葉

See also: 叶, 頁, and 页

葉 U+8449, 葉 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8449 ← 葈 [U+8448] CJK Unified Ideographs 葊 → [U+844A]

葉 U+F96E, 葉 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F96E ← 省 [U+F96D] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 說 → [U+F96F]

Translingual

Stroke order

Japan

Han character

葉 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+9, 12 (Japan), 13 (traditional Chinese) strokes, cangjie input 廿心廿木 (TPTD), four-corner 4490₄, composition ⿱艹枼)

Derived characters

• 僷, 𡢬, 𭜆, 𬀗, 瞸, 𮒅, 𠿚, 䭟, 䜓, 擛, 𨆡, 𢢲, 𬛚, 𰯏, 𣩨, 𣋑, 𩆏, 鐷, 㵩, 𤐌, 𣜿, 𤗽, 𡑢, 𥖢, 𠪸, 𧝵, 𩍣, 𥜈, 𨗸, 𩦭, 𫅠, 蠂, 𫊍, 𮓎

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1044, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 31387
• Dae Jaweon: page 1504, character 18
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3243, character 15
• Unihan data for U+8449

• Unihan data for U+F96E

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Chinese

trad.		葉
simp.		叶*

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
貰	*ɦljebs, *hljebs
跇	*l̥ʰebs, *lebs
迣	*ʔljebs
世	*hljebs
泄	*lebs, *sled
枻	*lebs
詍	*lebs
靾	*lebs
袣	*lebs
抴	*lebs, *led
呭	*lebs
勩	*lebs, *libs
屜	*l̥ʰeːbs
鰈	*l̥ʰaːb, *l'eːb
渫	*zreːb, *sled
煠	*zreːb, *l̥ʰeb, *leb
喋	*rlaːb, *ʔl'eːb, *l'eːb
鞢	*rlaːb, *sleːb
殜	*l'eb, *leb, *lab
葉	*hljeb, *leb
弽	*hljeb, *hleːb
韘	*hljeb, *sleːb
枼	*leb
楪	*leb
揲	*leb, *l'eːb, *ɦljed
鍱	*leb
偞	*leb, *hleːb
蝶	*l̥ʰeːb, *l'eːb
牒	*l'eːb
蹀	*l'eːb
諜	*l'eːb
堞	*l'eːb
牃	*l'eːb
褋	*l'eːb
惵	*l'eːb
碟	*l'eːb
屧	*sleːb
屟	*sleːb
紲	*sled
齛	*sled
疶	*sled
緤	*sled
媟	*sled

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hljeb, *leb) : semantic 艸 (“grass”) + phonetic 枼 (OC *leb, “flat”).

Possibly also ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) with 枼 (“leaf”) also acting as a semantic component.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-lap (“leaf”). Cognate with Tibetan ལོ་མ (lo ma, “leaf”), Western Tibetan ལོབ་མ (lob ma, “leaf”), Jingpho lap (“leaf”). Related to 世 (OC *hljebs, “world”).

This is part of the word family *lVp meaning “flat”, represented by the phonetic component 枼 (OC *leb). Compare also 茶 (OC *rlaː, “tea < *leaf”).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 葉

1. leaf; petal (Classifier: 塊／块 c; 片 c)

   紅葉／红叶  ―  hóngyè  ―  red autumn leaves

2. era; epoch

   十九世紀中後葉／十九世纪中后叶  ―  shíjiǔ shìjì zhōng hòu yè  ―  middle and late 19th century

3. leaf-like thing

   肺葉／肺叶  ―  fèiyè  ―  lobe of the lung

   百葉窗／百叶窗  ―  bǎiyèchuāng  ―  Venetian blinds

4. Classifier for small boats.

   • 能暫時懷念某種老朋友　不過未能共享一葉舟 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
     能暂时怀念某种老朋友　不过未能共享一叶舟 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2022, 林家謙 [Terence Lam], lyrics by 林夕 [Albert Leung], 《某種老朋友》 [Regression]

     nang⁴ zaam⁶ si⁴ waai⁴ nim⁶ mau⁵ zung² lou⁵ pang⁴ jau⁵, bat¹ gwo³ mei⁶ nang⁴ gung⁶ hoeng² jat¹ jip⁶ zau¹ [Jyutping]

     I can temporarily reminisce about some sort of old friend, but I cannot share a boat with them

5. (deprecated template usage) Alternative form of 頁／页 (yè, “page”).
6. a surname

   葉飛／叶飞  ―  Yè Fēi  ―  Ye Fei (Chinese military general and politician of the People's Republic of China)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 葉子 (“leaf”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		葉
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		葉, 葉子
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	葉子, 葉兒
	Taiwan	葉子
	Singapore	葉子
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	葉兒, 葉子
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	葉子
	Xi'an	葉子, 葉葉兒
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	葉子
	Wuhan	葉子
	Guiyang	葉子
	Guilin	葉子
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	葉子
	Hefei	葉子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	葉
	Hong Kong	葉
	Taishan	葉
	Yangjiang	葉
	Singapore (Guangfu)	葉
Gan	Nanchang	葉子
	Jianning	葉
	Taining	箬
Hakka	Meixian	葉仔
	Pinghe (Jiufeng)	葉
	Changting	葉哩
	Shanghang	葉哩
	Longyan (Yongding)	葉子
	Wuping	葉子
	Liancheng	葉
	Ninghua	葉子
	Qingliu	葉哩
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	葉仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	葉仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	葉仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	葉
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	葉仔, 葉
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	葉
Jin	Taiyuan	葉子
Northern Min	Jian'ou	箬, 箬仔
	Songxi	箬
	Zhenghe	箬
	Jianyang	箬
	Jianyang (Huangkeng)	箬
	Wuyishan	箬
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	箬, 箬箬
	Fuzhou (Changle)	箬
	Lianjiang	箬
	Fuqing	箬
	Pingtan	箬
	Yongtai	箬
	Minqing	箬
	Gutian	箬
	Pingnan	箬
	Luoyuan	箬
	Fu'an	箬
	Ningde	箬
	Xiapu	箬
	Zherong	箬
	Shouning	箬
	Zhouning	箬
	Fuding	箬
	Matsu	箬箬
Southern Min	Xiamen	箬, 箬仔
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	箬仔
	Quanzhou	箬, 箬仔
	Jinjiang	箬仔
	Nan'an	箬仔
	Shishi	箬仔
	Hui'an	箬仔
	Anxi	箬仔
	Yongchun	箬仔
	Dehua	箬
	Zhangzhou	箬, 箬仔
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	箬
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	箬仔
	Hua'an	箬仔
	Nanjing	箬仔
	Pinghe	箬仔
	Zhangpu	箬仔
	Yunxiao	箬
	Zhao'an	箬
	Dongshan	箬
	Taipei	箬仔
	Kaohsiung	箬仔
	Taichung (Wuqi)	箬仔
	Tainan	箬仔
	Kinmen	箬仔
	Penang (Hokkien)	箬
	Singapore (Hokkien)	箬
	Manila (Hokkien)	箬
	Longyan	箬
	Zhangping	箬
	Datian	箬
	Chaozhou	箬
	Jieyang	箬
	Singapore (Teochew)	箬
	Leizhou	箬
	Haikou	箬
	Singapore (Hainanese)	箬
Puxian Min	Putian	箬
	Xianyou	箬
Central Min	Yong'an	箬
	Sanming (Sanyuan)	箬
	Sanming (Shaxian)	箬
Shaojiang Min	Shaowu	箬
	Guangze	箬
	Jiangle	箬
	Mingxi	箬
	Shunchang	箬
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	箬
Wu	Shanghai	葉子
	Shanghai (Chongming)	葉子
	Suzhou	葉子
	Danyang	葉子
	Ningbo	葉爿
	Wenzhou	葉
	Pucheng	箬
Xiang	Changsha	葉子
	Shuangfeng	葉子

Descendants

• → English: Ye, Yeh, Yip, Ip, Yap, Yeap
• → Tagalog: Yap

Compounds

• See 葉/derived terms § Leaf (Chinese).

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Yè, Shè (Ye⁴, She⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄝˋ, ㄕㄜˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sip³
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): Siap

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Yè
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄝˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Yè
    • Wade–Giles: Yeh⁴
    • Yale: Yè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Yeh
    • Palladius: Е (Je)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛ⁵¹/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, literary variant in Mainland, standard in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Shè
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄜˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Shè
    • Wade–Giles: Shê⁴
    • Yale: Shè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Sheh
    • Palladius: Шэ (Šɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɤ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: sip³
    • Yale: sip
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sip⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: xib³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːp̚³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siap
    • Tâi-lô: Siap
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siab
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siap̚⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: syep

Rime
Character	葉
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	書 (26)
Final (韻)	葉 (155)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	書涉切
Baxter	syep
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɕiᴇp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕiɛp̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕjæp̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕiap̚/
Li Rong	/ɕiɛp̚/
Wang Li	/ɕĭɛp̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɕi̯ɛp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	she
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sip3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*hljeb/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	葉
Reading #	1/2
No.	11557
Phonetic component	世
Rime group	盍
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	攝
Old Chinese	/*hljeb/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 葉

1. (～縣) Ye County, Henan, China
2. a surname

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• Northern Min (KCR): niò̤
• Eastern Min (BUC): niŏh
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hio̍h

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hiêh⁸ / hioh⁸

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• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: niò̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /niɔ⁴²/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: niŏh
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nˡuoʔ⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hio̍h
    • Tâi-lô: hio̍h
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hioih
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hioʔ⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hioʔ²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hioʔ¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hioʔ⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɤʔ⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hiêh⁸ / hioh⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hie̍h / hio̍h
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hieʔ⁴/, /hioʔ⁴/

Note:

• hiêh8 - Chaozhou;
• hioh8 - Shantou, Jieyang, Chaoyang.

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 葉
Mandarin	Beijing	/iɛ⁵¹/
	Harbin	/iɛ⁵³/
	Tianjin	/ie⁵³/
	Jinan	/iə²¹/
	Qingdao	/iə⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/iɛ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/iɛ²¹/
	Xining	/i⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ie¹³/
	Lanzhou	/iə¹³/
	Ürümqi	/iɤ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/ie²¹³/
	Chengdu	/ie³¹/
	Guiyang	/ie²¹/
	Kunming	/iɛ³¹/
	Nanjing	/ieʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/iɐʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/iəʔ²/
	Pingyao	/iʌʔ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/iaʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦiɪʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/ɦiəʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦiəʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/ji²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/ie²²/
	Tunxi	/ia¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ie²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/ie²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/iɛʔ²/
Hakka	Meixian	/iap̚⁵/
	Taoyuan	/ʒɑp̚⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jip̚²/
	Nanning	/jip̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/jip̚²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/iap̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/ieʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/t͡sia⁴²/ /xiɛ²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/iap̚⁵/ /hioʔ⁵/ 訓讀
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/iap̚³/ 姓 /hio³³/ 訓箬

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 葉

1. (Min) (deprecated template usage) Alternative form of 箬 (“leaf”).

References

• “Entry #10004”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

葉

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}、よう (yō, Jōyō)^{←えふ (efu, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}、よう (yō, Jōyō)^{←えふ (efu, historical)}
• Kun: は (ha, 葉, Jōyō)
• Nanori: よ (yo)、わ (wa)

Compounds

• See 葉/derived terms § Kanji.

Etymology 1

葉 (ha, yō): sunlight through leaves.

Kanji in this term
葉
は Grade: 3
kun'yomi

/pa/ → /ɸa/ → /ha/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *pa.

Probably cognate with Old Japanese verb 生ゆ (hayu, “to sprout, to grow”) → modern 生える (haeru), and with 羽 (ha, “feather; wing”).

Suggested in some sources as possibly cognate with 歯 (ha, “tooth”) from the way that both sprout and then later fall, and with 刃 (ha, “blade”) from similarities in shape (cf. English blade). However, the pitch accent patterns are different; 葉 and 羽 are both unaccented, while 歯 and 刃 are both accented. This may reflect two disparate *pa roots in the ancient language.

Cognate with Okinawan 葉 (fā).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) は [hà] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ha̠]

Noun

葉(は) • (ha)  (counter 枚)

1. leaf, needle, blade (of a plant)

Synonyms

• 葉(は)っぱ (happa)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
葉
よう Grade: 3
on'yomi

/epu/ → /efu/ → /eu/ → /yoː/

From Middle Chinese 葉 (MC yep, “leaf”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) よー [yóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [jo̞ː]

Noun

葉(よう) • (yō) ^{←えふ (efu)?}

1. leaf, needle, blade (of a plant)
2. a season, an age: a shorter period of time within a longer one
3. an administration: the period of time during which a certain person holds a certain office

Counter

葉(よう) • (-yō) ^{←えふ (-efu)?}

1. (rare) counter for flat, thin things such as leaves or paper
2. (by extension) counter for small boats

Further reading

• Entry at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese)

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Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 葉 (MC yep).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	엽〮 (Yale: yép)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[1]	닙〮 (Yale: níp)	엽 (Yale: yep)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [jʌ̹p̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [엽]

Hanja

Wikisource

葉 (eumhun 잎 엽 (ip yeop))

1. hanja form^? of 엽 (“leaf”) [affix]

Compounds

• See 葉/derived terms § Leaf (Korean).

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 葉 (MC syep).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	셥〮 (Yale: syép)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰʌ̹p̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [섭]

Hanja

葉 (eumhun 땅 이름 섭 (ttang ireum seop))

1. hanja form^? of 섭 (“A surname.”)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

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Kunigami

Kanji

葉

• Kun: ぱー (phā)

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pa, from Proto-Japonic *pa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʰaː/

Noun

葉 (hiragana ぱー, romaji phā)

1. leaf

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Miyako

Kanji

葉

• Kun: ぱー (pā)

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pa, from Proto-Japonic *pa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paː/

Noun

葉 (hiragana ぱー, romaji pā)

1. leaf

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Okinawan

Kanji

葉

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ふぁー (fā, 葉)

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pa, from Proto-Japonic *pa. Cognate with mainland Japanese 葉 (ha).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɸaː/

Noun

葉(ふぁー) (fā) 

1. leaf

   クロトンぬ葉(ふぁー)や色(いる)清(じゅ)らさぬ、いくちん集(あち)みてぃ植(っゐー)らっとーん。

   Kuroton-nu fā-ya iru jurasanu, ikuchin achimiti 'wīrattōn.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Compounds

Derived terms

• 言葉 (くとぅば, kutuba)
• 島言葉 (しまくとぅば, shimakutuba)

References

• “ふぁー【葉】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
• “ファー” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).

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Vietnamese

Han character

葉: Hán Nôm readings: diệp, diếp, dợp, dớp, đẹp, giấp, giẹp, nhịp, riếp, dào

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

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Yaeyama

Kanji

葉

• Kun: ぱー (pā)

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pa, from Proto-Japonic *pa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paː/

Noun

葉 (hiragana ぱー, romaji pā)

1. leaf

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Yonaguni

Kanji

葉

• Kun: はー (hā)

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pa, from Proto-Japonic *pa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haː/

Noun

葉 (hiragana はー, romaji hā)

1. leaf