枯

枯 U+67AF, 枯 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-67AF ← 枮 [U+67AE] CJK Unified Ideographs 枰 → [U+67B0]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

枯 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+5, 9 strokes, cangjie input 木十口 (DJR), four-corner 4496₀, composition ⿰木古)

Derived characters

• 喖, 𤋹, 𩹬, 𬃱, 𬄮, 𬅂, 𢉽

References

• KangXi: page 517, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14579
• Dae Jaweon: page 904, character 18
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1178, character 3
• Unihan data for U+67AF

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		枯

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
箇	*kaːls
個	*kaːls
居	*kɯ, *kas
橭	*kaː, *kʰaː
嫴	*kaː
姑	*kaː
辜	*kaː
酤	*kaː, *kaːs, *ɡaːʔ
蛄	*kaː
鴣	*kaː
沽	*kaː, *kaːʔ, *kaːs
盬	*kaː, *kaːʔ
古	*kaːʔ
罟	*kaːʔ
估	*kaːʔ
鈷	*kaːʔ
詁	*kaːʔ
牯	*kaːʔ
故	*kaːs
固	*kaːs
稒	*kaːɡs
痼	*kaːɡs
錮	*kaːɡs
鯝	*kaːɡs
棝	*kaːɡs
凅	*kaːɡs
枯	*kʰaː
軲	*kʰaː
跍	*kʰaː
骷	*kʰaː
苦	*kʰaːʔ, *kʰaːs
葫	*qʰaː, *ɡaː
餬	*ɡaː
瑚	*ɡaː
湖	*ɡaː
鶘	*ɡaː
猢	*ɡaː
醐	*ɡaː
糊	*ɡaː
箶	*ɡaː
蝴	*ɡaː
胡	*ɡaː
瓳	*ɡaː
怙	*ɡaːʔ
祜	*ɡaːʔ
岵	*ɡaːʔ
婟	*ɡaːʔ, *ɡaːɡs
楛	*ɡaːʔ
据	*ka
裾	*ka
琚	*ka
椐	*ka, *kas, *kʰa
鶋	*ka
蜛	*ka
崌	*ka
涺	*ka
腒	*ka, *ɡa
鋸	*kas
倨	*kas
踞	*kas
涸	*ɡaːɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kʰaː): semantic 木 (“tree”) + phonetic 古 (OC *kaːʔ).

Etymology

Apparently Austroasiatic; compare Khmer ខះ (khah, “to dry up; to wither”) (Schuessler, 2007), which is from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ckəh (“dry”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kū (ku¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄨ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fu¹
• Hakka (Meixian, Guangdong): ku¹
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): ko͘ / kho͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gou¹ / kou¹

• Wu (Wiktionary): khu (T2)

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kū
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ku
    • Wade–Giles: kʻu¹
    • Yale: kū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ku
    • Palladius: ку (ku)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰu⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: fu¹
    • Yale: fū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fu¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fuː⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: ku¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰu⁴⁴/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ko͘
    • Tâi-lô: koo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kof
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kɔ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kɔ³³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kho͘
    • Tâi-lô: khoo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qof
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰɔ³³/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung, Xiamen): /kʰɔ⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: gou¹ / kou¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kou / khou
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kou³³/, /kʰou³³/

Note:

• gou1 - most senses;
• kou1 - dialectal usage (e.g. 豆枯, 茶枯).

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: khu (T2)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰv̩ʷ³⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: /kʰuo/

Rime
Character	枯
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)
Final (韻)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	苦胡切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰuo/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰuo/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰo/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰɔ/
Li Rong	/kʰo/
Wang Li	/kʰu/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰuo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kū
Expected Cantonese Reflex	fu1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*kʰˤa/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kʰaː/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	枯
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	kū
Middle Chinese	‹ khu ›
Old Chinese	/*kʰˁa/
English	withered, dried up
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	枯
Reading #	1/1
No.	4238
Phonetic component	古
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	枯
Old Chinese	/*kʰaː/

Definitions

枯

1. (of plants, etc.) dry; withered

   枯萎  ―  kūwěi  ―  wilted; withered

   枯枝  ―  kūzhī  ―  withered tree branch

   • 行冬令，則草木蚤枯，後乃大水，敗其城郭。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     行冬令，则草木蚤枯，后乃大水，败其城郭。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Xíng dōng lìng, zé cǎomù zǎo kū, hòu nǎi dàshuǐ, bài qí chéngguō. [Pinyin]

     If the proceedings proper to winter were observed, all plants and trees would wither early, and afterwards, there would be great floods, destroying city and suburban walls.

2. (of wells, rivers, etc.) dried out
3. (of muscle) withered; decayed
4. boring; uninteresting; dry

   枯燥  ―  kūzào  ―  dull; boring

5. (dialect) dregs
6. (traditional Chinese medicine) partial paralysis
7. a surname

Compounds

Derived terms from 枯

• 一聚枯骨
• 偏枯
• 冢中枯骨
• 夏枯草 (xiàkūcǎo)
• 形容枯槁
• 拉朽摧枯
• 摧枯折腐
• 摧枯拉朽 (cuīkū lāxiǔ)
• 朽株枯木
• 枯井
• 枯坐 (kūzuò)
• 枯寂 (kūjì)
• 枯形灰心
• 枯旱
• 枯木
• 枯木朽株
• 枯木死灰
• 枯木生花
• 枯木逢春
• 枯朽 (kūxiǔ)
• 枯枝再春
• 枯槁 (kūgǎo)
• 枯死 (kūsǐ)
• 枯水期
• 枯涸
• 枯燥 (kūzào)
• 枯瘠
• 枯窘

• 枯竭 (kūjié)
• 枯索 (kūsuǒ)
• 枯萎 (kūwěi)
• 枯骨
• 根朽枝枯
• 油枯 (yóukū)
• 焦枯
• 熬枯受淡
• 生枯起朽
• 白如枯骨
• 石枯松老
• 立枯病
• 菀枯
• 菊老荷枯
• 集苑集枯
• 麻枯
• 乾枯／干枯 (gānkū)
• 勢若摧枯／势若摧枯
• 口枯眼澀／口枯眼涩
• 噓枯吹生／嘘枯吹生
• 得失榮枯／得失荣枯
• 搜索枯腸／搜索枯肠 (sōusuǒkūcháng)
• 枯乾／枯干 (kūgān)
• 枯楊生稊／枯杨生稊
• 枯楊生華／枯杨生华
• 枯榮／枯荣
• 枯樁／枯桩
• 枯樹生華／枯树生华

• 枯樹開花／枯树开花
• 枯澀／枯涩 (kūsè)
• 枯燥無味／枯燥无味
• 枯礬／枯矾
• 枯禪／枯禅
• 枯腸／枯肠
• 枯莖朽骨／枯茎朽骨 (kūjīngxiǔgǔ)
• 枯葉蝶／枯叶蝶
• 枯魚／枯鱼
• 枯魚之肆／枯鱼之肆
• 枯魚涸轍／枯鱼涸辙
• 枯魚病鶴／枯鱼病鹤
• 枯魚銜索／枯鱼衔索
• 枯黃／枯黄 (kūhuáng)
• 榮枯／荣枯 (róngkū)
• 油盡燈枯／油尽灯枯
• 海枯石爛／海枯石烂
• 涸轍之枯／涸辙之枯
• 涸轍枯魚／涸辙枯鱼
• 澤及枯骨／泽及枯骨
• 瘦小枯乾／瘦小枯干
• 盛衰榮枯／盛衰荣枯
• 石爛海枯／石烂海枯
• 索盡枯腸／索尽枯肠
• 老樹枯柴／老树枯柴
• 腸枯思竭／肠枯思竭
• 釜底枯魚／釜底枯鱼

---

Japanese

Kanji

枯

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. wither; dry up

Readings

• Go-on: く (ku)
• Kan-on: こ (ko, Jōyō)
• Kun: かれる (kareru, 枯れる, Jōyō); からす (karasu, 枯らす, Jōyō)

---

Korean

Hanja

枯 (eumhun 마를 고 (mareul go))

1. Hanja form^? of 고 (“dry up, wither”).
2. Hanja form^? of 고 (“thirst”).

---

Vietnamese

Glyph origin (Nom)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kʰaː): semantic 木 (mộc, “wood, tree”) + phonetic 古 (cổ).

Han character

枯: Hán Việt readings: khô
枯: Nôm readings: khô, gỗ, khò, khua

1. chữ Hán form of khô (“dry, dried”).
2. Nôm form of gỗ (“wood”).