藍

See also: 籃 and 蓝

Translingual

Han character

藍 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+14, 20 strokes, cangjie input 廿尸戈廿 (TSIT) or 廿尸一廿 (TSMT), four-corner 4410₇, composition ⿱艹監)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1064, character 16
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32258
• Dae Jaweon: page 1528, character 35
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3311, character 8
• Unihan data for U+85CD

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Chinese

trad.		藍
simp.		蓝
alternative forms		兰 second round simplified

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
藍	*ɡ·raːm
襤	*ɡ·raːm
籃	*ɡ·raːm
懢	*ɡ·raːm, *ɡ·raːms
儖	*ɡ·raːm
蘫	*ɡ·raːm, *qʰlaːms
攬	*ɡ·raːmʔ
欖	*ɡ·raːmʔ
覽	*ɡ·raːmʔ
爁	*ɡ·raːmʔ, *ɡ·raːms, *ɡ·rams
擥	*ɡ·raːmʔ
灠	*ɡ·raːmʔ
濫	*ɡ·raːms, *ɡraːmʔ
嚂	*ɡ·raːms, *kʰlaːms, *qʰlaːmʔ
纜	*ɡ·raːms
監	*kraːm, *kraːms
礛	*kraːm
鑑	*kraːm, *kraːms, *kraːms
艦	*ɡraːmʔ
檻	*ɡraːmʔ, *ɡraːms
壏	*ɡraːmʔ
轞	*ɡraːmʔ
鹽	*ɡ·lam, *ɡ·lams

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡ·raːm) : semantic 艹 (“grass”) + phonetic 監 (OC *kraːm, *kraːms): The indigo plant

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-ram (“indigo”). Cognate with Tibetan རམས (rams, “indigo”), which Laufer (1916) considers to be a Chinese loan. Also compare Proto-Vietic *ɟaːm (“indigo”) (> Vietnamese chàm) and Proto-Austronesian *taRum (“indigo plant and dye”) (> Malay tarum).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 藍

1. blue

   藍色／蓝色  ―  lánsè  ―  blue color

2. indigo plant;
3. (politics) related to the pro-unification pan-Blue coalition of Taiwan
4. a surname Lan

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (藍):

• → Japanese: 藍(らん) (ran)
• → Korean: 남(藍) (nam)
• → Vietnamese: lam (藍)

Others:

• → Proto-Tai: *gra:mᴬ (“indigo”)
  • Thai: คราม (kraam)
  • Lao: ຄາມ (khām)
  • Zhuang: gyaemq (“purple-red”)
• → Proto-Tai: *kromᶜ (“indigo”)
  • Thai: ฮ่อม (hɔ̂ɔm)
  • Zhuang: romj, goromj
• → Proto-Hmong-Mien: *ŋglam ~ ŋgram (“indigo”)
  • White Hmong: nkaj (“indigo”)
• → Khmer: ត្រុំ (trom)

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

藍

(Jōyō kanji)

1. the Japanese indigo or Chinese indigo plant, Persicaria tinctoria
2. the color indigo
3. kanji used to transliterate Buddhist terms borrowed from Sanskrit

Readings

• Go-on: らん (ran, Jōyō)^{←らん (ran, historical)←らむ (ramu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: らん (ran, Jōyō)^{←らん (ran, historical)←らむ (ramu, ancient)}
• Kun: あい (ai, 藍, Jōyō)^{←あゐ (awi, あゐ, historical)}

Compounds

Compounds

• 藍(らん)衣(い)社(しゃ) (Ran'isha)
• 藍玉(らんぎょく) (rangyoku): aquamarine (gem)
• 藍(らん)紫(し)色(しょく) (ranshishoku)
• 藍綬(らんじゅ)褒章(ほうしょう) (Ranju Hōshō)
• 藍(らん)晶石(しょうせき) (ranshōseki, “cyanite”)
• 藍色(らんしょく) (ranshoku): the color indigo: dark blue
• 藍(らん)閃石(せんせき) (ransenseki)
• 藍藻(ランソウ) (ransō)
• 藍(らん)鉄鉱(てっこう) (rantekkō)
• 藍田(らんでん) (Randen)
• 藍靛(らんてん) (ranten)
• 藍(らん)銅鉱(どうこう) (randōkō)
• 藍(らん)毘(び)尼(に)園(おん) (Ranbini-on)
• 藍碧(らんぺき) (ranpeki)
• 芥藍(カイラン) (kairan)
• 伽藍(がらん) (garan)
• 甘藍(カンラン) (kanran)
• 洎夫(サフ)藍(ラン) (safuran)
• 芥(ジエ)藍(ラン)菜(ツァイ) (jierantsai)
• 出藍(しゅつらん) (shutsuran)
• 青藍(せいらん) (seiran)
• 僧(そう)伽(が)藍(らん)摩(ま) (sōgaranma)
• 堆藍(たいらん) (tairan)
• 洞庭藍(トウテイラン) (tōteiran)
• 銅藍(どうらん) (dōran)
• 白藍(はくらん) (hakuran)
• 板藍根(バンランコン) (banrankon)
• 毘(び)藍(らん)婆(ば) (Biranba)
• 洋藍(ようらん) (yōran)

Etymology

藍 (ai): the Japanese indigo or Chinese indigo plant, Persicaria tinctoria.

藍 (ai): the color indigo.

Kanji in this term
藍
あい Grade: S
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese.

There are various theories regarding the ultimate derivation, all suggesting a relation to 青 (ao, formerly awo, “blue”).

• May be an alteration from 青色 (awoiro):

  /awoiro/ → /awiro/ → /airo/ → /ai/

• May simply be an alteration from 青 (awo):

  /awo/ → /awi/ → /ai/

• May be derived from a compound of , expressing the sense that the plant contains the color blue:

  /awowi/ → /awi/ → /ai/

Given that many Old Japanese terms have been derived from adding an empathic nominative particle い (i), and the spelling was historically awi, the second derivation seems likely.

Pronunciation

Noun

1. the Japanese indigo or Chinese indigo plant, Persicaria tinctoria

   Synonyms: 藍蓼 (aitade), 蓼藍 (tade-ai)

   Hypernym: 蓼 (tade)

2. the color indigo, from the dye processed from the stems and leaves of various indigo plants

   Synonyms: 藍色 (aiiro, ranshoku), インジゴ (injigo), インディゴ (indigo)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as アイ.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 藍色(あいいろ) (aiiro)
• 藍(あい)絵(え) (ai-e)
• 藍返(あいがえ)し (aigaeshi)
• 藍型(あいがた) (aigata)
• 藍紙(あいがみ) (aigami)
• 藍瓶(あいがめ), 藍甕(あいがめ) (aigame)
• 藍革(あいかわ) (aikawa)
• 藍隈(あいぐま) (aiguma)
• 藍(アイ)子(ゴ) (aigo)
• 藍鮫(アイザメ) (aizame)
• 藍下(あいした) (aishita)
• 藍汁(あいしる) (aishiru)
• 藍住(あいずみ) (Aizumi)
• 藍墨(あいずみ) (aizumi)
• 藍(あい)摺(ず)り (aizuri)
• 藍染(あいぞめ), 藍(あい)染(ぞ)め (aizome)
• 藍(あい)建(だ)て (aidate)
• 藍蓼(アイタデ) (aitade)
• 藍茸(アイタケ) (aitake)
• 藍玉(あいだま) (aidama) an indigo ball
• 藍(あい)韋(なめし) (ai-nameshi)
• 藍(あい)鼠(ねずみ) (ainezumi): bluish gray
• 藍花(あいばな) (aibana)
• 藍棒(あいぼう) (aibō)
• 藍(あい)微塵(みじん) (ai-mijin)
• 藍(アイ)水(ミ)泥(ドロ) (aimidoro)
• 藍(あい)海松(みる)茶(ちゃ) (aimirucha)
• 藍(あい)屋(や) (aiya)
• 藍焼(あいやき), 藍(あい)焼(や)き (aiyaki)
• 藍役(あいやく) (aiyaku)
• 藍蝋(あいろう) (airō)
• インド藍(あい) (Indo-ai)
• 薄藍(うすあい) (usuai)
• 韓藍(からあい) (karaai)
• 木(キ)藍(アイ) (kiai)
• 紅(くれない) (kurenai), 呉(くれ)の藍(あい) (Kure-no-ai)
• 濃(こ)藍(あい) (koai), 濃藍(こいあい) (koiai)
• 紺藍(こんあい) (kon-ai)
• 地入(じい)れ藍(あい) (jiire ai)
• 白藍(しろあい) (shiroai)
• 人造(じんぞう)藍(あい) (jinzō-ai)
• 蓼藍(タデアイ) (tadeai)
• 漬藍(つけあい) (tsukeai)
• 天然(てんねん)藍(あい) (tennen-ai)
• 泥藍(どろあい) (doroai)
• 二藍(ふたあい) (futa-ai)
• ベロ藍(あい) (bero-ai)
• 襤褸(ぼろ)藍(あい) (boro-ai)
• 本藍(ほんあい) (hon-ai)
• 揉(も)み藍(あい) (momiai)
• 山藍(やまあい) (yamaai), 山藍(やまい) (yamai)
• 琉球(リュウキュウ)藍(アイ) (Ryūkyū-ai)

Proverbs

• 青(あお)は藍(あい)より出(い)でて藍(あい)より青(あお)し (ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi)

Proper noun

藍(あい) • (Ai) ^{←あゐ (Awi)?}

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

References

• Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Further reading

• Entry at Nihonjiten (in Japanese)

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Korean

Hanja

藍 • (ram>nam) (hangeul 람>남, McCune–Reischauer ram>nam, Yale lam>nam)

1. (deprecated template usage) (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) 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

(deprecated template usage) 藍 (lam, chàm, rôm, rườm, trôm, xám)

1. (deprecated template usage) (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation