限

See also: 隄

限 U+9650, 限 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9650 ← 陏 [U+964F] CJK Unified Ideographs 陑 → [U+9651]

Translingual

Han character

限 (Kangxi radical 170, 阜+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 弓中日女 (NLAV), four-corner 7723₂, composition ⿰阝艮)

Derived characters

• 𭉑, 䈨, 𨵬(𬮵)

Further reading

• KangXi: page 1350, character 7
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 41627
• Dae Jaweon: page 1852, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4128, character 6
• Unihan data for U+9650

Chinese

simp. and trad.		限

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
艱	*krɯːn
齦	*kʰrɯːnʔ, *kʰɯːnʔ, *ŋɯn
眼	*ŋrɯːnʔ
蛝	*ɡrɯːn
限	*ɡrɯːnʔ
硍	*ɡrɯːnʔ
豤	*kʰɯːnʔ, *kʰɯːnʔ, *kʰuːn
詪	*ɡlɯːnʔ, *kɯːnʔ, *kɯːns
根	*kɯːn
跟	*kɯːn
珢	*kɯːn, *kɯːns, *ŋrɯn
艮	*kɯːns
茛	*kɯːns
墾	*kʰɯːnʔ
懇	*kʰɯːnʔ
垠	*ŋɯːn, *ŋrɯn, *ŋɯn
泿	*ŋɯːn, *ŋrɯn
痕	*ɡɯːn
拫	*ɡɯːn
鞎	*ɡɯːn
很	*ɡɯːnʔ
恨	*ɡɯːns
銀	*ŋrɯn
檭	*ŋrɯn

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiàn (xian⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): haan⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): han

  (Meixian, Guangdong): han⁴

• Min Bei (KCR): hāing
• Min Dong (BUC): âing
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): hǎn / hān / ān

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hang⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siàn
    • Wade–Giles: hsien⁴
    • Yale: syàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiann
    • Palladius: сянь (sjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: haan⁶
    • Yale: haahn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: haan⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: han⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haːn²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: han
    • Hakka Romanization System: han
    • Hagfa Pinyim: han⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /han⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: han⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /han⁵³/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: hāing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xaiŋ⁵⁵/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: âing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /aiŋ²⁴²/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hǎn
    • Tâi-lô: hǎn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /han²²/
    • IPA (Jinjiang): /han³³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hān
    • Tâi-lô: hān
    • Phofsit Daibuun: han
    • IPA (Xiamen): /han²²/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /han³³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ān
    • Tâi-lô: ān
    • Phofsit Daibuun: an
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /an²²/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /an³³/

Note: hǎn/hān/ān - literary, ān - vernacular (Taiwanese, Xiamen).

• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hang⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hăng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haŋ³⁵/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 限
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕian⁵¹/
	Harbin	/ɕian⁵³/
	Tianjin	/ɕian⁵³/
	Jinan	/ɕiã²¹/
	Qingdao	/ɕiã⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ɕian³¹²/
	Xi'an	/ɕiã⁴⁴/
	Xining	/ɕiã²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/ɕian¹³/
	Lanzhou	/ɕiɛ̃n¹³/
	Ürümqi	/ɕian²¹³/
	Wuhan	/ɕiɛn³⁵/
	Chengdu	/xan¹³/ /ɕian¹³/
	Guiyang	/ɕian²¹³/
	Kunming	/ɕiɛ̃²¹²/
	Nanjing	/ɕien⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/ɕiĩ⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕie⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/ɕiɑŋ³⁵/
	Hohhot	/ɕie⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦe²³/ /ɦie²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦiɪ³¹/ /ɦe̞³¹/
	Hangzhou	/ɦiẽ̞¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ɦa³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/ɕie²²/ /xɛ²²/
	Tunxi	/xɔ¹¹/ /ɕiɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/xan⁵⁵/ /xan¹¹/
	Xiangtan	/han⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/han²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/han⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/hɑn⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/han²²/
	Nanning	/han²²/
	Hong Kong	/han²²/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/han²²/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/aiŋ²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/xaiŋ⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/haŋ³⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/haŋ³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: /ɦˠɛnX/

Rime
Character	限
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	山 (73)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	胡簡切
Baxter	heanX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠɛnX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦᵚænX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣænX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦəɨnX/
Li Rong	/ɣɛnX/
Wang Li	/ɣænX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣănX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	haan6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤrə[n]ʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡrɯːnʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	限
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xiàn
Middle Chinese	‹ hɛnX ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˁrə[n]ʔ/
English	obstacle, limit
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	限
Reading #	1/1
No.	3916
Phonetic component	艮
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	限
Old Chinese	/*ɡrɯːnʔ/

Definitions

限

1. boundary; limit; line

   上限  ―  shàngxiàn  ―  upper limit

2. to limit; to place a limit (on)

   舅父限表弟每個星期打機最多打一個鐘。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   舅父限表弟每个星期打机最多打一个钟。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   kau⁵ fu^6-2 haan⁶ biu² dai⁶ mui⁵ go³ sing¹ kei⁴ daa² gei¹ zeoi³ do¹ daa² jat¹ go³ zung¹. [Jyutping]

   Uncle limits my little cousin to at most one hour of video games per week.

3. (literary) doorstep; sill; threshold

Synonyms

• (boundary):

edit

• 界限 (jièxiàn) (figurative)
• 限制 (xiànzhì)

• 限度 (xiàndù)
• 雷池 (léichí) (figurative)

• 底線／底线 (dǐxiàn) (figurative)
• 節限／节限 (jiéxiàn) (literary)

• (to limit):

edit

Synonyms of 限

• 主宰 (zhǔzǎi)
• 克制 (kèzhì)
• 克治 (kèzhì) (literary)
• 君 (jūn) (literary)
• 局限 (júxiàn)
• 左右 (zuǒyòu)
• 把 (bǎ)
• 把持 (bǎchí)
• 把控 (bǎkòng)
• 抑制 (yìzhì)
• 抵制 (dǐzhì)
• 拘束 (jūshù)
• 按 (àn)
• 按捺 (ànnà) (usually in the negative)
• 掌控 (zhǎngkòng)
• 掌握 (zhǎngwò)
• 控 (kòng) (literary, or in compounds)

• 控制 (kòngzhì)
• 提控 (tíkòng) (literary)
• 操控 (cāokòng)
• 支配 (zhīpèi)
• 束 (shù) (literary, or in compounds)
• 柄 (bǐng) (literary, or in compounds)
• 框 (kuàng)
• 管制 (guǎnzhì)
• 管束 (guǎnshù)
• 裁 (cái) (literary, or in compounds)
• 遏抑 (èyì) (literary)
• 限乏 (Xiamen Hokkien)
• 限制 (xiànzhì)
• 主張／主张 (zhǔzhāng) (archaic)
• 制約／制约 (zhìyuē)
• 執掌／执掌 (zhízhǎng)
• 壓制／压制 (yāzhì)

• 撙節／撙节 (zǔnjié)
• 撥弄／拨弄 (bōnòng)
• 操縱／操纵 (cāozòng)
• 擺佈／摆布 (bǎibù)
• 擺治／摆治 (bǎizhì) (regional)
• 收斂／收敛 (shōuliǎn)
• 束縛／束缚 (shùfù)
• 禁錮／禁锢 (jìngù) (figurative)
• 積壓／积压 (jīyā) (figurative)
• 節制／节制 (jiézhì)
• 約束／约束 (yuēshù)
• 統御／统御 (tǒngyù) (literary)
• 統治／统治 (tǒngzhì)
• 羈束／羁束 (jīshù) (literary)
• 鎮／镇 (zhèn)
• 駕／驾 (jià)
• 駕馭／驾驭 (jiàyù) (figurative)

• (doorstep):

edit

Synonyms of 限

• 戺 (shì) (Classical Chinese)
• 柣 (zhì) (Classical Chinese)
• 梱 (kǔn) (Classical Chinese)
• 榍 (xiè) (Classical Chinese)
• 面填 (bīn-tǔiⁿ) (Quanzhou Hokkien)
• 戶填／户填 (Min Nan)

• 戶限／户限 (hùxiàn) (literary)
• 檻／槛 (kǎn)
• 轔／辚 (lín) (Classical Chinese)
• 門地伏／门地伏 (Taishanese)
• 門墊／门垫 (Min Dong)
• 門岸／门岸 (mn̂g-hōaⁿ) (Xiamen Hokkien)

• 門檻／门槛 (ménkǎn)
• 門限／门限 (ménxiàn)
• 門階／门阶 (ménjiē)
• 閫／阃 (kǔn) (literary)
• 閾／阈 (yù) (literary)

Compounds

Derived terms from 限

• 上限 (shàngxiàn)
• 下限 (xiàxiàn)
• 不可限量 (bùkě xiànliàng)
• 不知分限
• 不限
• 九七大限
• 九七期限
• 侷限
• 保辜限
• 公用限制
• 分限 (fènxiàn)
• 制限 (zhìxiàn)
• 勒限
• 受限 (shòuxiàn)
• 命限
• 填限
• 大限 (dàxiàn)
• 定限
• 局限 (júxiàn)
• 展限
• 年限 (niánxiàn)
• 底限 (dǐxiàn)
• 恰限
• 拘限 (jūxiàn)
• 有限 (yǒuxiàn)
• 有限公司 (yǒuxiàn gōngsī)
• 有限政府
• 有限花序
• 期限 (qīxiàn)
• 未可限量
• 杖限
• 死限

• 爆炸上限
• 爆炸下限
• 甘限
• 界限 (jièxiàn)
• 程限
• 象限 (xiàngxiàn)
• 限令 (xiànlìng)
• 限制 (xiànzhì)
• 限制住居
• 限定 (xiàndìng)
• 限度 (xiàndù)
• 限日 (xiànrì)
• 限期 (xiànqī)
• 限棒
• 限次
• 限界 (xiànjiè)
• 限量 (xiànliàng)
• 限阻
• 制限選舉／制限选举
• 寬限／宽限 (kuānxiàn)
• 寬限日／宽限日
• 彈性限度／弹性限度
• 惡限／恶限
• 戶限／户限 (hùxiàn)
• 戶限為穿／户限为穿
• 時限／时限 (shíxiàn)
• 有限小數／有限小数
• 有限戰爭／有限战争
• 極限／极限 (jíxiàn)
• 極限強度／极限强度
• 極限體育／极限体育
• 權限／权限 (quánxiàn)

• 無限／无限 (wúxiàn)
• 無限公司／无限公司
• 無限小數／无限小数
• 無限戰爭／无限战争
• 無限花序／无限花序
• 畫地自限／画地自限
• 疲勞限／疲劳限
• 組限／组限
• 緩限／缓限
• 設限／设限 (shèxiàn)
• 象限儀／象限仪
• 運限／运限
• 過限／过限
• 鐵門限／铁门限
• 門限／门限 (ménxiàn)
• 限價／限价
• 限制級／限制级
• 限制詞／限制词
• 限制選舉／限制选举
• 限定語／限定语
• 限時／限时 (xiànshí)
• 限時信／限时信 (xiànshíxìn)
• 限時專送／限时专送
• 限武協定／限武协定
• 限武談判／限武谈判
• 限產／限产
• 限盡／限尽
• 限電／限电 (xiàndiàn)
• 限韻／限韵
• 限額／限额 (xiàn'é)
• 限齡／限龄
• 飛觥限斝／飞觥限斝

Japanese

Kanji

限

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. limit

Readings

• Go-on: げん (gen, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: かん (kan)
• Kun: かぎる (kagiru, 限る, Jōyō); かぎり (kagiri, 限り); かぎり (kagiri, 限); きり (kiri)

Compounds

Compounds

• 日限(にちげん) (nichigen)
• 制限(せいげん) (seigen)
• 権限(けんげん) (kengen)
• 限定(げんてい) (gentei)
• 限度(げんど) (gendo)
• 無限(むげん) (mugen)
• 分限(ぶんげん) (bungen)
• 有限(ゆうげん) (yūgen)
• 上限(じょうげん) (jōgen)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
限
げん Grade: 5
goon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡẽ̞ɴ]

Counter

限(げん) • (-gen) 

1. counter for school periods

   一(いち)限(げん)目(め)は数学(すうがく)だった。

   Ichigenme wa sūgaku datta.

   The first period was maths.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
限
きり Grade: 5
kun’yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 限 – see the following entry: 切り

(The following entry is uncreated: 切り.)

Korean

Hanja

限 • (han) (hangeul 한, revised han, McCune–Reischauer han, Yale han)

1. Hanja form^? of 한 (“limit”).

Vietnamese

Han character

限: Hán Nôm readings: hạn, hẹn, giận

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