鹿

鹿 U+9E7F, 鹿 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9E7F ← 鹾 [U+9E7E] CJK Unified Ideographs 麀 → [U+9E80]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

鹿 (radical 198, 鹿+0, 11 strokes, cangjie input 戈X心 (IXP), four-corner 0021₁, composition ⿸⿸广⿻コ⿰丨丨比)

1. Kangxi radical #198, ⿅.

Derived characters

• Index:Chinese radical/鹿
• 塵

References

• KangXi: page 1508, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 47586
• Dae Jaweon: page 2036, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4727, character 1
• Unihan data for U+9E7F

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		鹿

鹿

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 鹿
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
鄜	*pʰlo, *roːɡ
鹿	*b·roːɡ
漉	*roːɡ
轆	*roːɡ
簏	*roːɡ
螰	*roːɡ
麓	*roːɡ
騼	*roːɡ
摝	*roːɡ
廘	*roːɡ
蔍	*roːɡ
鏕	*roːɡ

Pictogram (象形) – a deer. Current form is highly abstracted – legs have transformed to 比 – note grouping of front and rear legs, which are bent – head has transformed to middle component (similar to 凸/曲), while antlers on top and extended lip/mouth on left transformed into 广. This transformation occurred during seal characters.

Contrast the very different development of 馬 (“horse”), and the transformation in 𢊁 (as in 薦), which has the head of 鹿 but the legs of 馬 (灬).

Etymology

Uncertain, though possibly Sino-Tibetan (Schuessler, 2007). Compare Northern Naga *gjuk "deer, sambar", from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *g-rjuk (French, 1983); Also according to French, Benedict relates the Tibeto-Burman item to Western Gurung [script needed] (gju, “sheep”), yet the Gurung item has an alternative explanation (compare Proto-Sino-Tibetan *luk (“sheep”)). Sagart (1999) relates 角 (OC *kroːɡ, “horn”) to 鹿 (OC *b·roːɡ, “deer”).

Note also Nung klook (“deer”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lù (lu⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄨˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): luk⁶, luk^6-2
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): lu̍k
• Min Bei (KCR): lù
• Min Dong (BUC): lĕ̤k / lṳ̆k
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): lo̍k / lak

  (Teochew, Peng'im): dêg⁸

• Wu (Wiktionary): loq (T5)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: lù
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄨˋ
    • Wade–Giles: lu4
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luh
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lù
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: luk⁶, luk^6-2
    • Yale: luhk, lúk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: luk⁹, luk^9-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: lug⁶, lug²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lʊk̚²/, /lʊk̚²⁻³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lu̍k
    • Hakka Romanization System: lug
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lug⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /luk̚⁵/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lù
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu⁴²/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: lĕ̤k / lṳ̆k
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃øyʔ⁵/, /l̃yʔ⁵/

Note:

• lĕ̤k - vernacular;
• lṳ̆k - literary.

Min Nan

• (Hokkien)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lo̍k / lak
  • Tâi-lô: lo̍k / lak
  • Phofsit Daibuun: lok, lag
  • IPA (Xiamen): /lɔk̚⁴/, /lak̚³²/
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /lɔk̚²⁴/, /lak̚⁵/
  • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lɔk̚¹²¹/, /lak̚³²/
  • IPA (Taipei): /lɔk̚⁴/, /lak̚³²/
  • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɔk̚⁴/, /lak̚³²/
• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: dêg⁸
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: te̍k
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tek̚⁴/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: loq (T5)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lʊʔ¹²/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 鹿
Mandarin	Beijing	/lu⁵¹/
	Harbin	/lu⁵³/
	Tianjin	/lu⁵³/
	Jinan	/lu²¹/
	Qingdao	/lu²⁴/
	Zhengzhou	/lu²⁴/
	Xi'an	/lu²¹/
	Xining	/lv̩⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/lu¹³/
	Lanzhou	/lu¹³/
	Ürümqi	/lu²¹³/
	Wuhan	/nəu²¹³/
	Chengdu	/nu³¹/
	Guiyang	/nu²¹/
	Kunming	/lu³¹/
	Nanjing	/luʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/luəʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/luəʔ²/
	Pingyao	/luʌʔ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/luəʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/loʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/loʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/loʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/lɤu²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/lu²²/
	Tunxi	/ləu¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ləu²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/nəɯ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/luʔ⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/luk̚⁵/
	Taoyuan	/luk̚⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/lok̚²/
	Nanning	/luk̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/luk̚²/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/lɔk̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/løyʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/lu⁴²/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/tek̚⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/lok̚⁵/ /ʔdiak̚³/

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• Middle Chinese: /luk̚/

Rime
Character	鹿
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	屋 (3)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	盧谷切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/luk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/luk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/luk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ləwk̚/
Li Rong	/luk̚/
Wang Li	/luk̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/luk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lù

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*mə-rˤok/

  (Zhengzhang): /*b·roːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	鹿
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	lù
Middle Chinese	‹ luwk ›
Old Chinese	/*mə-rˁok/
English	deer
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	鹿
Reading #	1/1
No.	8565
Phonetic component	鹿
Rime group	屋
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	禄
Old Chinese	/*b·roːɡ/

Definitions

鹿

1. deer
2. A surname​.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 鹿 (“deer”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		鹿
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		鹿
Taxonomic name		鹿
Mandarin	Beijing	鹿
	Taiwan	鹿
	Jinan	鹿
	Xi'an	鹿
	Wuhan	鹿
	Chengdu	鹿子
	Yangzhou	鹿
	Hefei	鹿
	Singapore	鹿
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	鹿
Cantonese	Guangzhou	鹿
	Hong Kong	鹿
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	鹿
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	鹿
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	鹿
	Yangjiang	鹿
	Kuala Lumpur	鹿
	Ho Chi Minh City	鹿
Gan	Nanchang	鹿
Hakka	Meixian	鹿仔
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	鹿仔
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	鹿仔
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	鹿仔
	Dongshi (Dabu)	鹿
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	鹿仔, 鹿
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	鹿
	Hong Kong	鹿
	Senai	鹿
Jin	Taiyuan	鹿兒
Min Bei	Jian'ou	鹿
Min Dong	Fuzhou	鹿
Min Nan	Xiamen	鹿
	Quanzhou	鹿
	Jinjiang	鹿
	Dongshan	鹿
	Taipei	鹿仔
	Kaohsiung	鹿仔
	Tainan	鹿
	Taichung	鹿仔
	Hsinchu	鹿仔
	Lukang	鹿仔
	Sanxia	鹿仔
	Yilan	鹿仔
	Kinmen	鹿仔
	Magong	鹿
	Penang (Hokkien)	鹿
	Philippines (Manila Hokkien)	鹿
	Chaozhou	鹿
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	鹿
Puxian Min	Putian	鹿
Wu	Shanghai	鹿
	Suzhou	鹿
	Wuxi	鹿
	Hangzhou	鹿
	Wenzhou	鹿
	Danyang	鹿頭
	Jinhua	鹿
	Ningbo	鹿
Xiang	Changsha	鹿
	Shuangfeng	鹿

Compounds

Derived terms from 鹿

• 中原逐鹿
• 共挽鹿車／共挽鹿车
• 即鹿無虞／即鹿无虞
• 囷鹿
• 失鹿
• 小鹿兒／小鹿儿
• 尖鹿 (Jiānlù)
• 指鹿為馬／指鹿为马 (zhǐlùwéimǎ)
• 撲鹿／扑鹿
• 斬蛇逐鹿／斩蛇逐鹿
• 梅花鹿
• 水鹿 (shuǐlù)
• 沙鹿 (Shālù)
• 涿鹿 (Zhuōlù)
• 涿鹿之戰／涿鹿之战
• 涿鹿山
• 爭鹿／争鹿
• 白脣鹿／白唇鹿
• 白鹿 (Báilù)
• 白鹿洞
• 白鹿紙／白鹿纸
• 腫骨鹿／肿骨鹿
• 船沉鉅鹿／船沉巨鹿
• 蕉鹿夢／蕉鹿梦
• 覆蕉尋鹿／覆蕉寻鹿

• 覆鹿尋蕉／覆鹿寻蕉
• 覆鹿遺蕉／覆鹿遗蕉
• 逐鹿 (zhúlù)
• 逐鹿中原
• 重赴鹿鳴／重赴鹿鸣
• 鉅鹿／巨鹿 (Jùlù)
• 鉅鹿之戰／巨鹿之战
• 鑿空指鹿／凿空指鹿
• 長頸鹿／长颈鹿 (chángjǐnglù)
• 雞鹿塞／鸡鹿塞
• 馴鹿／驯鹿 (xùnlù)
• 駝鹿／驼鹿 (tuólù)
• 鴻案鹿車／鸿案鹿车
• 鹿兒島／鹿儿岛 (Lù'érdǎo)
• 鹿場／鹿场
• 鹿寨
• 鹿巾 (lùjīn)
• 鹿柴 (Lùzhài)
• 鹿死誰手／鹿死谁手 (lùsǐshéishǒu)
• 鹿港 (Lùgǎng)
• 鹿特丹 (Lùtèdān)
• 鹿皮冠 (lùpíguān)
• 鹿盧／鹿卢
• 鹿砦 (lùzhài)
• 鹿脯

• 鹿臺／鹿台
• 鹿茸 (lùróng)
• 鹿草 (Lùcǎo)
• 鹿草鄉／鹿草乡
• 鹿藿
• 鹿裘不完
• 鹿角 (lùjiǎo)
• 鹿角畫／鹿角画
• 鹿角菜
• 鹿谷 (Lùgǔ)
• 鹿谷鄉／鹿谷乡
• 鹿豕
• 鹿車／鹿车
• 鹿車共挽／鹿车共挽
• 鹿野鄉／鹿野乡
• 鹿門采藥／鹿门采药
• 鹿頂／鹿顶
• 鹿頭／鹿头 (lùtóu)
• 鹿駭／鹿骇 (lùhài)
• 鹿鳴／鹿鸣
• 鹿鳴宴／鹿鸣宴 (lùmíngyàn)
• 麀鹿 (yōulù)
• 麋鹿 (mílù)
• 麋鹿之性
• 麑鹿 (nílù)

References

• “Entry #8111”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.

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Japanese

Kanji

鹿

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. deer

Readings

• Go-on: ろく (roku)
• Kan-on: ろく (roku)
• Kun: か (ka, 鹿, Jōyō ^†); しか (shika, 鹿, Jōyō); かせぎ (kasegi, 鹿); かのしし (kanoshishi, 鹿); しし (shishi, 鹿)

Compounds

Compounds

• 葦鹿(あしか) (ashika): sea lion
• 大鹿(おおじか) (ōjika): moose
• 氈鹿(かもしか) (kamoshika): serow
• 鹿猪(しかいのしし) (shikainoshishi): babirusa
• 鹿肉(しかにく) (shikaniku): venison
• 麝香鹿(じゃこうじか) (jakōjika): musk deer

• 馴鹿(トナカイ) (tonakai), 馴鹿(じゅんろく) (junroku): reindeer
• 日本鹿(にほんじか) (nihonjika): sika deer
• 馬鹿(ばか) (baka): fool
• 麋鹿(びろく) (biroku): moose and deer
• 箆鹿(へらじか) (herajika): moose
• 鹿砦(ろくさい) (rokusai): abatis

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
鹿
か Grade: 4
kun’yomi

From Old Japanese.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠]

Noun

鹿(か) • (ka) 

1. (archaic) deer

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 鹿沼(かぬま) (Kanuma): Kanuma, Tochigi

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
鹿
しか Grade: 4
kun’yomi

/seka/ → /sika/

Originally a compound of 夫 (se, “male”) +‎ 鹿 (ka, “deer”), in contrast to 女鹿 (meka, “female deer”, archaic).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) しか [shìká] (Heiban – [0])
  • (Tokyo) しか​ [shìkáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
  • IPA^(key): [ɕi̥ka̠]

  • Audio

    (file)

Noun

鹿(しか) • (shika) 

1. deer

   奈(な)良(ら)公(こう)園(えん)には鹿(しか)しかいない。

   Nara kōen ni wa shika shika inai.

   There is nothing but deer in Nara Park.

Idioms

Idioms

• 鹿(しか)を逐(お)う者(もの)は山(やま)を見(み)ず (shika o ou mono wa yama o mizu): “someone chasing a deer doesn't see the mountain” → a metaphor for how someone who is fixed on a target can be oblivious to the challenges in the way

Descendants

• → English: sika deer

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
鹿
かせぎ Grade: 4
kun’yomi

From the resemblance to a 桛木 (kasegi, “cross-shaped spindle; a branching point in a tree”)

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠se̞ɡʲi]

Noun

鹿(かせぎ) • (kasegi) 

1. (archaic) deer
   • 1212: Hōjōki

     山鳥(やまどり)のほろと鳴(な)くを聞(き)きても、父(ちち)か母(はは)かと疑(うたが)ひ、峰(みね)のかせぎの近(ちか)くなれたるにつけても、世(よ)に遠(とお)ざかるほどを知(し)る。

     Yamadori no horo to naku o kikite mo, chichi ka haha ka to utagahi, mine no kasegi no chikaku naretaru ni tsukete mo, yo ni tōzakaru hodo oshiru.

     Hearing the horo call of the mountain pheasant, wondering if it were my father or mother [calling from beyond the grave], and seeing how the deer on the ridge are so tame that they come close by, all of it shows me how far away I am from the world.

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
鹿
かのしし Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Originally a compound of 鹿 (ka, “deer”) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 肉 (しし, “meat, flesh”).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠no̞ɕiɕi]

Alternative forms

• 鹿の肉

Noun

鹿(かのしし) • (kanoshishi) 

1. (archaic) deer
2. deer meat: venison

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
鹿
しし Grade: 4
kun’yomi

From 肉 (shishi, “meat, flesh”).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) し​し [shíꜜshì] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA^(key): [ɕiɕi]

Alternative forms

• 獣, 猪

Noun

鹿(しし) • (shishi) 

1. (archaic) a beast (used for its meat, such as a boar or a deer)
2. short for 猪武者 (inoshishi musha): a reckless warrior
3. short for 鹿狩り (shishi-gari): a deer hunter
4. (slang) a female attendant at a bathhouse or hot spring
5. (slang, archaic) a female prostitute at a bathhouse or hot spring

Usage notes

The beast sense is more commonly spelled 獣.

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
鹿
ろく Grade: 4
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 鹿 (luwk, “deer”). Compare modern Min Nan reading lo̍k.

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
  • (Tokyo) ろく [ròkú] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [ɾo̞kɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

鹿(ろく) • (roku) 

1. deer
2. venison or wild boar meat

References

• Ichiko, Teiji (1212) Hōjōki (Shintei), Iwanami Shoten, published 1989, →ISBN
• Nishio, Minoru (1957) Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei: Hōjōki, Tsurezuregusa, Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

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Korean

Hanja

鹿 • (rok, nok) (hangeul 록, 녹, revised rok, nok, McCune–Reischauer rok, nok, Yale lok, nok)

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

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Vietnamese

Han character

鹿 (lộc, lê)

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