) proscribes the use of the pronunciations fā, fá and fà.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (法):

• → Japanese: 法(ほう) (hō)
• → Korean: 법(法) (beop)
• → Vietnamese: pháp (法)

Others:

• → Proto-Tai

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Japanese

Kanji

法

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. method
2. law, rule
3. principle
4. model
5. system

Readings

• Go-on: ほう (hō, Jōyō)^{←ほふ (fofu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ほう (hō, Jōyō)^{←はふ (fafu, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: はっ (ha', Jōyō ^†)^{←はふ (fafu, historical)}; ほっ (ho', Jōyō ^†)^{←ほふ (fofu, historical)}
• Kun: おきて (okite, 法); のっとる (nottoru, 法る); のり (nori, 法)
• Nanori: かず (kazu); つね (tsune); はかる (hakaru)

Compounds

• 永字八法(えいじはっぽう) (eiji happō, “the Eight Principles of Yong”)
• 法号(ほうごう) (hōgō, “a dharma name”)
• 法案(ほうあん) (hōan)
• 法印(ほういん) (hōin)
• 法衣(ほうえ) (hōe), 法衣(ほうい) (hōi)
• 法医学(ほういがく) (hōigaku)
• 法王(ほうおう) (hōō)
• 法皇(ほうおう) (hōō)
• 法外(ほうがい) (hōgai)
• 法学(ほうがく) (hōgaku)
• 法規(ほうき) (hōki)
• 法事(ほうじ) (hōji)
• 法術(ほうじゅつ) (hōjutsu)
• 法人(ほうじん) (hōjin)
• 法則(ほうそく) (hōsoku)
• 法定(ほうてい) (hōtei)

• 法廷(ほうてい) (hōtei)
• 法典(ほうてん) (hōten)
• 法度(はっと) (hatto)
• 法要(ほうよう) (hōyō)
• 法螺(ほら) (hora)
• 法力(ほうりき) (hōriki), 法力(ほうりょく) (hōryoku)
• 法律(ほうりつ) (hōritsu)
• 法輪(ほうりん) (hōrin)
• 加法(かほう) (kahō)
• 家法(かほう) (kahō)
• 減法(げんぽう) (genpō)
• 憲法(けんぽう) (kenpō), 憲法(けんぼう) (kenbō)
• 刑法(けいほう) (keihō)

• 公法(こうほう) (kōhō)
• 国法(こくほう) (kokuhō)
• 国際法(こくさいほう) (kokusaihō)
• 司法(しほう) (shihō)
• 私法(しほう) (shihō)
• 除法(じょほう) (johō)
• 商法(しょうほう) (shōhō)
• 乗法(じょうほう) (jōhō)
• 定法(じょうほう) (jōhō)
• 民法(みんぽう) (minpō)
• 寸法(すんぽう) (sunpō, “dimension, size”)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
法
ほう Grade: 4
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 法 (MC pjop). Originally, the kan'on was はふ (fafu), and the goon was ほふ (fofu), although both became ほう (hō) in modern Japanese. It is suggested that the kan'on was used in the general senses, while the goon was used in Buddhist contexts.

Noun

法(ほう) • (hō) ^{←はふ (fafu)?}

1. principle
2. law
3. code of law
4. method
5. etiquette
6. (Buddhism) dharma
7. (grammar) mood
8. (mathematics) divisor

Derived terms

• 方法(ほうほう) (hōhō, “way, method, manner”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
法
のり Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• 規, 則, 矩

Noun

法(のり) • (nori) 

1. law
2. measure, size

   内(うち)法(のり)

   uchi nori

   inner size

Synonyms

• (law): 法規(ほうき) (hōki), 法律(ほうりつ) (hōritsu)
• (measure): 寸法(すんぽう) (sunpō)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
法
ふらん Grade: 4
irregular

From French franc.

Noun

法(フラン) • (furan) 

1. Alternative spelling of フラン

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

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Korean

Hanja

法 (eum 법 (beop))

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

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 法 (pháp, phấp, phép, phăm, phắp)

1. law
2. method
3. France, French