立春

Chinese

		set up; to stand	spring (time); gay; joyful spring (time); gay; joyful; youthful; love; lust; life
simp. and trad. (立春)		立	春
Literally: “establishing spring”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): Lìchūn

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧˋ ㄔㄨㄣ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): Ni² cun¹

  (Nanjing, Nanjing Pinyin): Li̊qchùn

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lap⁶ ceon¹ / laap⁶ ceon¹
• Gan (Wiktionary): lit⁶ 'cun¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): Li̍p-chhûn

  (Hailu, HRS): lib^ˋ chun^ˋ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): lib⁶ cun¹

• Jin (Wiktionary): lieh⁴ cung¹
• Northern Min (KCR): Lì-ché̤ng
• Eastern Min (BUC): Lĭk-chŭng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): lih⁷ cong¹ / lih⁷ cuong¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): Li̍p-chhun

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lib⁸ cung¹

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁸liq-tshen₁ / ⁸liq-³tshen₁
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): li⁶ qyn¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Lìchūn
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧˋ ㄔㄨㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Lìchun
    • Wade–Giles: Li⁴-chʻun¹
    • Yale: Lì-chwūn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Lihchuen
    • Palladius: Личунь (Ličunʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: Ni² cun¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: Licun
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni²¹ t͡sʰuən⁵⁵/
  • (Nanjing)
    • Nanjing Pinyin: Li̊qchùn
    • Nanjing Pinyin (numbered): liq⁵ chun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liʔ⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰuə̃³¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lap⁶ ceon¹ / laap⁶ ceon¹
    • Yale: lahp chēun / laahp chēun
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lap⁹ tsoen¹ / laap⁹ tsoen¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: leb⁶ cên¹ / lab⁶ cên¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɐp̚² t͡sʰɵn⁵⁵/, /laːp̚² t͡sʰɵn⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: lit⁶ 'cun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lit̚⁵ ˈt͡sʰun⁴²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Li̍p-chhûn
    • Hakka Romanization System: lib cun^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lib⁶ cun¹
    • Sinological IPA: /lip̚⁵ t͡sʰun²⁴/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: lib^ˋ chun^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /lip² t͡ʃʰun⁵³/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: lib⁶ cun¹
    • Sinological IPA: /lip̚⁵ t͡sʰun⁴⁴/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: lieh⁴ cung¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /liəʔ²⁻⁵⁴ t͡sʰuŋ¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: Lì-ché̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li⁴² t͡sʰœyŋ⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: Lĭk-chŭng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃iʔ⁵⁻⁵⁵ t͡sʰuŋ⁵⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: lih⁷ cong¹ [Phonetic: lih⁶ cong¹]
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: Li̍h-cheong
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liʔ⁴⁻²¹ t͡sʰɔŋ⁵³³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: lih⁷ cuong¹ [Phonetic: lih⁶ cuong¹]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liʔ⁴⁻² t͡sʰuoŋ⁵⁴⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Li̍p-chhun
    • Tâi-lô: Li̍p-tshun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: libzhwn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lip̚⁴⁻³² t͡sʰun⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lip̚²⁴⁻² t͡sʰun³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lip̚¹²¹⁻²¹ t͡sʰun⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lip̚⁴⁻³² t͡sʰun⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lip̚⁴⁻³² t͡sʰun⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: lib⁸ cung¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: li̍p tshung
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lip̚⁴⁻² t͡sʰuŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁸liq-tshen₁
    • MiniDict: lih^入 tshen^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵liq-tshen₁
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /liɪʔ¹¹ t͡sʰən²³/
  • (Northern: Suzhou)
    • Wugniu: ⁸liq-³tshen₁
    • MiniDict: lih^入 tshen^平
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /liɪʔ²² t͡sʰən⁵¹/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: li⁶ qyn¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li²⁴ t͡ɕʰyn³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: lip tsyhwin

Rime
Character	立	春
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	昌 (24)
Final (韻)	緝 (141)	諄 (47)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	力入切	昌脣切
Baxter	lip	tsyhwin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/liɪp̚/	/t͡ɕʰiuɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/lip̚/	/t͡ɕʰʷin/
Shao Rongfen	/ljep̚/	/t͡ɕʰjuen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lip̚/	/cʰwin/
Li Rong	/liəp̚/	/t͡ɕʰiuĕn/
Wang Li	/lĭĕp̚/	/t͡ɕʰĭuĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/li̯əp̚/	/t͡ɕʰi̯uĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lì	chūn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lap6	ceon1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*k.rəp  tʰun/

  (Zhengzhang): /*rɯb  tʰjun/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	立	春
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	lì	chūn
Middle Chinese	‹ lip ›	‹ tsyhwin ›
Old Chinese	/*k.rəp/	/*tʰun/
English	stand (v.)	springtime
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	立	春
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	7869	12573
Phonetic component	立	屯
Rime group	緝	文
Rime subdivision	1	2
Corresponding MC rime	立	春
Old Chinese	/*rɯb/	/*tʰjun/
Notes		說文從艸從日屯聲， 實屯繁化轉註字

Proper noun

立春

1. The "Beginning of Spring", the first of the twenty-four solar terms, around February 3rd, 4th, or 5th, marking the first day of spring according to the Chinese calendar.

   立春以來／立春以来  ―  Lìchūn yǐlái  ―  since the beginning of spring

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 立春 (“Spring commences (solar term)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		立春
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	立春, 打春
	Taiwan	立春
	Harbin	立春, 打春
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	立春, 打春
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	打春, 立春
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	立春, 打春
	Wanrong	打春
	Xi'an	打春
	Xining	立春
	Xuzhou	立春, 打春
	Pizhou	打春
	Lianyungang (Ganyu)	打春
	Donghai	立春, 打春
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	打春, 立春
	Lanzhou	立春
	Ürümqi	打春, 立春
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	打春, 立春
	Wuhan	立春, 打春
	Guiyang	打春, 立春
	Guilin	立春
	Liuzhou	立春, 交春
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	立春, 打春
	Yangzhou	打春
	Baoying	打春
	Taizhou	打春
	Zhenjiang	打春
	Lianyungang	立春
	Huai'an (Huaiyin)	打春
	Xuyi	打春
	Nantong	打春, 立春
	Rugao	打春
	Yancheng	打春
	Funing	打春
	Sihong	立春
Cantonese	Hong Kong	立春
	Dongguan	立春
	Nanning	立春
	Wuzhou	立春
	Yulin	立春
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	立春
Gan	Nanchang	立春, 打春
	Lichuan	立春
	Pingxiang	立春
Hakka	Meixian	立春, 交春
	Yudu	立春, 交春
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	立春, 交春
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	立春, 交春
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	交春, 立春
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	立春, 交春
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	交春, 立春
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	立春, 交春
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	立春
Huizhou	Jixi	分春
Jin	Taiyuan	立春
	Xinzhou	立春
Northern Min	Jian'ou	立春, 春
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	立春
	Fuqing	立春
Southern Min	Xiamen	立春
	Quanzhou	立春
	Zhangzhou	立春
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	立春
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	立春
	Haikou	立春
Puxian Min	Putian	立春, 交春, 迎春, 春動
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	立春
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	立春
Wu	Shanghai	立春, 交春
	Shanghai (Chongming)	交春
	Suzhou	立春, 打春
	Wuxi	逢春
	Changshu	逢春
	Nantong (Haimen)	交春
	Changzhou	逢春
	Danyang	打春, 立春
	Nanjing (Gaochun)	立春
	Hangzhou	立春
	Ningbo	立春, 交春
	Wenzhou	立春
	Jinhua	立春
Xiang	Changsha	立春
	Loudi	立春, 打春
	Quanzhou	立春

Coordinate terms

• 二十四節氣／二十四节气 (Èrshísì Jiéqì, “The twenty-four solar terms”):
  • Spring: 立春 (Lìchūn)、雨水 (yǔshuǐ)、驚蟄／惊蛰 (Jīngzhé)、春分 (Chūnfēn)、清明 (qīngmíng)、穀雨／谷雨 (Gǔyǔ)
  • Summer: 立夏 (Lìxià)、小滿／小满 (Xiǎomǎn)、芒種／芒种 (mángzhòng)、夏至 (xiàzhì)、小暑 (Xiǎoshǔ)、大暑 (Dàshǔ)
  • Autumn: 立秋 (Lìqiū)、處暑／处暑 (Chǔshǔ)、白露 (báilù)、秋分 (Qiūfēn)、寒露 (Hánlù)、霜降 (Shuāngjiàng)
  • Winter: 立冬 (Lìdōng)、小雪 (xiǎoxuě)、大雪 (dàxuě)、冬至 (dōngzhì)、小寒 (Xiǎohán)、大寒 (Dàhán)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (立春):

• → Japanese: 立春(りっしゅん) (Risshun)
• → Korean: 립춘(立春) (ripchun), 입춘(立春) (ipchun)
• → Vietnamese: Lập xuân (立春)

References

• “立春”, 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., 2025.
• “Entry #1454”, in 臺灣客語辭典 [Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka] (overall work in Chinese and Hakka), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2022.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
立	春
りつ > りっ Grade: 1	しゅん Grade: 2
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 立春 (lip tsyhwin) > Japanese /*ɾit̚t͡ʃʰjun/ > /ɾiʃːjun/.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) りっしゅん [rìsshúń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɾʲiɕːɨ̃ɴ]

Proper noun

立(りっ)春(しゅん) • (Risshun) ^{←りつしゆん (Ritusyun)?}

1. the first day of spring according to the traditional lunisolar calendar

See also

• 二(に)十(じゅう)四(し)節(せっ)気(き) (Nijūshi Sekki, “The twenty-four solar terms”):
  • Spring: 立(りっ)春(しゅん) (Risshun), 雨(う)水(すい) (Usui), 啓(けい)蟄(ちつ) (Keichitsu), 春(しゅん)分(ぶん) (Shunbun), 清(せい)明(めい) (Seimei), 穀(こく)雨(う) (Kokuu)
  • Summer: 立(りっ)夏(か) (Rikka), 小(しょう)満(まん) (Shōman), 芒(ぼう)種(しゅ) (Bōshu), 夏(げ)至(し) (Geshi), 小(しょう)暑(しょ) (Shōsho), 大(たい)暑(しょ) (Taisho)
  • Autumn: 立(りっ)秋(しゅう) (Risshū), 処(しょ)暑(しょ) (Shosho), 白(はく)露(ろ) (Hakuro), 秋(しゅう)分(ぶん) (Shūbun), 寒(かん)露(ろ) (Kanro), 霜(そう)降(こう) (Sōkō)
  • Winter: 立(りっ)冬(とう) (Rittō), 小(しょう)雪(せつ) (Shōsetsu), 大雪(たいせつ) (Taisetsu), 冬(とう)至(じ) (Tōji), 小(しょう)寒(かん) (Shōkan), 大寒(だいかん) (Daikan)

Korean

Hanja in this term
立	春

Proper noun

立春 • (Ipchun) (hangeul 입춘)

1. hanja form^? of 입춘 (“the first day of spring according to the traditional lunisolar calendar”)

Proper noun

立春 • (Ripchun) (hangeul 립춘)

1. hanja form^? of 립춘 (“the first day of spring according to the traditional lunisolar calendar”)

See also

• 이십사절기(二十四節氣) (Isipsajeolgi, “The twenty-four solar terms”):
  • Spring: 입춘(立春) (Ipchun), 우수(雨水) (Usu), 경칩(驚蟄) (Gyeongchip), 춘분(春分) (Chunbun), 청명(淸明) (Cheongmyeong), 곡우(穀雨) (Gogu)
  • Summer: 입하(立夏) (Ipha), 소만(小滿) (Soman), 망종(芒種) (Mangjong), 하지(夏至) (Haji), 소서(小暑) (Soseo), 대서(大暑) (Daeseo)
  • Autumn: 입추(立秋) (Ipchu), 처서(處暑) (Cheoseo), 백로(白露) (Baengno), 추분(秋分) (Chubun), 한로(寒露) (Hallo), 상강(霜降) (Sanggang)
  • Winter: 입동(立冬) (Ipdong), 소설(小雪) (soseol), 대설(大雪) (Daeseol), 동지(冬至) (Dongji), 소한(小寒) (Sohan), 대한(大寒) (Daehan)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
立	春

Proper noun

立春

1. chữ Hán form of Lập xuân (“the first day of spring according to the traditional lunisolar calendar”).

See also

• Hai mươi tư tiết khí (𠄩𨒒四節氣, “The twenty-four solar terms”):
  • Spring: Lập xuân (立春)、Vũ thủy (雨水)、Kinh trập (驚蟄)、Xuân phân (春分)、Thanh minh (清明)、Cốc vũ (穀雨)
  • Summer: Lập hạ (立夏)、Tiểu mãn (小滿)、Mang chủng (芒種)、Hạ chí (夏至)、Tiểu thử (小暑)、Đại thử (大暑)
  • Autumn: Lập thu (立秋)、Xử thử (處暑)、Bạch lộ (白露)、Thu phân (秋分)、Hàn lộ (寒露)、Sương giáng (霜降)
  • Winter: Lập đông (立冬)、Tiểu tuyết (小雪)、Đại tuyết (大雪)、Đông chí (冬至)、Tiểu hàn (小寒)、Đại hàn (大寒)