胸

See also: 脑 and 胷

Translingual

Han character

胸 (Kangxi radical 130, 肉+6, 10 strokes, cangjie input 月心山大 (BPUK), four-corner 7722₀, composition ⿰月匈)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 981, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 29442
• Dae Jaweon: page 1432, character 32
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2070, character 1
• Unihan data for U+80F8

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Chinese

trad.		胸
simp. #		胸
alternative forms		胷 匈

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 胸
Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
酗	*qʰos
凶	*qʰoŋ
匈	*qʰoŋ
兇	*qʰoŋ, *qʰoŋʔ
訩	*qʰoŋ
胸	*qʰoŋ
胷	*qʰoŋ
洶	*qʰoŋ, *qʰoŋʔ
恟	*qʰoŋ
詾	*qʰoŋ, *qʰoŋʔ

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 胸

1. chest; thorax
2. breast; bosom
3. (figurative) mind; heart of hearts; thought

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

胸

(grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: く (ku)
• Kan-on: きょう (kyō, Jōyō)
• Kun: むね (mune, 胸, Jōyō); むな (muna, 胸, Jōyō ^†)

Compounds

Compounds

• 胸(きょう)囲(い) (kyōi): chest girth
• 胸(きょう)像(ぞう) (kyōzō): bust (sculpture)
• 豊(ほう)胸(きょう) (hōkyō): an ample bosom, large breasts
• 胸(きょう)中(ちゅう) (kyōchū): one's thoughts, one's mind
• 胸(むな)騒(さわ)ぎ (munasawagi): noisy thoughts: a bad feeling about something, uneasiness, foreboding
• 胸(むな)元(もと) (munamoto): neckline

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
胸
むな Grade: 6
kun’yomi

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Japanese. Possibly the original form of mune below.

Cognate with 棟 (muna, “main roofline, roof ridge”), from the underlying idea of central or main portion.

Possibly also cognate with 空, 虚 (muna, “emptiness, void”), from the idea of cavity.

Seldom used in isolation even in (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Japanese. Only found as the first element of compounds in modern Japanese.

Noun

胸(むな) • (muna) 

1. chest, breast
   • 711–712, Kojiki, Kamitsumaki (“First Volume”):

     奴婆多麻能　久路岐美祁斯遠 / 麻都夫佐尓　登理與曾比 / 淤岐都登理　牟那美流登岐 / 波多多藝母　許禮婆布佐波受 / 幣都那美　　曾迩奴岐宇弖

     ぬばたまの　くろきみけしを / まつぶさに とりよそひ / おきつとり むなみるとき / はたたぎも これはふさはず / へつなみ そにだきうて

     nubatama no kuroki mikeshi o / matsubusa ni toriyosohi / oki tsu tori muna miru toki / hatatagi mo kore wa fusawazu / he tsu nami so ni dakiute

     I put on black iris-seed garments with schisandra, and though I fluff up my garments like when the ocean birds look at their chests, I say this is not good and I cast them off into the sea's waves...

2. heart, inner thoughts

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 胸(むな)当(あ)て (munāte): a bib: a cloth covering the chest to protect from dirt or food
• 胸(むな)当(あ)て錐(ぎり) (munātegiri): a breast drill, gimlet, or awl, with a flat end for pushing with the chest
• 胸(むな)板(いた) (munaita): “chest board” → the flat area of the chest; a part of the breastplate in traditional Japanese armor
• 胸(むな)繋(がい), 鞅(むながい) (munagai): part of riding tack, a cord or strap running around the chest and through the 四緒手 (shiode, “tie-downs”) on the front of the saddle
• 鞅(むなかき) (munakaki): older form of munagai above
• 胸(むな)金(かな)物(もの) (muna kanamono): metal fittings on the 胸板 (munaita, “breastplate”)
• 胸(むな)勘(かん)定(じょう) (muna kanjō): thinking in one's head to figure something out before doing it
• 胸(むな)糞(くそ) (muna kuso): “chest shit” → a bad feeling, a strong dislike
• 胸(むな)倉(ぐら), 胸(むな)座(ぐら) (munagura): the area where the collar of a kimono or other robe overlaps in front
• 胸(むな)苦(ぐる)しい (munagurushii): a feeling of uncomfortable pressure in the chest, as when anxious or distressed
• 胸(むな)黒(ぐろ) (munaguro): “black breast” → Pluvialis fulva, the Pacific golden plover
• 胸(むな)気(け) (munake): unpleasant and upsetting
• 胸(むな)毛(げ) (munage): chest hair
• 胸(むな)先(さき) (muna saki): the solar plexus, the area just below the sternum
• 胸(むな)騒(さわ)ぎ (muna sawagi): “chest noise” → uneasiness, foreboding
• 胸(むな)算(ざん) (munazan): thinking in one's head to figure something out before doing it
• 胸(むな)算(ざん)用(よう) (munazan'yō): thinking in one's head to figure something out before doing it
• 胸(むな)簾(すだれ) (muna sudare): “chest screen” → the ribs
• 胸(むな)底(そこ) (muna soko): the bottom of one's heart, one's innermost thoughts
• 胸(むな)高(だか) (munadaka): tying one's 帯 (obi, “sash”) high on one's chest instead of at the waist
• 胸(むな)乳(ち) (munachi): breast, boob
• 胸(むな)突(つ)き (munatsuki): a steep slope, as on a hill or mountain
• 胸(むな)突(つ)き八(はっ)丁(ちょう) (munatsuki hatchō): a very steep street or path; the last hard push before reaching a goal
• 胸(むな)尽(づ)くし (munazukushi): the bottom of the chest, the area just below the sternum
• 胸(むな)積(づも)り (munazumori): thinking in one's head to figure something out before doing it
• 胸(むな)づわらし (munazuwarashi): very sad or uneasy in a way that makes one's chest constrict
• 胸(むな)鬚(ひげ) (muna hige): “chest beard” → chest hair
• 胸(むな)紐(ひも) (muna himo): a cord across the chest for holding a kimono or haori closed
• 胸(むな)鰭(びれ) (munabire): “chest fin” → pectoral fin
• 胸(むな)骨(ぼね) (munabone): the breastbone, the sternum
• 胸(むな)元(もと), 胸(むな)許(もと) (munamoto): the chest; the area in front of the chest
• 胸(むな)焼(や)け (munayake): heartburn (indigestion)
• 胸(むな)分(わ)く (munawaku): to push through bushes or scrub using one's chest, to bushwhack
• 胸(むな)分(わ)け (munawake): pushing through bushes or scrub using one's chest, bushwhacking; the breadth of the chest

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
胸
むね Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Sound shift from muna above, from the fusion of muna with the emphatic nominal particle い (i): /muna i/ → /mune/, from Proto-Japonic *munay. Similar to the phonetic process observed in the shift from 神 (kamu, “spirit, god”, older form used in compounds) to 神 (kami, newer form, used as a standalone noun).

Alternatively, may be a compound of 身 (mu, “body”) +‎ 根 (ne, “root”).

Cognate with 棟 (mune, “main roofline, roof ridge”) and 宗, 旨 (mune, “gist, main idea, primary part”), from the underlying idea of central or main portion.

Notably, 棟 and 宗 also have an older reading muna that is only used in compounds (for 宗, possibly only in place names). Meanwhile, 旨 (mune) appears later in the textual record (in the Uji Shūi Monogatari of the early 1200s), and this reading is used as a standalone noun rather than in compounds. This is consistent with other nouns that have paired vowel forms, and suggests that muna is probably the original form, and that the compound derivation is a folk etymology.

Noun

胸(むね) • (mune) 

1. chest, breast
2. heart, inner thoughts

   胸(むね)の中(なか)の熱(あつ)い思(おも)い

   mune no naka no atsui omoi

   the passion in one's heart

3. bosom, breasts

   彼女(かのじょ)はどんな服(ふく)を着(き)ても胸(むね)が目立(めだ)ちます。

   Kanojo wa donna fuku o kite mo mune ga medachimasu.

   No matter what clothes she wears, her chest always stands out.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 胸(むね)が騒(さわ)ぐ (mune ga sawagu): “one's chest is noisy” → to be unsettled, to be uneasy
• 胸(むね)を貸(か)す (mune o kasu) “lend a chest” → a more powerful person partners with a less powerful person, such as for practicing
• 胸(むね)を借(か)りる (mune o kariru) “borrow a chest” → a less powerful person partners with a more powerful person, such as for practicing
• 胸(むね)を撫(な)で下(お)ろす (mune o nadeorosu):

Synonyms

Synonyms

• (heart): 心(こころ) (kokoro)
• (breasts): おっぱい (oppai), 乳(ちち) (chichi), 乳(ちぶ)房(さ) (chibusa), 乳(にゅう)房(ぼう) (nyūbō)

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Korean

Hanja

胸 (eumhun 가슴 흉 (gaseum hyung))

1. Hanja form^? of 흉 (“chest, box”).

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 胸 (hung, hông)

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