皇

皇 U+7687, 皇 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7687 ← 皆 [U+7686] CJK Unified Ideographs 皈 → [U+7688]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order (Japan)

Han character

皇 (Kangxi radical 106, 白+4, 9 strokes, cangjie input 竹日一土 (HAMG), four-corner 2610₄, composition ⿱白王)

Derived characters

• 喤, 堭, 媓, 崲, 徨, 惶, 揘, 湟, 隍, 𣈷, 楻, 煌, 瑝, 遑, 䄓, 䅣, 䊗, 𬗬, 艎, 蝗, 諻(𬤍), 䞹, 鍠(锽), 韹, 䬖, 餭(𫗮), 騜(𫘩), 鰉(鳇), 䑟, 皝, 皩, 䳨(𬸛), 葟, 篁, 凰, 𡈁, 㾮

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 786, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 22701
• Dae Jaweon: page 1201, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2645, character 1
• Unihan data for U+7687

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		皇
alternative forms		𤽙 𤽚 𤽢 𤽧 𦤃 𤽙 𤽚 𤽢 𤽧 𦤃 𦤍 𦤐

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
皇	*ɡʷaːŋ
惶	*ɡʷaːŋ
遑	*ɡʷaːŋ
堭	*ɡʷaːŋ
煌	*ɡʷaːŋ
餭	*ɡʷaːŋ
騜	*ɡʷaːŋ
艎	*ɡʷaːŋ
隍	*ɡʷaːŋ
湟	*ɡʷaːŋ
徨	*ɡʷaːŋ
篁	*ɡʷaːŋ
蝗	*ɡʷaːŋ, *ɡʷraːŋ, *ɡʷraːŋs
凰	*ɡʷaːŋ
偟	*ɡʷaːŋ
媓	*ɡʷaːŋ
韹	*ɡʷaːŋ, *ɡʷraːŋ
葟	*ɡʷaːŋ
皝	*ɡʷaːŋʔ
汪	*qʷaːŋ, *qʷaːŋs, *qʷaŋʔ
尪	*qʷaːŋ
迋	*kʷaŋʔ, *kʰʷaŋ, *ɡʷaŋ, *ɢʷaŋs
逛	*kʷaŋʔ
誑	*kʷaŋs, *ɡʷaŋ, *kʷaŋs
匡	*kʰʷaŋ
筐	*kʰʷaŋ
框	*kʰʷaŋ
眶	*kʰʷaŋ
誆	*kʰʷaŋ, *ɡʷaŋs
邼	*kʰʷaŋ
恇	*kʰʷaŋ
劻	*kʰʷaŋ
洭	*kʰʷaŋ
軭	*kʰʷaŋ, *ɡʷaŋ
狂	*ɡʷaŋ, *ɡʷaŋs
軖	*ɡʷaŋ
鵟	*ɡʷaŋ
俇	*ɡʷaŋʔ
王	*ɢʷaŋ, *ɢʷaŋs
蚟	*ɢʷaŋ
彺	*ɢʷaŋ
旺	*ɢʷaŋs
諻	*qʰʷraːŋ
喤	*qʰʷraːŋ, *ɡʷraːŋ
瑝	*ɡʷraːŋ
鍠	*ɡʷraːŋ
揘	*ɡʷaŋ

Pictogram (象形) ― a lit oil lamp. The derivative 煌 (OC *ɡʷaːŋ) refers to the original word.

Later developed into a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡʷaːŋ) : semantic 白 (“flame”) + phonetic 王 (OC *ɢʷaŋ, *ɢʷaŋs).

Etymology

Bodman (1980) proposes a connection with 王 (OC *ɢʷaŋ) "king" (see there for more information).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 皇

1. magnificent
2. emperor; sovereign; ruler; superior
3. royal; imperial; august
4. a surname

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (皇):

• → Japanese: 皇(おう) (ō); 皇(こう) (kō)
• → Korean: 황(皇) (hwang)
• → Vietnamese: hoàng (皇)

References

• “皇”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

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Japanese

Kanji

皇

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: おう (ō, Jōyō)^{←わう (wau, historical)}
• Kan-on: こう (kō, Jōyō)^{←くわう (kwau, historical)}
• Kun: きみ (kimi, 皇)、すめ (sume, 皇)、すべ (sube)、すめら (sumera)、すべら (subera)、すべらぎ (suberagi, 皇)、すめらぎ (sumeragi, 皇)

Compounds

• 皇子(みこ) (miko)
• 皇女(みこ) (miko)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
皇
こう Grade: 6
kan'on

/kʷau/ → /kʷɔː/ → /kɔː/ → /koː/

From Middle Chinese 皇 (MC hwang).

The 漢音 (kan'on, literally “Han sound”) pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing from Middle Chinese.

Affix

皇(こう) • (kō) ^{←くわう (kwau)?}

1. Creator
2. monarch, ruler, sovereign
3. emperor, mikado, tenno
4. Japan, Japanese

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 皇(こう)位(い) (kōi)
• 皇(こう)威(い) (kōi)
• 皇(こう)胤(いん) (kōin)
• 皇(こう)運(うん) (kōun)
• 皇(こう)裔(えい) (kōei)
• 皇(こう)恩(おん) (kōon)
• 皇(こう)化(か) (kōka)
• 皇(こう)家(か) (kōka)
• 皇(こう)華(か) (kōka)
• 皇(こう)学(がく) (kōgaku)
• 皇(こう)嘉(か)門(もん) (Kōkamon)
• 皇(こう)漢(かん) (Kōkan)
• 皇(こう)侃(かん) (Kōkan)
• 皇(こう)基(き) (kōki)
• 皇(こう)紀(き) (Kōki)
• 皇(こう)宮(きゅう) (kōkyū)
• 皇(こう)居(きょ) (kōkyo)
• 皇(こう)宮(ぐう) (kōgū)
• 皇(こう)軍(ぐん) (kōgun)
• 皇(こう)系(けい) (kōkei)
• 皇(こう)継(けい) (kōkei)
• 皇(こう)闕(けつ) (kōketsu)
• 皇(こう)后(ごう) (kōgō)
• 皇(こう)后(ごう)宮(ぐう) (kōgōgū)
• 皇(こう)考(こう) (kōkō)
• 皇(こう)国(こく) (kōkoku)
• 皇(こう)嗣(し) (kōshi)
• 皇(こう)子(し) (kōshi)
• 皇(こう)師(し) (kōshi)
• 皇(こう)室(しつ) (kōshitsu)
• 皇(こう)寿(じゅ) (kōju)
• 皇(こう)女(じょ) (kōjo)
• 皇(こう)上(じょう) (kōjō)
• 皇(こう)城(じょう) (kōjō)
• 皇(こう)庶(しょ)子(し) (kōshoshi)
• 皇(こう)親(しん) (kōshin)
• 皇(こう)曽(そう)孫(そん) (kōsōson)
• 皇(こう)籍(せき) (kōseki)
• 皇(こう)祖(そ) (kōso)
• 皇(こう)祚(そ) (kōso)
• 皇(こう)宗(そう) (kōsō)
• 皇(こう)族(ぞく) (kōzoku)
• 皇(こう)祖(そ)考(こう) (kōsokō)
• 皇(こう)祖(そ)妣(ひ) (kōsohi)
• 皇(こう)孫(そん) (kōson)
• 皇(こう)太(たい)后(ごう) (kōtaigō)
• 皇(こう)太(たい)子(し) (kōtaishi)
• 皇(こう)大(たい)神(じん) (Kōtaijin)
• 皇(こう)太(たい)孫(そん) (kōtaison)
• 皇(こう)太弟(たいてい) (kōtaitei)
• 皇(こう)太(たい)妃(ひ) (kōtaihi)
• 皇(こう)太(たい)夫(ふ)人(じん) (kōtaifujin)
• 皇(こう)沢(たく) (kōtaku)
• 皇(こう)儲(ちょ) (kōcho)
• 皇(こう)張(ちょう) (kōchō)
• 皇(こう)朝(ちょう) (Kōchō)
• 皇(こう)長(ちょう)子(し) (kōchōshi)
• 皇(こう)帝(てい) (kōtei)
• 皇(こう)弟(てい) (kōtei)
• 皇(こう)天(てん) (kōten)
• 皇(こう)典(てん) (kōten)
• 皇(こう)図(と) (kōto)
• 皇(こう)土(ど) (kōdo)
• 皇(こう)都(と) (kōto)
• 皇(こう)統(とう) (kōtō)
• 皇(こう)道(どう) (kōdō)
• 皇(こう)妃(ひ) (kōhi)
• 皇(こう)妣(ひ) (kōhi)
• 皇(こう)風(ふう) (kōfū)
• 皇(こう)別(べつ) (kōbetsu)
• 皇(こう)謨(ぼ) (kōbo)
• 皇(こう)民(みん) (kōmin)
• 皇(こう)猶(ゆう)子(し) (kōyūshi)
• 皇(こう)輿(よ) (kōyo)
• 皇(こう)陵(りょう) (kōryō)
• 皇(こう)霊(れい) (kōrei)
• 教(きょう)皇(こう) (kyōkō)
• 三(さん)皇(こう) (Sankō)
• 上(じょう)皇(こう) (jōkō)
• 女(じょ)皇(こう) (jokō)
• 先(せん)皇(こう) (senkō)
• 倉(そう)皇(こう) (sōkō)
• 地(ち)皇(こう) (Chikō)
• 張(ちょう)皇(こう) (chōkō)
• 儲(ちょ)皇(こう) (chokō)
• 天(てん)皇(こう) (Tenkō)

Proper noun

皇(こう) • (Kō) ^{←くわう (Kwau)?}

1. a unisex given name

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
皇
おう Grade: 6
goon

/wau/ → /wɔː/ → /ɔː/ → /oː/

From Middle Chinese 皇 (MC hwang).

The 呉音 (goon, literally “Wu sound”) pronunciation, so likely the initial borrowing.

Affix

皇(おう) • (ō) ^{←わう (wau)?}

1. emperor, mikado, tenno

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 皇(おう)侃(がん) (Ōgan)
• 皇(おう)帝(だい) (Ōdai)
• 皇(おう)子(じ) (ōji)
• 皇(おう)女(じょ) (ōjo)
• 皇(おう)城(じょう) (ōjō)
• 皇(おう)麞(じょう) (Ōjō)
• 教(きょう)皇(おう) (kyōō)
• 先(せん)皇(おう) (sen'ō)
• 法(ほう)皇(おう) (hōō)
• 勤(きん)皇(のう) (kinnō)
• 人(じん)皇(のう) (jinnō)
• 新(しん)皇(のう) (shinnō)
• 先(せん)皇(のう) (sennō)
• 尊(そん)皇(のう) (sonnō)
• 天(てん)皇(のう) (tennō)
• 人(にん)皇(のう) (ninnō)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
皇
すべ Grade: 6
kun'yomi

/sume/ → /sube/

From Old Japanese, as a shift from older sume.

Previously thought to be derived as the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, stem or continuative form) of Old Japanese verb 統ぶ (subu), modern 統べる (suberu, “to control, to govern, to rule”). However, later research into ancient phonetic spellings clarified that the be portion of the verb was realized as ⟨be₂⟩. During the Old Japanese stage, ⟨be₂⟩ could only have derived phonetically from ⟨me₂⟩, and not from the ⟨me₁⟩ syllable of the noun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨbe̞]

Prefix

皇(すべ) • (sube-) 

1. (archaic) prefix of praise and respect, usually towards 神 (kami, “Shinto deities”) or 天皇 (tennō, “Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan”):
   1. divine, godly, heavenly
   2. imperial, royal, august

Derived terms

• 皇神(すべがみ) (subegami)
• 天皇(すべらぎ) (suberagi)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
皇
すめ Grade: 6
kun'yomi

⟨sume₁⟩ → */sumʲe/ → /sume/

From Old Japanese. Appears to be the older form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨme̞]

Prefix

皇(すめ) • (sume-) 

1. (archaic) prefix of praise and respect, usually towards 神 (kami, “Shinto deities”) or 天皇 (tennō, “Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan”):
   1. divine, godly, heavenly
   2. imperial, royal, august

Derived terms

Derived terms

• すめいろと (sumeiroto)
• 皇(すめ)大神(おおかみ) (Sume-ōkami)
• 皇神(すめがみ) (sumegami)
• 皇(すめ)御(み)祖(おや) (sumemioya)
• 皇子(すめみこ) (sumemiko)
• 皇(すめ)御孫(みま), 皇孫(すめみま) (sumemima)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
皇
すべら Grade: 6
kun'yomi

From the prefix 皇 (sube-, see above) +‎ 等 (-ra, nominalizing and pluralizing suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨbe̞ɾa̠]

Prefix

皇(すべら) • (subera-) 

1. (archaic) prefix of praise and respect, usually towards 神 (kami, “Shinto deities”) or 天皇 (tennō, “Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan”):
   1. divine, godly, heavenly
   2. imperial, royal, august

Derived terms

• 皇(すべら)神(がみ) (suberagami)
• 天皇(すべらぎ) (suberagi)

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
皇
すめら Grade: 6
kun'yomi

From the prefix 皇 (sume-) +‎ 等 (-ra, nominalizing and pluralizing suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨme̞ɾa̠]

Prefix

皇(すめら) • (sumera-) 

1. (archaic) prefix of praise and respect, usually towards 神 (kami, “Shinto deities”) or 天皇 (tennō, “Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan”):
   1. divine, godly, heavenly
   2. imperial, royal, august

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 天皇(すめらぎ) (sumeragi)
• 皇(すめら)御軍(みくさ) (sumeramikusa)
• 皇(すめら)御(み)国(くに) (sumeramikuni)
• 天皇(すめらみこと), 皇尊(すめらみこと) (sumeramikoto)

Proper noun

皇(すめら) • (Sumera) 

1. a female given name

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
皇
すべらぎ Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
天皇

/sumeraɡi/ → /suberaɡi/

Shift from sumeragi below, with the nasal /m/ becoming a plosive /b/.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨbe̞ɾa̠ɡʲi]

Noun

皇(すべらぎ) • (suberagi) 

1. (archaic) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan

Derived terms

• 皇(すべらぎ)の花(はな) (suberagi no hana)
• 今(いま)皇(すべらぎ) (ima suberagi)
• 法(のり)の皇(すべらぎ) (nori no suberagi)

Etymology 8

Kanji in this term
皇
すめらぎ Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
天皇

⟨sume₁ro₂ki₁⟩ → */sumʲerəkʲi/ → */sumeraki/ → /sumeraɡi/

Possibly a shift from Old Japanese 天皇 (sume₁ro₂ki₁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨme̞ɾa̠ɡʲi]

Noun

皇(すめらぎ) • (sumeragi) 

1. (archaic) a term of address for an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan

Proper noun

皇(すめらぎ) • (Sumeragi) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Etymology 9

Various nanori readings.

Proper noun

皇(きみ) • (Kimi) 

1. a female given name

皇(きらり) • (Kirari) 

1. a female given name

皇(ただす) • (Tadasu) 

1. a unisex given name

皇(みゆき) • (Miyuki) 

1. a female given name

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Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 皇 (MC hwang).

Historical readings

• Recorded as Middle Korean ᅘᅪᇰ (Yale: hhwang) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
• Recorded as Middle Korean 화ᇰ (hwang) (Yale: hwang) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɸwa̠ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [황]

Hanja

Wikisource

皇 (eumhun 임금 황 (imgeum hwang))

1. hanja form^? of 황 (“king; monarch; ruler”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 황후 (皇后, hwanghu)
• 황제 (皇帝, hwangje)
• 천황 (天皇, cheonhwang)
• 교황 (敎皇, gyohwang)
• 황태후 (皇太后, hwangtaehu)
• 태황태후 (太皇太后, taehwangtaehu)

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 皇.

Historical readings

• Recorded as Middle Korean 와ᇰ (Yale: wang) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.

Hanja

皇 (eumhun 엄숙할 왕 (eomsukhal wang))

1. (archaic) hanja form^? of 왕 (“to be solemn”)
   • 1567, 선조소경대왕실록 (宣祖昭敬大王實錄), 즉위년 십월 (卽位年 十月):

     卿之下去, 適在皇皇罔極之中, 未及察之。

     경지하거, 적재왕왕망극지중, 미급찰지. (gyeongjihageo, jeokjaewang'wangmanggeukjijung, migeupchalji.)

     The noble official descended, heads towards solemnness that is boundless in the middle, not able to investigate it.

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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Vietnamese

Han character

皇: Hán Việt readings: hoàng (胡(hồ)光(quang)切(thiết)), huỳnh
皇: Nôm readings: hoàng, huỳnh

1. chữ Hán form of hoàng (“emperor”).

Compounds

• 三皇五帝 (Tam Hoàng Ngũ Đế)
• 俄皇 (Nga hoàng)
• 堂皇 (đàng hoàng)
• 天皇 (thiên hoàng)
• 太皇太后 (thái hoàng thái hậu)
• 女皇 (nữ hoàng)
• 婆皇 (bà hoàng)
• 教皇 (giáo hoàng)
• 日皇 (Nhật hoàng)
• 沙皇 (sa hoàng)
• 玉皇 (Ngọc Hoàng)
• 皇上 (hoàng_thượng)
• 皇后 (hoàng hậu)
• 皇太后 (hoàng thái hậu)
• 皇子 (hoàng tử)
• 皇家 (hoàng gia)
• 皇帝 (hoàng_đế)
• 皇族 (hoàng tộc)