西

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See also: 四, 酉, 襾, and 覀
西 U+897F, 西
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-897F
← 襾
[U+897E] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 覀 →
[U+8980]
⻄ U+2EC4, ⻄
CJK RADICAL WEST TWO
← ⻃
[U+2EC3] 		CJK Radicals Supplement ⻅ →
[U+2EC5]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
6 strokes
Stroke order

Han character[edit]

See images of
Radical 146 西

西 (Kangxi radical 146, 襾+0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 一金田 (MCW), four-corner 10600, composition ⿱一𠁤)

Derived characters[edit]

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 1128, character 10
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 34763
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1595, character 19
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2805, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+897F

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
 西
alternative forms 㢴
卤

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 西
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (西) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
粞 *sɯːl, *sɯːl
洒 *sraːls, *sɯːlʔ
西 *sɯːl
卤 *sɯːl
卥 *sɯːl
栖 *sɯːl, *sɯːls
茜 *sʰɯːns
哂 *hjɯnʔ

Pictogram (象形) – a bag or basket, borrowed for phonetic value. Compare 東 (OC *toːŋ, “bundle > east”). Traditionally explained as a pictogram of a bird settling into its nest, which by analogy with the setting of the sun means “west”. This etymology has been disputed (Sears), but Sagart (2004) stands by it.

Etymology[edit]

The word is traditionally reconstructed to have a /*s/-initial in Old Chinese, e.g. /*sɯːl/ in Zhengzhang (2003). However, recent scholarship has suggested that the Old Chinese initial should instead be reconstructed as /*s-nˤ/, one of the reasons being 西 appears to be the phonetic in 迺 (nǎi), the archaic graphic variant of 乃 (OC *nɯːʔ). The new reconstruction, /*s-nˤər/ in Baxter and Sagart (2014), also accounts for how 西 can be the phonetic in 哂 (shěn, “to smile”). For more information, see Sagart (2004), Baxter and Sagart (2014) and Nohara (2018).

In light of the new construction with the initial consonant cluster /*s-nˤ/, the possibilities of the etymology of 西, aside from being cognate with 棲／栖 (qī, “to roost; to rest”) (B-S OC /*s-nˤər/), include:

Pronunciation[edit]

Note:
  • sai - vernacular;
  • se - literary;
  • si - vernacular (limited, e.g. 西瓜 (xīguā)).
Note:
  • sai - literary;
  • si1 - vernacular (for 西瓜).
  • Wu
  • Xiang
    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location 西
    Mandarin Beijing /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Harbin /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Tianjin /ɕi²¹/
    Jinan /ɕi²¹³/
    Qingdao /si²¹³/
    Zhengzhou /si²⁴/
    Xi'an /ɕi²¹/
    Xining /ɕji⁴⁴/
    Yinchuan /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Lanzhou /ɕi³¹/
    Ürümqi /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Wuhan /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Chengdu /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Guiyang /ɕi⁵⁵/
    Kunming /ɕi⁴⁴/
    Nanjing /si³¹/
    Hefei /sz̩²¹/
    Jin Taiyuan /ɕi¹¹/
    Pingyao /ɕi¹³/
    /sei¹³/ ～瓜
    Hohhot /ɕi³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /ɕi⁵³/
    Suzhou /si⁵⁵/
    Hangzhou /ɕi³³/
    Wenzhou /sei³³/
    Hui Shexian /si³¹/
    Tunxi /se¹¹/
    Xiang Changsha /si³³/
    Xiangtan /si³³/
    Gan Nanchang /ɕi⁴²/
    Hakka Meixian /si⁴⁴/
    Taoyuan /si²⁴/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /sɐi⁵³/
    Nanning /ɬɐi⁵⁵/
    Hong Kong /sɐi⁵⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /se⁵⁵/
    /sai⁵⁵/ 東～
    /si⁵⁵/ ～瓜
    Fuzhou (Min Dong) /sɛ⁴⁴/
    Jian'ou (Min Bei) /sai⁵⁴/
    /si⁵⁴/
    Shantou (Min Nan) /si³³/
    /sai³³/
    Haikou (Min Nan) /si²³/
    /tai²³/
    Rime
    Character 西
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial (聲) 心 (16)
    Final (韻) 齊 (39)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division (等) IV
    Fanqie 先稽切
    Baxter sej
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang         		/sei/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/sei/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/sɛi/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/sɛj/
    Li
    Rong         		/sei/
    Wang
    Li         		/siei/
    Bernard
    Karlgren         		/siei/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex         		xī
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex         		sai1
    Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 西
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)         		xī
    Middle
    Chinese         		‹ sej ›
    Old
    Chinese         		/*s-nˁər/
    English west

    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 西
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 13236
    Phonetic
    component         		西
    Rime
    group         		微
    Rime
    subdivision         		1
    Corresponding
    MC rime         		西
    Old
    Chinese         		/*sɯːl/

    Definitions[edit]

    西

    1. west; western
    2. (Cantonese, euphemistic) Synonym of 閪／𲈹 (hai1).

    Coordinate terms[edit]

    西北 (xīběi) 北 東北／东北 (dōngběi)
    西 (xī) 東／东 (dōng)
    西南 (xīnán) 南 東南／东南 (dōngnán)


    Compounds[edit]

    Descendants[edit]

    Sino-Xenic (西):
    • → Japanese: 西(さい) (sai); 西(せい) (sei)
    • → Korean: 서(西) (seo)
    • → Vietnamese: tây (西)

    Others:

    Japanese[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    西

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. west
    2. Europe, European
    3. kanji used to transliterate foreign languages
    4. Short for 西班牙 (Supein): Spain, Spanish
    5. autumn

    Readings[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Compounds

    Etymology 1[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    西
    にし
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi

    Originally a compound of 去に (ini, “going away”, the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 去(い)ぬ (inu, “to go away”)) +‎ し (shi, “wind; (by extension) direction”, as seen in other ancient-derived words as 嵐 (arashi, “storm”, literally “wild + wind”), 旋風 (tsumuji, “whirlwind”), 東 (higashi, “east”, from older pi muka si, literally “sun + facing + wind/direction”)).[1]

    First cited in the Kojiki of 712, with the phonetic spelling 爾斯 (nisi).[1]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Noun[edit]

    西(にし) • (nishi) 

    1. [from 770] west (one of the four cardinal directions)
      Antonym: 東 (higashi)
    2. the West
    3. [from 712] the west wind, wind blowing from the west
      Antonym: 東 (higashi)
    4. (theater) in kabuki:
      1. [from 1688] the left side of the stage in the Edo-style
      2. [from 1688] the right side of the stage in Kyoto and Osaka styles
    5. [date uncertain] (sumo) lower-ranked wrestlers listed on the left side of a banzuke
      Antonym: 東 (higashi)
    6. [from 1885] the West; (later, more specifically) the capitalist states of the West (originally western Europe, as opposed to Eastern Bloc countries)
      Synonym: 西側 (nishigawa)
      Antonym: 東 (higashi)
    Coordinate terms[edit]
    西北(せいほく) (seihoku)
    北西(ほくせい) (hokusei)     		北(きた) (kita) 東北(とうほく) (tōhoku)
    北東(ほくとう) (hokutō)
    西(にし) (nishi) 東(ひがし) (higashi)
    西南(せいなん) (seinan)
    南西(なんせい) (nansei)     		南(みなみ) (minami) 東南(とうなん) (tōnan)
    南東(なんとう) (nantō)


    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms
    Idioms[edit]
    Proverbs[edit]
    Idioms

    Proper noun[edit]

    西(にし) • (Nishi) 

    1. (Buddhism) Synonym of 西方浄土 (Saihō Jōdo): the western paradise of Amitabha Buddha
    2. (Buddhism) Short for 西本願寺 (Nishi Hongan-ji): a Buddhist temple in Kyoto
      Synonym: お西 (o-Nishi)
    3. (historical) a red-light district in Edo-period Shinjuku (as it was located west of Edo Castle)
    4. a place name, especially the name of various wards in major cities throughout Japan
    5. a surname

    Etymology 2[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    西
    しゃー
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    Possibly a corruption of Mandarin 西 (xī, “west”).

    Noun[edit]

    西(シャー) • (shā) 

    1. (mahjong) west wind (mahjong tile)
      Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
    2. (mahjong) a 役 (yaku, “winning hand”) with a triplet or quad of west wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 翻 (han, “doubles”)
      Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)
    See also[edit]

    References[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “西”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
    2. ^ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    3. ^ 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    4. ^ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

    Korean[edit]

    Etymology[edit]

    From Middle Chinese 西 (MC sei).

    Historical Readings
    Dongguk Jeongun Reading
    Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 솅 (Yale: syèy)
    Middle Korean
    Text Eumhun
    Gloss (hun) Reading
    Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 셧녁 (Yale: syè-s-nyèk) 셔 (Yale: syè)

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Hanja[edit]

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    西 (eumhun 서녘 서 (seonyeok seo))

    1. Hanja form? of 서 (“west; western”).

    Compounds[edit]

    Compounds

    References[edit]

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

    Okinawan[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    西

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings[edit]

    Noun[edit]

    西(いり) (iri) 

    1. the West

    Compounds[edit]

    Vietnamese[edit]

    Han character[edit]

    西: Hán Việt readings: tây, tê
    西: Nôm readings: tây

    1. west
    2. West (the Western world)

    Compounds[edit]

    References[edit]

    • Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
    • Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
    • Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
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