緘

See also: 缄

緘 U+7DD8, 緘 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7DD8 ← 緗 [U+7DD7] CJK Unified Ideographs 緙 → [U+7DD9]

Translingual

Han character

緘 (Kangxi radical 120, 糸+9, 15 strokes, Cangjie input 女火戈竹口 (VFIHR), four-corner 2395₀, composition ⿰糹咸)

1. seal, close
2. bind
3. letter

Derived characters

• 𦆃, 𧁺, 𥶳

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 930, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 27638
• Dae Jaweon: page 1368, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3424, character 3
• Unihan data for U+7DD8

Chinese

trad.		緘
simp.		缄
alternative forms		椷

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
感	*kɯːmʔ
鱤	*kɯːmʔ
顑	*kʰɯːmʔ, *ŋɡrɯːms
轗	*kʰɯːmʔ, *kʰɯːms
撼	*ɡɯːmʔ
憾	*ɡɯːms
喊	*qʰaːmʔ, *qʰrɯːmʔ, *ɡrɯːmʔ
緘	*krɯːm
瑊	*krɯːm, *kjum
黬	*krɯːm, *ŋɡrɯːm
減	*krɯːmʔ, *ɡrɯːmʔ
羬	*ŋɡrɯːm, *ɡram
麙	*ŋɡrɯːm
咸	*ɡrɯːm
鹹	*ɡrɯːm
醎	*ɡrɯːm
諴	*ɡrɯːm
椷	*ɡrɯːm
輱	*ɡrɯːm
鍼	*ɡam, *ɡram, *kjɯm
箴	*kjɯm
葴	*kjɯm
鱵	*kjum

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiān (jian¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gaam¹ / zin¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kam / kiam / khiâm

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiān
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jian
    • Wade–Giles: chien¹
    • Yale: jyān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jian
    • Palladius: цзянь (czjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gaam¹ / zin¹
    • Yale: gāam / jīn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gaam¹ / dzin¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gam¹ / jin¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːm⁵⁵/, /t͡siːn⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kam
    • Tâi-lô: kam
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kafm
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /kam³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kam⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiam
    • Tâi-lô: kiam
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiafm
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kiam⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /kiam³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khiâm
    • Tâi-lô: khiâm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qiaam
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰiam²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /kʰiam²⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: keam

Rime
Character	緘
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	咸 (151)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古咸切
Baxter	keam
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠɛm/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚæm/
Shao Rongfen	/kɐm/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəɨm/
Li Rong	/kɐm/
Wang Li	/kɐm/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kăm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gaam1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*krɯːm/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	緘
Reading #	1/1
No.	13506
Phonetic component	咸
Rime group	侵
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	緘
Old Chinese	/*krɯːm/

Definitions

緘

1. seal

Compounds

• 三緘其口 / 三缄其口 (sānjiānqíkǒu)
• 寶緘 / 宝缄
• 封緘器 / 封缄器
• 機緘 / 机缄
• 瑤緘 / 瑶缄
• 緘口 / 缄口
• 緘口不言 / 缄口不言
• 緘口如瓶 / 缄口如瓶
• 緘口無言 / 缄口无言
• 緘口結舌 / 缄口结舌
• 緘札 / 缄札
• 緘舌閉口 / 缄舌闭口
• 緘默 / 缄默 (jiānmò)
• 緘默權 / 缄默权 (jiānmòquán)
• 金人緘口 / 金人缄口

References

• “緘”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

緘

(Hyōgai kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: けん (ken)^{←けん (ken, historical)←けむ (kemu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: かん (kan)^{←かん (kan, historical)←かむ (kamu, ancient)}
• Kun: とじる (tojiru, 緘じる)^{←とぢる (todiru, 緘ぢる, historical)}

Etymology

Kanji in this term
緘
かん Hyōgai
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 緘 (MC keam).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kã̠ɴ]
• (Tokyo) かん [káꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])

Affix

緘(かん) • (kan) 

1. shut; close; seal

Noun

緘(かん) • (kan) 

1. seam; seal (of an envelope)
2. writing on the seal of an envelope

Korean

Hanja

緘 (eum 함 (ham))

1. seal, close
2. bind
3. letter