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See also: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 𡚦, and 𠨰
U+5973, 女
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5973

[U+5972]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+5974]
U+2F25, ⼥
KANGXI RADICAL WOMAN

[U+2F24]
Kangxi Radicals
[U+2F26]
U+F981, 女
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F981

[U+F980]
CJK Compatibility Ideographs
[U+F982]
U+329B, ㊛
CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH FEMALE

[U+329A]
Enclosed CJK Letters and Months
[U+329C]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
3 strokes
Stroke order

Han character[edit]

(Kangxi radical 38, +0, 3 strokes, cangjie input (V), four-corner 40400, composition 𡿨(GJKV) or 𡿨𠂇(HT))

  1. Kangxi radical #38, .

Derived characters[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 254, character 22
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6036
  • Dae Jaweon: page 516, character 19
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1023, character 23
  • Unihan data for U+5973

Chinese[edit]

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts

Pictogram (象形): a woman with breasts kneeling or standing. In modern form turned on left side: enclosed area is remnant of left breast (character's left, depicted woman's right), while right breast has disappeared. Graphically cognate to (, “mother”), which has developed similarly, but also includes dots for nipples and has retained both breasts. Compare Egyptian 𓁐.

Etymology 1[edit]

trad.
simp. #
alternative forms 𠨰
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • (Cantonese)
女性

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *nja-ŋ/k (woman). Compare Tibetan ཉག་མོ (nyag mo, woman) (Hill, 2019).

Pronunciation 2 is an exoactive derivation of pronunciation 1 (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation 1[edit]


Note:
  • neoi5-2 - “daughter; girlfriend; girl”;
  • neoi5-1 - “queen”.
  • Gan
  • Note:
    • nyy3 - usual pronunciation, including “daughter”;
    • nyyn3 - “daughter”.
  • Hakka
  • Jin
  • Northern Min
  • Eastern Min
  • Southern Min
  • Note:
    • Xiamen:
      • lú - more common.
    • Zhangzhou:
      • lí - more common.
    • Quanzhou:
      • lír - more common;
      • lú - colloquial variant.
  • (Teochew)
  • Note:
    • neng2 - vernacular;
    • ni2 - colloquial.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location
    Mandarin Beijing /ny²¹⁴/
    Harbin /ny²¹³/
    Tianjin /nuei¹³/
    /ny¹³/
    Jinan /ȵy⁵⁵/
    Qingdao /ny⁵⁵/
    Zhengzhou /ny⁵³/
    Xi'an /ny⁵³/
    Xining /mji⁵³/
    Yinchuan /ny⁵³/
    Lanzhou /ȵy⁴⁴²/
    Ürümqi /ȵy⁵¹/
    Wuhan /y⁴²/
    Chengdu /ȵy⁵³/
    Guiyang /ni⁴²/
    Kunming /ni⁵³/
    Nanjing /ly²¹²/
    Hefei /zz̩ʷ²⁴/
    Jin Taiyuan /ny⁵³/
    Pingyao /nzz̩ʷ⁵³/ ~子
    /ȵy⁵³/ ~貓
    Hohhot /ny⁵³/
    Wu Shanghai /ȵy²³/
    Suzhou /ȵy³¹/
    Hangzhou /nz̩ʷ⁵³/
    Wenzhou /ȵy³⁵/
    Hui Shexian /ny³⁵/
    Tunxi /ȵy²⁴/
    Xiang Changsha /ȵy⁴¹/
    Xiangtan /ȵy⁴²/
    Gan Nanchang /ȵy²¹³/
    Hakka Meixian /n̩³¹/
    Taoyuan /ŋ̍³¹/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /nøy²³/
    Nanning /ny²⁴/
    Hong Kong /nøy¹³/
    Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /lu⁵³/
    /li⁵³/
    Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /ny³²/
    Jian'ou (Northern Min) /ny²¹/
    Shantou (Teochew) /nɯŋ⁵³/
    Haikou (Hainanese) /nu²¹³/

    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Initial () (12)
    Final () (22)
    Tone (調) Rising (X)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Baxter nrjoX
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /ɳɨʌX/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /ɳiɔX/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /niɔX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /ɳɨə̆X/
    Li
    Rong
    /niɔX/
    Wang
    Li
    /nĭoX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /ni̯woX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    neoi5
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ nrjoX ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*nraʔ/
    English female

    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
    Reading # 1/2
    No. 9616
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*naʔ/
    Definitions[edit]

    1. woman; (only of humans in Standard Chinese) female
        ―  rén  ―  woman
        ―  de  ―  woman; female
      演員演员  ―  yī ge yǎnyuán  ―  an actress
      士兵士兵  ―  yī ge shìbīng  ―  a female soldier
      請問衛生間哪兒 [MSC, trad.]
      请问卫生间哪儿 [MSC, simp.]
      Qǐngwèn wèishēngjiān zài nǎr? [Pinyin]
      Excuse me, where is the ladies' lavatory?; Excuse me, where is the women's' bathroom?
      Coordinate term: (nán)
      See also: ,
    2. daughter (Classifier: c;  c)
        ―  cì'  ―  second daughter
      [Cantonese]  ―  keoi5 hai6 ngo5 go3 neoi5-2 [Jyutping]  ―  She's my daughter.
    3. (Cantonese) girl; young female (Classifier: c;  c)
      [Cantonese]  ―  leng3 neoi5-2 [Jyutping]  ―  pretty girl
    4. (Cantonese, Teochew, slang) girlfriend (Classifier: c;  mn-t)
    5. (Cantonese, card games) queen (Classifier: c;  c)
    6. (astronomy) the Girl (a Chinese constellation near Aquarius, 10th of the Twenty-Eight Mansions and part of the Black Turtle)
    Synonyms[edit]
    Compounds[edit]
    Descendants[edit]
    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Japanese: (じょ) (jo)
    • Korean: 여(女) (yeo)
    • Vietnamese: nữ ()

    Pronunciation 2[edit]



    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Initial () (12)
    Final () (22)
    Tone (調) Departing (H)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Baxter nrjoH
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /ɳɨʌH/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /ɳiɔH/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /niɔH/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /ɳɨə̆H/
    Li
    Rong
    /niɔH/
    Wang
    Li
    /nĭoH/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /ni̯woH/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    neoi6
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ nrjoH ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*nraʔ-s/
    English give as a wife

    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
    Reading # 2/2
    No. 9618
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*nas/
    Definitions[edit]

    1. to give one's daughter in marriage; to give as wife

    Etymology 2[edit]

    For pronunciation and definitions of – see (“you”).
    (This character is a variant form of ).

    References[edit]

    Japanese[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. woman
    2. daughter

    Readings[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Etymology 1[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    おんな
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    ⟨womi1na⟩ → */womʲina//womʉna//wonːa//onːa/

    Shift from Old Japanese wominaomina. See the (omina) entry for further details.

    Now one of the standard Japanese words for "a woman".

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Noun[edit]

    (おんな) (onnaをんな (wonna)?

    1. a female person
      Antonym: (otoko)
    2. (specifically) a woman, an adult female
      Antonym: (otoko)
    3. a wife
      Synonyms: (tsuma), 女房 (nyōbō)
    4. a mistress, concubine
      Synonyms: 愛人 (aijin), 情婦 (jōfu), (mekake)
    5. a maid
      Synonyms: 下女 (gejo), 女中 (jochū)
    6. a prostitute
      Synonyms: 淫売婦 (inbaifu), 女郎 (jorō), 売春婦 (baishunfu), 遊女 (yūjo)
    7. a woman's appearance or quality
    8. a feminine object
    9. the object in a pairing which is smaller, gentler, etc. than the other
    10. (vulgar) girlfriend
      (ひと)(おんな)()()
      Hito no onna ni te o dasuna!
      Don't you fuckin' dare touch someone else's girl!
    Derived terms[edit]
    Idioms[edit]
    Proverbs[edit]

    Etymology 2[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    おみな
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    ⟨womi1na⟩ → */womʲina//omina/

    From Old Japanese.[3]

    The initial /wo/ expressed "small, youth" and contrasted with /o/ "grown, old" (as in (omina, old woman)), while the medial /mi/ is cognate with (me, female, woman, see below). According to Frellesvig (2010), proto-Japonic /e/ became Old Japanese [je] in final position and [i] elsewhere; analogous with PJ /o/, which became OJ [wo] in final position and [u] elsewhere (though PJ /i/ and /u/ also existed, compare Old Japanese 's two readings /po/ & /pu/ in Western & Eastern Old Japanese, respectively (Vovin, 2017)).

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Noun[edit]

    (おみな) (ominaをみな (womina)?

    1. (archaic) a young woman
    2. (archaic) a woman
    Derived terms[edit]

    Proper noun[edit]

    (おみな) (Ominaをみな (womina)?

    1. a female given name

    Etymology 3[edit]

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    ⟨me1 → */mʲe//me/

    From Old Japanese,[4] from Proto-Japonic *mia.

    Appears to be distinct from (⟨me2 → me, eye).

    Alternative forms[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Noun[edit]

    () (me

    1. a woman
      Antonym: (o)
      • ()(がみ)
        megami
        goddess
    2. a wife
      • c. 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 3)[5]
        ...()(をんな)にあづけてやしなはす。
        ...me no onna ni azukete yashinawasu.
        (please add an English translation of this example)
      Synonym: (tsuma)
      Antonym: (o)
    3. a female
      Antonym: , , (o)
    Usage notes[edit]
    • Used more in compounds than on its own.
    Derived terms[edit]

    Etymology 4[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    Grade: 1
    irregular
    Alternative spelling

    ⟨womi1na⟩ → */womʲina//womʉna//woũna//woːna//oːna/

    Variant shift from Old Japanese wominaomina (see above).

    Noun[edit]

    (おうな) (ōnaをうな (wouna)?

    1. (archaic) a young woman

    Etymology 5[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    Grade: 1
    irregular

    /wonːa//wona//ona/

    Shift from onna (see above).

    Noun[edit]

    (おな) (onaをな (wona)?

    1. (obsolete) a young woman

    Etymology 6[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    Grade: 1
    irregular

    /wona//wonaː//onaː/

    Long-pronounced form of ona (see above).

    Noun[edit]

    (おなあ) (onāをなあ (wonaa)?

    1. (obsolete) a young woman

    Etymology 7[edit]

    Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia ja
    Kanji in this term
    じょ
    Grade: 1
    kan’on

    /dɨo//d͡ʑo/

    From Middle Chinese (MC nrjoX|nrjoH).

    Noun[edit]

    (じょ) (joぢよ (dyo)?

    1. a woman, especially an actress or a prostitute

    Proper noun[edit]

    (じょ) (Joぢよ (dyo)?

    1. (Chinese astronomy) the Girl constellation, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions
      Synonyms: うるき星 (Urukiboshi), 女宿 (Joshuku)

    Suffix[edit]

    (じょ) (-joぢよ (dyo)?

    1. (historical) suffixed to names of female figures in the Edo period

    See also[edit]

    References[edit]

    1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998) NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
    3. ^ womina at OxFord-NINJAL Corpus of Old Japanese
    4. ^ Frellesvig, Bjarke; Stephen Wright Horn; et al. (eds.) (2023), “Old Japanese mye”, in Oxford-NINJAL Corpus of Old Japanese[1]
    5. ^ Horiuchi, Hideaki; Ken Akiyama (1997) Taketori Monogatari, Ise Monogatari, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

    Korean[edit]

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource


    Etymology 1[edit]

    From Middle Chinese (MC nrjoX|nrjoH). Recorded as Middle Korean (nye) (Yale: nye) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

    Hanja[edit]

    (eumhun 계집 (gyejip nyeo), South Korea 계집 (gyejip yeo))

    1. Hanja form? of / (female; woman).

    Compounds[edit]

    Etymology 2[edit]

    From Middle Chinese / (MC nyoX).

    Hanja[edit]

    (eumhun (neo yeo))

    1. (literary Chinese) Hanja form? of (you).

    References[edit]

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [3]

    Vietnamese[edit]

    Han character[edit]

    : Hán Việt readings: nữ ((ni)(lữ)(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5], nhữ ((nhẫn)(dữ)(thiết))[1][5]
    : Nôm readings: nợ[1][2][3][6][4][5][7], nữa[1][2][3][4][5][7], nữ[1][2][6][4][7], nỡ[1][2][3][6], nớ[3][6][4][5], nhỡ[1][3][6], lỡ[2][3][6], nửa[1][3], nhớ[1], nự[3]

    1. chữ Hán form of nữ (female).
    2. Nôm form of nhớ (to remember, to miss).
    3. Nôm form of nỡ (to be willing).
    4. Nôm form of nữa (furthermore).
    5. Nôm form of nợ (to owe; debt).
    6. Nôm form of nửa (half).

    Compounds[edit]

    References[edit]