牙

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

牙 (radical 92 牙+0, 4 strokes, cangjie input 一女木竹 (MVDH), four-corner 1024₀)

1. tooth
   1. canine
   2. incisor
   3. premolar
   4. molar
2. fang
3. tusk
4. serrated

Derived characters

• 邪 芽 雅

References

• KangXi: page 695, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19909
• Dae Jaweon: page 1108, character 6
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 1419, character 8
• Unihan data for U+7259

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Cantonese

Hanzi

牙 (Jyutping ngaa4, Yale nga4)

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Hakka

Hanzi

牙 (POJ ngâ, Guangdong nga², Hagfa Pinyim nga2)

References

• CCDICT (Chineselanguage.org)
• Academia Sinica - Hakka-English Dictionary
• Lau, Chun-fat. Hakka Pinyin Dictionary (Chinese). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1997 (Chinese IME supplement) ISBN 962-201-750-9.

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Japanese

Kanji

牙

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. tusk, fang

Readings

• Goon: げ (ge)
• Kan’on: が (ga)
• Kun: きば (kiba), き (ki), かび (kabi) (non-Jōyō reading), は (ha) (non-Jōyō reading)

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ki]

Noun

牙 (hiragana き, romaji ki)

1. (obsolete) fang, tusk, tooth (particularly the canine)
   • c. 759: Man'yōshū (book 9, poem #1809); text here

     牙喫建怒而

     きかみたけびて

     ki kami takebite

     ferociously gnashing teeth

Usage notes

Although this term is no longer used in isolation, it does persist in certain compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

牙噛む (きがむ, ​kigamu): to gnash one's teeth 牙骨 (きぼね, ​kibone): the jawbone, the mandible, the lower jaw

Etymology 2

Compound of Old Japanese elements 牙 (ki, “fang, tusk”) +‎ 歯 (ha, “tooth”). The ha changes to ba due to rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• き​ば (Atamadaka)
• IPA^(key): [kiba̠]

Noun

牙 (hiragana きば, romaji kiba)

1. fang, tusk, tooth (particularly the canines)
2. (falconry) dog (primarily used for counting hunting dogs)

Usage notes

This is the most common term for fang in modern Japanese.

Derived terms

Derived terms

牙上面 (きばじょうめん, ​kiba jōmen): ivory or boar tusk used to rub the surface of a print in order to bring out the gloss 牙筍貝 (きばたけがい, ​kiba takegai): a kind of auger snail of family Terebridae 牙獐 (きばのろ, ​kiba noro): the “fanged noro”, a kind of roe deer of genus Capreolus

Idioms

Idioms

牙を噛む (きばをかむ, ​kiba o kamu): “to bite one's fangs” → to gnash one's teeth 牙を研ぐ (きばをとぐ, ​kiba o togu): “to sharpen one's fangs” → to prepare to hurt one's opponent. Compare sharpen one's claws 牙を鳴らす (きばをならす, ​kiba o narasu): “to clash one's fangs” → to gnash one's teeth; to get angry; to bare one's fangs 牙を剥く (きばをむく, ​kiba o muku): “to bare one's fangs” 牙あるものは角無し (きばあるものはつのなし, ​kiba aru mono wa tsuno nashi): “the one with fangs has no horns” → a metaphor for how no one is endowed with every advantage

See also

• 門歯 (もんし, ​monshi): incisor tooth
• 犬歯 (けんし, ​kenshi): canine tooth
• 小臼歯 (しょうきゅうし, ​shōkyūshi): premolar
• 臼歯 (きゅうし, ​kyūshi): molar
• 象牙 (ぞうげ, ​zōge): elephant tusk, ivory

Etymology 3

Cognate with, and probably the noun derivation of, verb 黴びる (kabiru, “to go moldy”), from the root idea of something sprouting. Used in the Kojiki.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ka̠bi]

Noun

牙 (hiragana かび, romaji kabi)

1. (obsolete) a plant sprout, a plant bud

Derived terms

• 葦牙 (あしかび, ​ashikabi): a reed sprout or bud

Etymology 4

Non-standard alternate spelling for 歯 (ha, “tooth”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ha̠]

Noun

牙 (hiragana は, romaji ha)

1. Alternative spelling of 歯: tooth

Etymology 5

From Middle Chinese 牙 (ngæ). Compare modern Min Nan 牙 (ge⁵).

The goon reading, so probably the reading as first imported into Japanese.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ge̞]

Noun

牙 (hiragana げ, romaji ge)

1. an animal's fang or tusk
2. an elephant's tusk: ivory
3. a tooth

Usage notes

The tooth meaning is much more commonly expressed using the word 歯 (ha).

Derived terms

Derived terms

牙の笏 (げのしゃく, ​ge no shaku): an ivory mace or scepter, used by certain social classes in ancient Japan 牙歯 (げし, ​geshi): teeth, tusks, or fangs 牙軸 (げじく, ​gejiku): the inner edge of a scroll around which the scroll is wound, or an edge of a folding book to which pages are bound, made of ivory 牙床, 牙象 (げしょう, ​geshō): a kind of cutout decorative carving technique for panels, wherein the corners are left intact to reinforce the structure of the panel 牙彫 (げぼり, ​gebori): a carving made from a tusk or fang, more specifically made of elephant ivory 牙笏 (げしゃく, ​geshaku): an ivory mace or scepter, used by certain social classes in ancient Japan

Etymology 6

From Middle Chinese 牙 (ngæ). Compare modern Cantonese 牙 (ngaa⁴).

The kan'on reading, so probably a later importation.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ga̠]

Affix

牙 (hiragana が, romaji ga)

1. an animal's fang or tusk
2. an elephant's tusk: ivory
3. a tooth

Usage notes

The ga reading is only used in compounds, and is never used in isolation.

Derived terms

Derived terms

牙営 (がえい, ​gaei): the headquarters of a general in a field camp 牙音 (がおん, ​gaon): a velar consonant (obsolete) 牙関緊急 (がかんきんきゅう, ​gakan kinkyū): lockjaw, a common symptom in the early stages of tetanus 牙旗 (がき, ​gaki): a flag raised at the site of an emperor's or general's field camp 牙行 (がこう, ​gakō): in China, a middleman or go-between in a commercial transaction 牙山 (がざん, ​Gazan): the city of Asan, a port in South Korea 牙商 (がしょう, ​gashō): a middleman or go-between in a commercial transaction 牙城 (がじょう, ​gajō): the keep or main residence within a castle; a headquarters, a base, a stronghold 牙人 (がじん, ​gajin): in China, a middleman or go-between in a commercial transaction 牙銭 (がせん, ​gasen): a fee or commission charged by a 牙行 (​gakō) 牙虫 (がむし, ​gamushi): a water scavenger beetle of family Hydrophilidae 牙斧 (がふ, ​gafu): a small axe or hatchet made from boar tusk 牙保 (がほ, ​gaho): a middleman or go-between in a commercial transaction 牙保罪 (がほざい, ​gahozai): the crime of fencing goods known to be stolen 牙保犯 (がほはん, ​gahohan): the crime of fencing goods known to be stolen 牙門 (がもん, ​gamon): a gate on which a general's flag is flying; an army's headquarters 牙籌 (がちゅう, ​gachū): an abacus; more specifically, an ivory abacus 牙籤, 牙籖 (がせん, ​gasen): a small placard or label made of ivory; a small claw-shaped ivory clasp for holding a book closed 牙纛 (がとう, ​gatō): the flag of a general's army, the pole of which was traditionally decorated with ivory on the end 牙儈 (がかい, ​gakai): in China, a middleman or go-between in a commercial transaction

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Korean

Hanja

牙 (a) (hangeul 아, revised a, McCune-Reischauer a, Yale a)

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Mandarin

Hanzi

牙 (Pinyin yá (ya2), Wade-Giles ya²)

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Middle Chinese

Han character

牙 (*nga)

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Min Nan

Hanzi

牙 (TLPA gâ (ga⁵), gê (ge⁵))

References

• Taiwan Min Nan Common Words Dictionary (臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典)

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Vietnamese

Han character

牙 (nha, hữu)