蓮

See also: 莲

蓮	U+84EE, 蓮 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-84EE

← 蓭
[U+84ED]

CJK Unified Ideographs

蓯 →
[U+84EF]

蓮	U+F999, 蓮 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F999

← 輦
[U+F998]

CJK Compatibility Ideographs

連 →
[U+F99A]

Translingual

Japanese	蓮
Simplified	莲
Traditional	蓮

Han character

蓮 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+11 in Chinese and Korean, 艸+10 in Japanese, 14 strokes in Chinese and Korean, 13 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 廿卜十十 (TYJJ), four-corner 4430₄, composition ⿱艹連)

Derived characters

𡂴, 𡣻, 𤂍, 櫣, 𤑞, 𤪼, 𨯌, 𬞮

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 1052, character 16
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 31722
Dae Jaweon: page 1514, character 27
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3261, character 10
Unihan data for U+84EE

Unihan data for U+F999

Chinese

trad.		蓮
simp.		莲

Wikipedia has articles on:

蓮 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
蓮 (Classical)

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
連	*ren
漣	*ren
鰱	*ren
翴	*ren
鏈	ren, rens, *r̥ʰen
璉	*renʔ
僆	renʔ, reːns
摙	renʔ, rens
蓮	renʔ, reːn
嗹	*reːn
縺	*reːn

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *renʔ, *reːn): semantic 艹 + phonetic 連 (OC *ren).

Etymology 1

Related to 蕑 (OC *kreːn, “lotus seed”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): lián (lian²)

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄢˊ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): lin⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): len³
Gan (Wiktionary): lien⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): lièn

(Meixian, Guangdong): liên²
Jin (Wiktionary): lie¹
Northern Min (KCR): lâing
Eastern Min (BUC): lièng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): liân / nâi / nûi / lân

(Teochew, Peng'im): noin⁵ / nain⁵ / liang⁵ / liêng⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶li

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: lián
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: lián
  - Wade–Giles: lien²
  - Yale: lyán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lian
  - Palladius: лянь (ljanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯ɛn³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: lin⁴
  - Yale: lìhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lin⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: lin⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liːn²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: len³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /len²²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: lien⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liɛn³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lièn
  - Hakka Romanization System: lien^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: lian²
  - Sinological IPA: /li̯en¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: liên²
  - Sinological IPA: /liɛn¹¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: lie¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /lie¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lâing
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /laiŋ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: lièng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃ieŋ⁵³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Hsinchu, Lukang, Sanxia, Yilan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liân
  - Tâi-lô: liân
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lieen
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Tainan, Lukang, Yilan): /liɛn²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /liɛn¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /liɛn²³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Kinmen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nâi
  - Tâi-lô: nâi
  - Phofsit Daibuun: naai
  - IPA (Xiamen, Kinmen): /nãi²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nûi
  - Tâi-lô: nuî
  - Phofsit Daibuun: nuii
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /nuĩ²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Taipei, Magong)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lân
  - Tâi-lô: lân
  - Phofsit Daibuun: laan
  - IPA (Taipei): /lan²⁴/

Note:

Xiamen, Quanzhou:
- liân - literary;
- nâi/nûi - vernacular.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: noin⁵ / nain⁵ / liang⁵ / liêng⁵
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nôiⁿ / nâiⁿ / liâng / liêng
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /nõĩ⁵⁵/, /nãĩ⁵⁵/, /liaŋ⁵⁵/, /lieŋ⁵⁵/

Note:

noin5/nain5 - vernacular (nain5 - Chaoyang, Jieyang);
liang5/liêng5 - literary (liêng5 - Chaozhou).

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶li
  - MiniDict: li^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³li
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /li²³/

Middle Chinese: len

Rime
Character	蓮
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	先 (85)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	落賢切
Baxter	len
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/len/
Pan Wuyun	/len/
Shao Rongfen	/lɛn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lɛn/
Li Rong	/len/
Wang Li	/lien/
Bernhard Karlgren	/lien/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lián
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lin⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*k.[r]ˤe[n]/

(Zhengzhang): /*reːn/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	蓮
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	lián
Middle Chinese	‹ len ›
Old Chinese	/k.[r]ˁe[n]/ (cf. 蕑 jiān < kean < kˁre[n] (dial. *k.rˁ- > kˁr-) ‘lotus fruit (Ode 145.2)’)
English	lotus fruit
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	蓮
Reading #	2/2
No.	8004
Phonetic component	連
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	蓮
Old Chinese	/*reːn/

Definitions

蓮

lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
(in compounds or archaic) A plant with lotus-like flowers or leaves, or another plant similar to such a plant
睡蓮／睡莲 ― shuìlián ― water lily

金蓮花／金莲花 ― jīnliánhuā ― globeflower

銀蓮花／银莲花 ― yínliánhuā ― windflower

半邊蓮／半边莲 ― bànbiānlián ― Lobelia chinensis

穿心蓮／穿心莲 ― chuānxīnlián ― Andrographis paniculata (with flowers similar to Lobelia chinensis)
- 蓮，花之君子者也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  莲，花之君子者也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: 1063, Zhou Dunyi, Ode to Lotus Lovers
  Lián, huā zhī jūnzǐ zhě yě. [Pinyin]
  Lotus is the gentleman among flowers.
(Buddhism) Buddha's world; paradise

Synonyms

(lotus):

edit

水芝 (shuǐzhī) (literary)
水芙蓉 (shuǐfúróng)
芙蓉 (fúróng)
芙蕖 (fúqú) (literary)
荷花 (héhuā)
菡萏 (hàndàn) (literary)
蓮花 / 莲花 (liánhuā)
藕花 (ǒuhuā)

Dialectal synonyms of 荷花 (“lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		荷, 蓮, 芙蕖, 芙蓉, 菡萏
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		荷花, 蓮花
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	荷花兒, 蓮花兒
	Chengde	荷花兒
	Chifeng	荷花
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	荷花兒
	Heihe	荷花, 蓮花
	Qiqihar	荷花, 蓮花
	Harbin	荷花兒, 荷花, 蓮花兒, 蓮花
	Jiamusi	荷花, 蓮花
	Baicheng	荷花
	Changchun	荷花兒
	Tonghua	荷花
	Shenyang	荷花, 蓮花
	Jinzhou	荷花, 蓮花
	Singapore	荷花, 蓮花
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	荷花
	Tangshan	荷花
	Cangzhou	荷花兒
	Baoding	荷花, 蓮花兒
	Shijiazhuang	荷花
	Lijin	荷花
	Jinan	荷花, 蓮花
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	荷花兒
	Dandong	荷花兒, 蓮花兒
	Yantai	荷花
	Yantai (Muping)	荷花
	Qingdao	荷花
	Zhucheng	荷花
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	荷花兒, 蓮花兒
	Lingbao	蓮花
	Jining	荷花, 蓮花
	Wanrong	蓮花
	Linfen	蓮花
	Shangqiu	蓮花
	Yuanyang	荷花兒, 蓮花兒
	Zhengzhou	蓮花兒
	Xinyang	蓮花
	Baihe	荷花, 蓮花
	Xi'an	蓮花, 荷花
	Baoji	荷花, 蓮花
	Tianshui	蓮花
	Xining	荷花, 蓮花
	Xuzhou	荷花, 蓮花
	Fuyang	荷花
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	荷花, 蓮花
	Lanzhou	荷花, 蓮花
	Dunhuang	荷花, 蓮花
	Hami	荷花
	Ürümqi	荷花
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	荷花, 蓮花, 水芙蓉
	Nanchong	荷花
	Dazhou	荷花
	Hanyuan	荷花
	Xichang	荷花, 蓮花
	Zigong	荷花
	Chongqing	荷花, 蓮花
	Wuhan	荷花, 蓮花
	Yichang	荷花, 蓮花
	Xiangyang	荷花, 蓮花
	Tianmen	荷花, 蓮花
	Guiyang	荷花
	Zunyi	荷花
	Bijie	荷花, 蓮花
	Liping	蓮米花
	Zhaotong	荷花, 蓮花, 藕花
	Dali	荷花
	Kunming	荷花, 蓮花
	Mengzi	荷花
	Guilin	蓮花
	Liuzhou	荷花, 蓮花
	Jishou	荷花
	Changde	荷花
	Hanzhong	荷花, 蓮花, 藕蓮花
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	荷花, 蓮花
	Yangzhou	荷花
	Lianyungang	荷花
	Lianshui	藕花
	Nantong	荷花
	Anqing	荷花
	Wuhu	荷花
	Hefei	荷花
	Hong'an	荷花, 蓮花
Cantonese	Guangzhou	蓮花, 荷花
	Hong Kong	荷花, 蓮花
	Yangjiang	蓮花
	Singapore (Guangfu)	蓮花, 荷花
Gan	Nanchang	荷花, 蓮花
	Lichuan	荷花, 蓮花
	Pingxiang	荷花
Hakka	Meixian	蓮花, 荷花
	Yudu	荷花
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	荷花, 蓮花
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	荷花, 蓮花
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	荷花, 蓮花
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	荷花, 蓮花
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	荷花, 蓮花
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	荷花, 蓮花
Huizhou	Jixi	荷花
Huizhou	Shexian	荷花
Jin	Taiyuan	蓮花, 荷花
	Yangyuan	蓮花
	Datong	蓮花兒
	Xinzhou	蓮花兒
	Lüliang (Lishi)	荷花
	Changzhi	荷花
	Linhe	荷花
	Jining	蓮花兒
	Hohhot	荷花, 蓮花
	Erenhot	荷花兒
	Pingshan	蓮花兒
	Zhangjiakou	荷花, 蓮花
	Handan	荷花, 蓮花, 藕花
	Linzhou	蓮花兒
	Suide	荷花兒, 荷花
Northern Min	Jian'ou	蓮花, 荷花
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	蓮花, 荷花
Southern Min	Xiamen	蓮花
	Quanzhou	蓮花
	Zhangzhou	蓮花
	Singapore (Hokkien)	蓮花
	Manila (Hokkien)	蓮花
	Chaozhou	蓮花
	Jieyang	蓮花
	Haikou	蓮花
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	荷花
Wu	Shanghai	荷花
	Shanghai (Chongming)	荷花
	Suzhou	荷花, 蓮花
	Danyang	荷花
	Hangzhou	荷花
	Ningbo	荷花
	Wenzhou	蓮花, 荷花, 蓮子荷花
	Jinhua	荷花
Xiang	Changsha	荷花, 蓮花
	Loudi	荷花, 蓮花
	Shuangfeng	蓮花, 荷花

Descendants

→⇒ Old Uyghur: 𐾁𐽶𐽺𐽲𐽳𐽰 (lénhua)
→ Vietnamese: sen

Compounds

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): liǎn (lian³)

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄢˇ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: liǎn
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄢˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: liǎn
  - Wade–Giles: lien³
  - Yale: lyǎn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lean
  - Palladius: лянь (ljanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯ɛn²¹⁴/

Middle Chinese: ljenX

Rime
Character	蓮
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	力展切
Baxter	ljenX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/liᴇn^X/
Pan Wuyun	/liɛn^X/
Shao Rongfen	/ljæn^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lian^X/
Li Rong	/liɛn^X/
Wang Li	/lĭɛn^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/li̯ɛn^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	liǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lin⁵

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*renʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	蓮
Reading #	1/2
No.	8000
Phonetic component	連
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	輦
Old Chinese	/*renʔ/

Definitions

蓮

Only used in 蓮勺／莲勺 (Liǎnzhuó).

References

“蓮”, 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

Shinjitai	蓮
Kyūjitai ^[1]	蓮 `蓮` or 蓮+`︀`^?
	蓮󠄀 蓮+`󠄀`^? (Adobe-Japan1)
	蓮󠄄 蓮+`󠄄`^? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
	蓮󠄃 蓮+`󠄃`^? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Kanji

蓮

(Jinmeiyō kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 蓮)

lotus plant or flower, Nelumbo nucifera

Readings

Go-on: れん (ren)
Kan-on: れん (ren)
Kun: はす (hasu, 蓮)、はちす (hachisu, 蓮)

Etymology 1

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

蓮

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Nelumbo nucifera

Wikipedia

蓮 (*hachisu*): ***Hibiscus syriacus***: the **rose of Sharon**, **rose mallow**, or **St. Joseph's rod**.

Kanji in this term
蓮
はちす Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Originally a compound of 蜂 (hachi, “bee”) +‎ 巣 (su, “nest, hive”), literally “beehive, honeycomb”, from the way the lotus seed resembles a honeycomb.^[2]^[3]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) はちす [hàchísú] (Heiban – [0])^[3]
IPA^(key): [ha̠t͡ɕisɨ]

Noun

蓮(はちす) • (hachisu)

older name for hasu below: a lotus plant or flower, Nelumbo nucifera
(Buddhism, particularly Pure Land Buddhism) a lotus bloom in the realm of Sukhāvatī (“Land of Ultimate Bliss”), as an expression of reincarnation
alternate name for 木槿 (mukuge), Hibiscus syriacus: the rose of Sharon, rose mallow, or St. Joseph's rod

Related terms

蜂巣(はちす) (hachisu): a beehive; a honeycomb

Proper noun

蓮(はちす) • (Hachisu)

the name of various places in Japan
a surname

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蓮
はす Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

/hat͡ɕisu/ → */hassu/ → /hasu/

Appears to be a contraction of hachisu above.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) はす [hàsú] (Heiban – [0])^[3]
IPA^(key): [ha̠sɨ]

Noun

蓮(はす) • (hasu)

a lotus plant or flower

Usage notes

The reading hasu appears to be more common for the lotus meaning in modern Japanese.

Derived terms

蓮根(はすね) (hasune): a lotus root
蓮葉(はすは) (hasuha)
鬼蓮(おにばす) (onibasu): Euryale ferox (prickly waterlily)

Proper noun

蓮(はす) • (Hasu)

a female given name
a surname

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
蓮
れん Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 蓮 / 莲 (len, “lotus fruit”). Compare modern Mandarin reading lián.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɾẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

蓮(れん) • (ren)

a lotus plant or flower

Usage notes

The ren reading is seldom used on its own. It is most often used in compounds.

Derived terms

蓮華(れんげ) (renge): a lotus bloom, a lotus flower
蓮根(れんこん) (renkon): a lotus root
蓮台(れんだい) (rendai): a lotus blossom used as a seat or dais for a buddha or bodhisattva
睡蓮(すいれん) (suiren): a water lily
日蓮(にちれん) (nichiren): Nichiren Japanese Buddhist priest

Proper noun

蓮(れん) • (Ren)

a female given name
a surname

References

^ Haga, Gōtarō (1914) 漢和大辞書 [The Great Kanji-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese), Fourth edition, Tōkyō: Kōbunsha, →DOI, page 1848 (paper), page 976 (digital)
^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 蓮 (MC len). Recorded as Middle Korean 련 (lyen) (Yale: lyen) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

蓮

Wikisource

蓮 (eumhun 연꽃 련 (yeonkkot ryeon), word-initial (South Korea) 연꽃 연 (yeonkkot yeon))

hanja form^? of 련/연 (“lotus”)

Compounds

목련 (木蓮, mongnyeon)
연근 (蓮根, yeon'geun)
연지 (蓮池, yeonji)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

Han character

蓮: Hán Nôm readings: liên

(only in compounds) lotus

[1] Haga, Gōtarō (1914) 漢和大辞書 [The Great Kanji-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese), Fourth edition, Tōkyō: Kōbunsha, →DOI, page 1848 (paper), page 976 (digital)

[KDJ-2] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

[3]