亥

亥 U+4EA5, 亥 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4EA5 ← 交 [U+4EA4] CJK Unified Ideographs 亦 → [U+4EA6]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

亥 (Kangxi radical 8, 亠+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 卜女竹人 (YVHO), four-corner 0080₂, composition ⿳亠𠂈人 or ⿱丶𠀔)

Derived characters

• 侅 咳 垓 姟 孩 峐 㤥 㧡 晐 核 烗 畡 䀭 硋 絯(𰬓) 胲 該(该) 豥 賅(赅) 䠹 輆(𬨇) 䤤(𫟺) 陔 䬵 駭(骇) 骸 㚊 餩(𱃽) 刻 劾 欬 㱾 郂 頦(颏) 痎 氦 閡(阂) 奒 荄 賌
• 𣴃 𪻞 𮁷 𥞨 𥩲 𦈲 𮌑 𧊏 𮖀 𨀖 𨠳 𮧙 𫠄 𩠚 𩰶 𪠠 𨒨 𮨫 𡲼 𠛳 𢻉 𢼵 𦐤 𠜨 𡭹 𨽷 𡱍 𭈯

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 88, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 292
• Dae Jaweon: page 186, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 283, character 5
• Unihan data for U+4EA5

Chinese

simp. and trad.		亥
2nd round simp.		⿻⿻一𠃋人
alternative forms		㐪 𠀅 𢁓 𢁳 𠦇

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 亥
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script j31471 j31472 j31473 j31474 j31475 j31476 j31477 j31478 j31479 j31480 j31481 j31482 j31483 j31484 j31485 j31486 Bronze inscriptions b21659 b21660 b21661 b21662 b21663 b21664 b21665 b21666 b21667 b21668 b21669 b21670 b21671 b21672 b21673 b21674 b21675 b21676 b21677 b21678 b21679 b21680 b21681 b21682 b21683 b21684 b21685 b21686 b21687 b21688 b21689 b21690 b21691 b21692 b21693 b21694 b21695 b21696 b21697 b21698 b21699 b21700 b21701 b21702 b21703 b21704 b21705 b21706 b21707 b21708 b21709 b21710 b21711 b21712 b21713 b21714 b21715 b21716 b21717 b21718 b21719 b21720 b21721 b21722 b21723 b21724 b21725 b21726 b21727 b21728 b21729 b21730 Small seal script s11108 Transcribed ancient scripts L34553 L34554 L34555 L34556 L34557 L34558 L34559 L15142 L15139 L15143 L15144 L15145 L15146 L15147 L15148 L15149 L15150 L15151 L15152 L15153 L15154 L15155 L15156 L15157 L15158 L15159 L15160 L15161 L15162 L15163 L15164 L15165 L15166 L15167 L15168 L15169 L15170 L15171 L15140 L15141
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

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

	Old Chinese
該	*kɯː
垓	*kɯː
賅	*kɯː
陔	*kɯː
豥	*kɯː, *ɡɯː
荄	*kɯː, *krɯː
郂	*kɯː
姟	*kɯː
絯	*kɯː, *ɡrɯːʔ
晐	*kɯː
峐	*kɯː
侅	*kɯː, *kʰɯː, *ɡɯːʔ, *ɡrɯːʔ
胲	*kɯː
頦	*kɯːʔ, *ɡɯː
奒	*kʰɯː
輆	*kʰɯːʔ
欬	*kʰɯːɡs, *qraːds
硋	*ŋɡɯːɡs
閡	*ŋɡɯːɡs
咳	*qʰɯː, *ɡɯː
孩	*ɡɯː
亥	*ɡɯːʔ
劾	*ɡɯːɡs, *kʰrɯːɡs, *ɡɯːɡ
痎	*krɯː
烗	*kʰrɯːɡs
骸	*ɡrɯː
駭	*ɡrɯːʔ
刻	*kʰɯːɡ
餩	*qɯːɡ
核	*ɡuːd, *ɡrɯːɡ

Pictogram (象形) – depiction uncertain. Some propose it depicts a plant's roots underground, possibly as the original form of 荄 (OC *kɯː, *krɯː). Others propose it is an animal, similar in origin to 豕.

Etymology

Smith (2011) groups 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ) in a word-family meaning "root, germ, generative core" along with 荄 (OC *kɯ:, “grassroot”) > 根 (OC *kɯːn, “root”), 核 (OC *ɡrɯːɡ, “germ, kernel”), 骸 (OC *ɡrɯː, “(human) bones”), and 孩 (OC *ɡɯː, “child”). He suggests the derivation 荄根 "germ, sprout, root (n.)" → 孩 "to sprout" → 亥 "sprouting stage", i.e. "the moon’s first appearance", recalling 月芽 lit. "moon sprout" > "crescent moon".

See 核 (hé) for further etymology.

Later 亥 (hài) and 豕 (shǐ, “pig”) graphically converged.

As for 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ)'s phonological association with the pig. Compare the following:

• Khmer កុរ (kol, “year of the pig”), from Angkorian Old Khmer kur.
• Proto-Vietic *guːrʔ (“pig; pork”) or *kuːrʔ (“pig; pork”):
  • Vietnamese cúi (“(archaic) pig”)
  • Muong củi (kuːj³, “pig”)
  • Chut cûl (kûːl, “pig”)
• Thai กุน (gun, “year of the pig”), a loan from Old Khmer.

Ferlus (2013) notes 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ) is a possible match to the Austroasiatic root, but there should be a final sonorant in Old Chinese.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hài (hai⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄞˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hoi⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hoi
• Jin (Wiktionary): hai³
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): hai⁵
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hǎi / hāi

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hai⁶

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶ghe

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hài
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄞˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hài
    • Wade–Giles: hai⁴
    • Yale: hài
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hay
    • Palladius: хай (xaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xaɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: hoi⁶
    • Yale: hoih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hoi⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: hoi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔːi̯²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hoi
    • Hakka Romanization System: hoi
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hoi⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /hoi̯⁵⁵/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: hai³
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /xai⁴⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hai⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hai²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hǎi
    • Tâi-lô: hǎi
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hai²²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hāi
    • Tâi-lô: hāi
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hai
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /hai³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /hai²²/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hai⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hăi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hai³⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶ghe
    • MiniDict: ghe^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhe
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦe²³/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 亥
Mandarin	Beijing	/xai⁵¹/
	Harbin	/xai⁵³/ /xai²⁴/
	Tianjin	/xai⁵³/
	Jinan	/xɛ²¹/
	Qingdao	/xɛ⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/xai⁴²/
	Xi'an	/xai⁴⁴/
	Xining	/xɛ²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/xɛ¹³/
	Lanzhou	/xɛ¹³/
	Ürümqi	/xai⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/xai³⁵/
	Chengdu	/xai¹³/ /xe³¹/
	Guiyang	/xai²¹³/
	Kunming	/xæ²¹²/
	Nanjing	/xae⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/xe̞⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/xai⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/xæ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/xɛ⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦe²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦe̞³¹/
	Hangzhou	/ɦe̞¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ɦe³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/xɛ²²/
	Tunxi	/xa²⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/xai⁵⁵/
	Xiangtan	/ɦai²¹/
Gan	Nanchang	/hai²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/hoi⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/hoi⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/hɔi²²/
	Nanning	/hɔi²²/
	Hong Kong	/hɔi²²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/hai²²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/hɑi²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/xuɛ⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/hai³⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/hai³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: hojX

Rime
Character	亥
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	咍 (41)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡改切
Baxter	hojX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦʌiX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦəiX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɒiX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦəjX/
Li Rong	/ɣᴀiX/
Wang Li	/ɣɒiX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣɑ̆iX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hài
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hoi6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤəʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡɯːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	亥
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hài
Middle Chinese	‹ hojX ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˁəʔ/
English	12th earthly branch
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	亥
Reading #	1/1
No.	4828
Phonetic component	亥
Rime group	之
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	亥
Old Chinese	/*ɡɯːʔ/
Notes	甲金文象根荄爲荄之初文， 陳獨秀說

Definitions

亥

1. (obsolete) grass root
2. twelfth of twelve earthly branches (十二支)
3. pig (豬) of the Chinese zodiac
4. a surname

Coordinate terms

• (Chinese earthly branches) 地支 (dìzhī); 子, 丑 (chǒu), 寅 (yín), 卯 (mǎo), 辰 (chén), 巳 (sì), 午 (wǔ), 未 (wèi), 申 (shēn), 酉 (yǒu), 戌, 亥 (hài) ^{(Category: zh:Chinese earthly branches)}

Compounds

• 亥市
• 亥時／亥时 (hàishí)
• 亥豕
• 亥豕魯魚／亥豕鲁鱼
• 俄亥俄 (Éhài'é)
• 辛亥革命 (Xīnhài Gémìng)
• 魯魚亥豕／鲁鱼亥豕 (lǔyúhàishǐ)

 

See also

• 豕 (shǐ)

References

• “Entry #2051”, 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.

Japanese

Kanji

亥

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

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

Readings

• Go-on: がい (gai)
• Kan-on: かい (kai)
• Kun: い (i, 亥)^{←ゐ (wi, 亥, historical)}

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
亥
い Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

From 猪 (inoshishi, i, “boar”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) い [íꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) い [ì] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [i]

• Homophones: イ, 井, 胆, 猪, 豬, 堰, 藺, 伊, 夷, 衣, 医, 易, 威, 胃, 帷, 異, 偉, 意, 緯, 彝

Proper noun

亥(い) • (I) ^{←ゐ (Wi)?}

1. the Boar, the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches

   Hypernyms: 十二支, 地支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
亥
がい Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 亥 (hoj^X).

Proper noun

亥(がい) • (Gai) 

1. the Boar, the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches

   Hypernyms: 十二支, 地支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥

Korean

Hanja

亥 (eum 해 (hae))

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

Vietnamese

Han character

亥: Hán Nôm readings: hợi

1. chữ Hán form of Hợi (“twelfth of the twelve earthly branches”).

   Hypernyms: 地支, 十二支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥

Compounds

• 丁亥 (Đinh Hợi)
• 乙亥 (Ất Hợi)
• 己亥 (Kỷ Hợi)
• 癸亥 (Qúy Hợi/Quý Hợi)
• 辛亥 (Tân Hợi)