繭

See also: 茧

繭 U+7E6D, 繭 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7E6D ← 繬 [U+7E6C] CJK Unified Ideographs 繮 → [U+7E6E]

Translingual

Han character

繭 (Kangxi radical 120, 糸+13 in Chinese, 糸+12 in Japanese, 19 strokes in Chinese, 18 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 廿月中戈 (TBLI) or 難廿月中戈 (XTBLI), four-corner 4422₇, composition ⿱⻀⿵冂⿲糹丨虫(T) or ⿱艹⿵冂⿲糸丨虫(J) or ⿱艹⿻巾𬗌(K))

1. cocoon
2. callus, blister

Derived characters

• 𢺃, 𣠷, 𥜲, 襺, 𨇿, 𣀺, 𣀸, 𥀹, 𧅆

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 940, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 27944
• Dae Jaweon: page 1379, character 18
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3320, character 2
• Unihan data for U+7E6D

Chinese

trad.		繭
simp.		茧*
alternative forms		蠒 絸／𬘖

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 繭
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
襺	*keːnʔ
繭	*keːnʔ
蠒	*keːnʔ

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 糸 (“silk”) + 虫 (“insect”) + abbreviated 黹 (“needlework”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiǎn (jian³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄢˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gaan²
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kién / kián

  (Hailu, HRS): gien^ˊ

• Jin (Wiktionary): jie²
• Northern Min (KCR): gǎing
• Eastern Min (BUC): giēng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): geng³ / nge³ / ngi³
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kián / kéng / kán

  (Teochew, Peng'im): goin² / gain²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄢˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jiǎn
    • Wade–Giles: chien³
    • Yale: jyǎn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jean
    • Palladius: цзянь (czjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gaan²
    • Yale: gáan
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gaan²
    • Guangdong Romanization: gan²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːn³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kién
    • Hakka Romanization System: gien^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gian³
    • Sinological IPA: /ki̯en³¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kián
    • Hakka Romanization System: gian^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gian³
    • Sinological IPA: /ki̯an³¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: gien^ˊ
    • Sinological IPA: /kien²⁴/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: jie²
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡ɕie⁵³/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gǎing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaiŋ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: giēng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kieŋ³³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: geng³
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: gêng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛŋ⁴⁵³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: geng³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛŋ³³²/
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: nge³
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: ngâ̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋe⁴⁵³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ngi³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋi³³²/

Note:

• geng3 - literary;
• nge3/ngi3 - vernacular.

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Yongchun, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kián
    • Tâi-lô: kián
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiern
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /kiɛn⁵⁵⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiɛn⁴¹/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Yongchun, Taipei): /kiɛn⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kéng
    • Tâi-lô: kíng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: keang
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /kiɪŋ⁵³/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiɪŋ⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kán
    • Tâi-lô: kán
    • Phofsit Daibuun: karn
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /kan⁵³/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /kan⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: goin² / gain²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kóiⁿ / káiⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kõĩ⁵²/, /kãĩ⁵²/

Note:

• goin2 - Chaozhou, Shantou;
• gain2 - Jieyang.

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 繭
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡ɕian²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/t͡ɕian²¹³/
	Tianjin	/t͡ɕian¹³/
	Jinan	/t͡ɕiã⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/t͡ɕiã⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡ɕian⁵³/
	Xi'an	/t͡ɕiã⁵³/
	Xining	/t͡ɕiã⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/t͡ɕian⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡ɕiɛ̃n⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/t͡ɕian⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/t͡ɕiɛn⁴²/
	Chengdu	/t͡ɕian⁵³/
	Guiyang	/t͡ɕian⁴²/
	Kunming	/t͡ɕiɛ̃⁵³/
	Nanjing	/t͡ɕyen²¹²/
	Hefei	/t͡ɕiĩ²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡ɕie⁵³/
	Pingyao	/t͡ɕie̞⁵³/
	Hohhot	/t͡ɕie⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/t͡ɕi³⁵/
	Suzhou	/t͡ɕiɪ⁵¹/
	Hangzhou	/t͡ɕiẽ̞⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/ji³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕie³⁵/
	Tunxi	/t͡siɛ³¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡ɕiẽ⁴¹/
	Xiangtan	/t͡ɕiẽ⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡ɕiɛn²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/kian³¹/
	Taoyuan	/kʰien³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kan³⁵/
	Nanning	/kan³⁵/
	Hong Kong	/kan³⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/kian⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kɛiŋ³²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/kaiŋ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/kõi⁵³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/kin³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: kenX

Rime
Character	繭
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	先 (85)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	古典切
Baxter	kenX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kenX/
Pan Wuyun	/kenX/
Shao Rongfen	/kɛnX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kɛnX/
Li Rong	/kenX/
Wang Li	/kienX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kienX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gin2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤ[e][n]ʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*keːnʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	繭
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jiǎn
Middle Chinese	‹ kenX ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁ[e][n]ʔ/
English	cocoon
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	繭
Reading #	1/1
No.	6150
Phonetic component	繭
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	繭
Old Chinese	/*keːnʔ/

Definitions

繭

1. cocoon
2. callus

Synonyms

• (cocoon):

Dialectal synonyms of 蠶繭 (“silkworm cocoon”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		繭
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		蠶繭
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	繭子
	Taiwan	蠶繭
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	繭子
	Wanrong	繭圪螻
	Xining	繭
	Xuzhou	繭扣子, 繭子, 繭兒, 蠶扣子
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	蠶殼
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	繭殼兒, 蠶繭
	Guiyang	蠶繭
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	蠶繭子
	Yangzhou	蠶果子
Cantonese	Hong Kong	蠶繭
	Dongguan	蠶繭
Gan	Nanchang	蠶繭, 繭
	Lichuan	繭
Hakka	Yudu	蠶包
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	蠶筴, 蠶繭, 蠶包
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	蠶繭
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	蠶包, 蠶繭
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	蠶包, 蠶繭
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	蠶包, 蠶繭
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	蠶包
Huizhou	Jixi	蠶繭, 繭
Jin	Taiyuan	蠶繭
	Pingyao	絲管管
	Xinzhou	繭殼子
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	蠶繭, 繭
	Fuqing	虎囝
Southern Min	Xiamen	娘仔帽, 娘仔棗, 娘仔繭, 娘帽
	Quanzhou	娘仔帽, 娘帽
	Yongchun	繭
	Zhangzhou	蠶帽
	Zhao'an	繭
	Dongshan	棗
	Taipei	觳仔
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	娘仔觳仔
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	娘仔觳
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	娘仔觳
	Yilan	觳仔
	Yilan (Luodong)	觳仔
	Yilan (Toucheng)	觳仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	娘仔觳
	Changhua (Yongjing)	娘仔包, 蟲包
	Taichung	娘仔觳仔
	Tainan	蠶仔繭, 塗豆仁
	Tainan (Anping)	塗豆仁
	Hsinchu	娘仔觳仔
	Chiayi	蠶觳仔
	Kinmen	娘仔繭
	Penghu (Magong)	娘仔繭
	Penghu (Xiyu)	娘仔繭
	Haikou	蠶蜎
Puxian Min	Putian	娘囝帕
Central Min	Sanming (Shaxian)	蠶仔絲
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	蠶繭
Wu	Shanghai	繭子
	Shanghai (Chongming)	蠶繭
	Suzhou	繭子
	Danyang	繭殼
	Hangzhou	繭子
	Wenzhou	蠶繭
	Jinhua	蠶繭兒
Xiang	Loudi	繭子

• (callus):

edit

• 手跉 (Hokkien, on the hand)
• 繭子 / 茧子 (jiǎnzi)
• 老繭 / 老茧 (lǎojiǎn)
• 胼胝 (piánzhī) (literary)
• 趼 (jiǎn)
• 趼子 (jiǎnzi)
• 重繭 / 重茧 (chóngjiǎn)
• 重趼 (chóngjiǎn)

Compounds

• 作繭 / 作茧
• 作繭自縛 / 作茧自缚 (zuòjiǎnzìfú)
• 手足重繭 / 手足重茧
• 抽絲剝繭 / 抽丝剥茧 (chōusībōjiǎn)
• 百舍重繭 / 百舍重茧
• 眉繭 / 眉茧
• 破繭而出 / 破茧而出
• 繅繭 / 缫茧
• 繭兒 / 茧儿
• 繭子 / 茧子 (jiǎnzi)
• 繭巴 / 茧巴
• 繭栗 / 茧栗
• 繭眉 / 茧眉
• 繭紙 / 茧纸
• 繭絲 / 茧丝
• 繭絲牛毛 / 茧丝牛毛
• 繭綢 / 茧绸 (jiǎnchóu)
• 繭繭 / 茧茧
• 繭纖維 / 茧纤维
• 繭花 / 茧花
• 繭衣 / 茧衣
• 老繭 / 老茧 (lǎojiǎn)
• 老蠶作繭 / 老蚕作茧
• 蠶繭 / 蚕茧 (cánjiǎn)
• 足繭 / 足茧
• 重繭 / 重茧 (chóngjiǎn)
• 魚繭 / 鱼茧

Japanese

Shinjitai	繭
Kyūjitai	繭󠄁 繭+󠄁? (Adobe-Japan1)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Kanji

繭

(Jōyō kanji)

1. a cocoon

Readings

• Go-on: けん (ken, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: けん (ken, Jōyō)
• Kun: まゆ (mayu, 繭, Jōyō)
• Nanori: まゆ (mayu)

Pronunciation

Kanji in this term
繭
まゆ Grade: S
kun'yomi

• (Tokyo) まゆ [máꜜyù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ma̠jɯ̟]

Noun

繭(まゆ) • (mayu) 

1. (entomology) a cocoon

References

• “繭”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025

Korean

Hanja

繭 • (gyeon) (hangeul 견, revised gyeon, McCune–Reischauer kyŏn, Yale kyen)

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

Vietnamese

Han character

繭: Hán Nôm readings: kiển, kén, kiền

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