蒜

蒜 U+849C, 蒜 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-849C ← 蒛 [U+849B] CJK Unified Ideographs 蒝 → [U+849D]

Translingual

Han character

蒜 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+10, 13 strokes, cangjie input 廿一火火 (TMFF), four-corner 4499₁, composition ⿱艹祘)

References

• KangXi: page 1048, character 22
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 31562
• Dae Jaweon: page 1510, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3259, character 13
• Unihan data for U+849C

Chinese

trad.		蒜
simp. #		蒜
2nd round simp.		祘

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
蒜	*sloːns
祘	*sloːns

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *sloːns): semantic 艸 + phonetic 祘 (OC *sloːns).

Etymology

Matisoff considers this to be derived from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *swa-n (“garlic”), but more likely this may be a plant imported from the Western Regions in the Qin–Han era. The relatively late attestation and the earlier form of 卵蒜 (luǎnsuàn) attest to the latter theory.

Compare Sanskrit लशुन (laśuna), Pali lasuṇa, lasuna. The Old Chinese reconstruction was revised to a *-or rhyme in the Baxter–Sagart system, akin to its homophone 算 (“to calculate”). Hence compare Persian سیر‎ (sir, “garlic”), Khotanese sārmā- (“the plant Basella cordifolia or B. lucida or B. rubra”), Hungarian sárma (“Ornithogalum sp.”), as well as Turkish sarımsak, Mongolian саримс (sarims).

Either way this word is cognate with the second syllable of Burmese ကြက်သွန် (krakswan, “onion”), ကြက်သွန်ဖြူ (krakswanhpru, “garlic”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): suàn (suan⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄙㄨㄢˋ

  (Chengdu, SP): suan⁴

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): суан (suan, III)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): syun³

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): lhon⁴

• Gan (Wiktionary): son⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): son

  (Meixian, Guangdong): son⁴

• Jin (Wiktionary): suan³
• Min Bei (KCR): so̤̿ng
• Min Dong (BUC): sáung
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): soàn / sǹg

  (Teochew, Peng'im): seng³

• Wu (Wiktionary): ²soe
• Xiang (Wiktionary): sonn⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: suàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄙㄨㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: suàn
    • Wade–Giles: suan⁴
    • Yale: swàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: suann
    • Palladius: суань (suanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /su̯än⁵¹/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: suan⁴
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: suan
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /suan²¹³/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: суан (suan, III)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /suæ̃⁴⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: syun³
    • Yale: syun
    • Cantonese Pinyin: syn³
    • Guangdong Romanization: xun³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʃyːn³³/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: lhon⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬᵘɔn²¹/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: son⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɵn³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: son
    • Hakka Romanization System: son
    • Hagfa Pinyim: son⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /son⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: son⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /sɔn⁵³/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: suan³
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /suæ̃⁴⁵/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: so̤̿ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɔŋ³³/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sáung
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɑuŋ²¹³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: soàn
    • Tâi-lô: suàn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: soaxn
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /suan²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /suan¹¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /suan⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sǹg
    • Tâi-lô: sǹg
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sngx
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /sŋ̍⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /sŋ̍²¹/

Note:

• soàn - literary;
• sǹg - vernacular.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: seng³
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sṳ̀ng
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɯŋ²¹³/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: ²soe
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sø³⁴/

Xiang

• (Changsha)
  • Wiktionary: sonn⁴
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sõ⁴⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: /suɑnH/

Rime
Character	蒜
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	桓 (62)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	蘇貫切
Baxter	swanH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/suɑnH/
Pan Wuyun	/sʷɑnH/
Shao Rongfen	/suɑnH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/swanH/
Li Rong	/suɑnH/
Wang Li	/suɑnH/
Bernard Karlgren	/suɑnH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	suàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	syun3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]ˤor-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*sloːns/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	蒜
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	suàn
Middle Chinese	‹ swanH ›
Old Chinese	/*[s]ˁor-s/
English	garlic
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	蒜
Reading #	1/1
No.	12133
Phonetic component	祘
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	筭
Old Chinese	/*sloːns/

Definitions

蒜

1. garlic

Synonyms

• (Min Nan) 蒜仔

Compounds

• 凍蒜／冻蒜 (dòngsuàn)
• 卵蒜 (luǎnsuàn)
• 大蒜 (dàsuàn)
• 大蒜效應／大蒜效应
• 小蒜
• 拌蒜 (bànsuàn)
• 拌蒜加蔥／拌蒜加葱
• 搗蒜／捣蒜 (dǎosuàn)
• 擣蒜／捣蒜
• 朱蒜
• 牙蒜
• 猴蒜
• 番蒜
• 石蒜
• 砂鍋搗蒜／砂锅捣蒜
• 砂鍋砸蒜／砂锅砸蒜
• 砸薑磨蒜／砸姜磨蒜
• 耐儲大蒜／耐储大蒜
• 胡蒜
• 臘八蒜／腊八蒜
• 蒜丁
• 蒜仔
• 蒜台
• 蒜子
• 蒜押
• 蒜果
• 蒜條／蒜条
• 蒜條金／蒜条金
• 蒜毫 (suànháo)
• 蒜氣／蒜气
• 蒜泥 (suànní)
• 蒜球精
• 蒜瓣 (suànbàn)
• 蒜瓣兒／蒜瓣儿
• 蒜瓣骨朵
• 蒜絨／蒜绒
• 蒜絨枝／蒜绒枝
• 蒜缽子／蒜钵子
• 蒜腦藷／蒜脑薯
• 蒜苔 (suàntái)
• 蒜苗 (suànmiáo)
• 蒜茸
• 蒜蓉 (suànróng)
• 蒜蔥／蒜葱
• 蒜薹 (suàntái)
• 蒜辮子／蒜辫子
• 蒜酪
• 蒜醬／蒜酱
• 蒜頭／蒜头 (suàntóu)
• 蒜顆／蒜颗
• 蒜髮／蒜发
• 蒜黃／蒜黄 (suànhuáng)
• 血蒜羹
• 裝蒜／装蒜 (zhuāngsuàn)
• 裝蔥賣蒜／装葱卖蒜
• 豆蒜
• 銀蒜／银蒜
• 雅蒜
• 雞毛蒜皮／鸡毛蒜皮 (jīmáosuànpí)
• 青蒜 (qīngsuàn)

 

Descendants

• → Lisu: ꓢꓪꓮꓠꓸ (swɑ́n)

Japanese

Kanji

蒜

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: さん (san)
• Kan-on: さん (san)
• Kun: にんにく (ninniku), ひる (hiru)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
蒜
にんにく Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
大蒜 葫 忍辱

Origin uncertain. There are two leading theories.

• Deriving ultimately from some compound and shift of 匂い (nioi, “smell, scent”) + 憎い (nikui, “hateful; bitter”). Possible progression:

⟨nipopi₁⟩ + ⟨niku⟩ → */nipopi niku/ → */nipniku/ → /ninniku/

• Deriving as a shift in meaning from Buddhist term 忍辱 (ninniku, “patience, forbearance, forgiveness”). Apparently garlic was seen as stimulating, and as such it was a forbidden food and monks would have to forbear from eating it, possibly giving rise to use of the term as a euphemism.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) にんにく [nìńníkú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟ĩɲ̟ɲ̟ikɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

蒜(にんにく) • (ninniku) 

1. [date uncertain] garlic

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ニンニク.

Derived terms

• 行者葫(ぎょうじゃにんにく) (gyōjaninniku)
• 浜蒜(はまにんにく) (hamaninniku)

Further reading

• Entry at 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, “Etymology Derivation Dictionary”)
• Entry at 日本辞典 (Nihon Jiten, “Japan Dictionary”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蒜
ひる Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *peru (“garlic”). First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ひ​る [híꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [çiɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

蒜(ひる) • (hiru) 

1. [from 712] allium

Derived terms

• 大蒜(おおびる) (ōbiru, “garlic”)
• 根蒜(ねびる) (nebiru), 沢蒜(ねびる) (nebiru)
• 野蒜(のびる) (nobiru)
• 蒜山(ひるぜん) (Hiruzen, “Hiruzen”)

Kikai

Alternative forms

• 葫

Kanji

蒜 (hiragana ふぃる, romaji firu)

Noun

蒜 (hiragana ふぃる, romaji firu)

1. garlic

References

• “ふぃる【蒜・葫】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Korean

Hanja

蒜 • (san) (hangeul 산, revised san, McCune–Reischauer san, Yale san)

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

Okinawan

Alternative forms

• 葫

Kanji

蒜 (hiragana ひる, romaji hiru)

Etymology

Attested in the 沖縄語典 (Okinawa Goten, “Okinawan Dictionary”) as ひる.

Noun

蒜 (hiragana ひる, romaji hiru)

1. garlic

Yoron

Alternative forms

• 葫

Kanji

蒜 (hiragana ぴる, romaji piru)

Noun

蒜 (hiragana ぴる, romaji piru)

1. garlic

References

• “ぴる【蒜・葫】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.