電

See also: 电

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

電 (Kangxi radical 173, 雨+5, 13 strokes, cangjie input 一月田山 (MBWU), four-corner 1071₆, composition ⿱⻗⿻日乚 (GHTJKV))

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1373, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 42253
• Dae Jaweon: page 1882, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4060, character 1
• Unihan data for U+96FB

---

Chinese

trad.		電
simp.		电

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 電
Western Zhou	Warring States
Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script

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

	Old Chinese
電	*l'iːns
胂	*l̥ʰin, *hlin
申	*hlin
伸	*hlin
呻	*hlin
紳	*hlin
眒	*hlin, *hlins
柛	*hlin
訷	*hlin
抻	*hlins
神	*hlin
朄	*lins

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'iːns) : semantic 雨 (“rain”) + phonetic 申 (OC *hlin).

Etymology

Sino-Tibetan or area word; compare Proto-Mien *liŋ (“lightning”), Chepang प्‍लीङ्‌हसा (pliŋh‑, “to flash; to shine brightly”) (Benedict, 1976; Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): diàn (dian⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄧㄢˋ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): dian⁴

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): дян (di͡an, III)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): din⁶

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): en⁵

• Gan (Wiktionary): dien⁵
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): thien

  (Meixian, Guangdong): tiên⁴

• Jin (Wiktionary): die³
• Northern Min (KCR): dīng
• Eastern Min (BUC): diêng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): tiān

  (Teochew, Peng'im): diang⁶ / diêng⁶

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶di
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): dienn⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: diàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄧㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: diàn
    • Wade–Giles: tien⁴
    • Yale: dyàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: diann
    • Palladius: дянь (djanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti̯ɛn⁵¹/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: dian⁴
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: dian
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛn²¹³/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: дян (di͡an, III)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiæ̃⁴⁴/

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

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: din⁶
    • Yale: dihn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: din⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: din⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiːn²²/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: en⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /en³²/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: dien⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛn¹¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thien
    • Hakka Romanization System: tien
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tian⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: tiên⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰiɛn⁵³/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: die³
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /tie⁴⁵/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: dīng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiŋ⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: diêng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛŋ²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiān
    • Tâi-lô: tiān
    • Phofsit Daibuun: dien
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tiɛn²²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tiɛn⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiɛn²²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tiɛn³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiɛn³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: diang⁶ / diêng⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tiăng / tiĕng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiaŋ³⁵/, /tieŋ³⁵/

Note:

• diang6 - Shantou;
• diêng6 - Chaozhou.

• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁶di
    • MiniDict: di^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³di
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /di²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: dienn⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti̯ẽ⁴⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: denH

Rime
Character	電
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	先 (85)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	堂練切
Baxter	denH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/denH/
Pan Wuyun	/denH/
Shao Rongfen	/dɛnH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dɛnH/
Li Rong	/denH/
Wang Li	/dienH/
Bernard Karlgren	/dʱienH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	diàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	din6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*lˤi[n]-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*l'iːns/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	電
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	diàn
Middle Chinese	‹ denH ›
Old Chinese	/*lˁi[n]-s/
English	lightning
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	電
Reading #	1/1
No.	11233
Phonetic component	申
Rime group	眞
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	電
Old Chinese	/*l'iːns/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 電

1. lightning
2. electric power or energy; electricity

   我手機沒電了。／我手机没电了。  ―  Wǒ shǒujī méi diàn le.  ―  My phone is dead.

   我屋企而家冇電。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   我屋企而家冇电。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ uk¹ kei² ji⁴ gaa¹ mou⁵ din⁶. [Jyutping]

   The power at my place is currently out.

   我部腦冇電喇。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   我部脑冇电喇。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ bou⁶ nou⁵ mou⁵ din⁶ laa³. [Jyutping]

   My computer is dead.

3. electric; electrical
4. (dialectal) battery (Classifier: 粒 c; 嚿 c)
5. (colloquial) romantic attraction; chemistry
6. Short for 電話／电话 (diànhuà, “telephone; phone call”).
7. Short for 電報／电报 (diànbào, “telegram”).

   唁電／唁电  ―  yàndiàn  ―  telegram of condolence

8. Short for 電臺／电台 (diàntái, “broadcasting station; radio station”).
9. to get an electric shock; to be electrocuted
10. to make a telephone call
11. to send a telegram
12. fast; speedy

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

---

Japanese

Kanji

電

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. lightning
2. electricity

Readings

• Go-on: でん (den, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: てん (ten)
• Kun: いなずま (inazuma, 電)

Compounds

Compounds

• 電圧(でんあつ) (den'atsu): voltage
• 電気(でんき) (denki): electricity
• 電球(でんきゅう) (denkyū): light bulb
• 電子(でんし) (denshi): electron
• 電磁界(でんじかい) (denjikai): electromagnetic field
• 電子計算機(でんしけいさんき) (denshi keisanki): computer
• 電車(でんしゃ) (densha): electric train
• 電束(でんそく) (densoku): electric flux
• 電卓(でんたく) (dentaku): electric calculator
• 電灯(でんとう) (dentō): light, lamp
• 電流(でんりゅう) (denryū): electric current
• 電力(でんりょく) (denryoku): electric power
• 電話(でんわ) (denwa): a telephone
• 発電(はつでん) (hatsuden): electric power generation
• 雷電(らいでん) (raiden): thunder and lightning
• 電撃(でんげき) (dengeki): shock

Etymology

Kanji in this term
電
いなずま Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of いな (ina, “rice plant”) +‎ つま (tsuma, “spouse”). From an old folk belief that lightning joined with the rice plant to bring it to seed. The tsuma changes to zuma as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Alternative forms

• 稲妻

Noun

電(いなずま) • (inazuma) ^{←いなづま (inaduma)?}

1. lightning

Synonyms

• 落(らく)雷(らい) (rakurai)
• 稲(いな)光(びかり) (inabikari)

---

Korean

Hanja

電 (eumhun 번개 전 (beon'gae jeon))

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

1. lightning
2. electricity

---

Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 電 (điện)

1. lightning
2. electricity

Compounds

• 電子 (điện tử)
• 畑電 (đèn điện)
• 絏電 (dây điện)
• 書電子 (thư điện tử)
• 電話 (điện thoại)

References

• www.chunom.org