Definify.com
Definition 2025
南
南
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Translingual
| Stroke order | |||
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Han character
南 (radical 24 十+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十月廿十 (JBTJ), four-corner 40227, composition ⿱十⿵冂𢆉)
References
- KangXi: page 157, character 5
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
- Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 65, character 2
- Unihan data for U+5357
Chinese
|
simp. and trad. |
南 | |
|---|---|---|
Glyph origin
| Characters in the same phonetic series (南) (Zhengzhang, 2003) | |
|---|---|
| Old Chinese | |
| 南 | *nuːm |
| 楠 | *nuːm |
| 腩 | *nuːmʔ |
| 湳 | *nuːmʔ |
| 揇 | *nuːmʔ |
| 萳 | *nuːmʔ |
| 罱 | *ruːmʔ |
| 喃 | *rnuːm |
| 諵 | *rnuːm, *rnuːms |
This character has been explained as a pictogram (象形) of a hanging percussion instrument, originally identical to the left side of 殼 (OC *kʰroːɡ). Under this hypothesis its borrowing for the word “south” is difficult to explain.
Sagart (1988) instead proposes that it is a pictogram of the front of a house. Archaeological evidence confirms that in antiquity, at least in some regions, houses were built to face south.
Pronunciation 1
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): naam4
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): nàm
- Min Dong (BUC): nàng
- Min Nan (POJ): lâm
- Wu (Wiktionary): noe (T3)
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄋㄢˊ
- Wade-Giles: nan2
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nan
- IPA (key): /na̠n³⁵/
-
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: naam4
- Yale: nàahm
- Cantonese Pinyin: naam4
- IPA (key): /nɑːm²¹/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: nàm
- Hakka Romanization System: namˇ
- Hagfa Pinyim: nam2
- IPA: /nam¹¹/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: nàng
- IPA (key): /nˡaŋ⁵³/
- (Fuzhou)
- Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâm
- Tâi-lô: lâm
- Phofsit Daibuun: laam
- IPA (Xiamen): /lam²⁴/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /lam²⁴/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /lam¹³/
- IPA (Taipei): /lam²⁴/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /lam²³/
- (Hokkien)
- Wu
- (Shanghainese)
- Wiktionary: noe (T3)
- IPA (key): /nø²³/
- (Shanghainese)
- Dialectal data▼
| Variety | Location | 南 |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | Beijing | /nan³⁵/ |
| Harbin | /nan²⁴/ | |
| Tianjin | /nan⁴⁵/ | |
| Jinan | /nã⁴²/ | |
| Qingdao | /nã⁴²/ | |
| Zhengzhou | /nan⁴²/ | |
| Xi'an | /nã²⁴/ | |
| Xining | /nã²⁴/ | |
| Yinchuan | /nan⁵³/ | |
| Lanzhou | /lɛ̃n⁵³/ | |
| Ürümqi | /nan⁵¹/ | |
| Wuhan | /nan²¹³/ | |
| Chengdu | /nan³¹/ | |
| Guiyang | /nan²¹/ | |
| Kunming | /nã̠³¹/ | |
| Nanjing | /laŋ²⁴/ | |
| Hefei | /læ̃⁵⁵/ | |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /næ̃¹¹/ |
| Pingyao | /nɑŋ¹³/ | |
| Hohhot | /næ̃³¹/ | |
| Wu | Shanghai | /nø²³/ |
| Suzhou | /nø¹³/ | |
| Hangzhou | /nẽ̞²¹³/ | |
| Wenzhou | /nø³¹/ | |
| Hui | Shexian | /lɛ⁴⁴/ |
| Tunxi | /lɔ⁴⁴/ | |
| Xiang | Changsha | /lan¹³/ |
| Xiangtan | /nan¹²/ | |
| Gan | Nanchang | /lan⁴⁵/ |
| Hakka | Meixian | /nam¹¹/ |
| Taoyuan | /nɑm¹¹/ | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /nam²¹/ |
| Nanning | /nam²¹/ | |
| Hong Kong | /nam²¹/ | |
| Min | Xiamen (Min Nan) | /lam³⁵/ |
| Fuzhou (Min Dong) | /naŋ⁵³/ | |
| Jian'ou (Min Bei) | /naŋ³³/ | |
| Shantou (Min Nan) | /nam⁵⁵/ | |
| Haikou (Min Nan) | /nam³¹/ |
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 南 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 泥 (8) |
| Final (韻) | 覃 (159) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 那含切 |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang |
/nʌm/ |
| Pan Wuyun |
/nəm/ |
| Shao Rongfen |
/nɒm/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank |
/nəm/ |
| Li Rong |
/nᴀm/ |
| Wang Li |
/nɒm/ |
| Bernard Karlgren |
/năm/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex |
nán |
| Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 南 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) |
nán |
| Middle Chinese |
‹ nom › |
| Old Chinese |
/*nˤ[ə]m/ |
| English | south |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter-Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 南 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 9355 |
| Phonetic component |
南 |
| Rime group |
侵 |
| Rime subdivision |
2 |
| Corresponding MC rime |
南 |
| Old Chinese |
/*nuːm/ |
Definitions
南
Coordinate terms
Compounds
Derived terms from 南
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|
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Pronunciation 2
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄋㄚˊ
- Wade-Giles: na2
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: na
- IPA (key): /na̠³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: naa1
- Yale: nā
- Cantonese Pinyin: naa1
- IPA (key): /nɑː⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
Definitions
南
- (Buddhism) Only used in 南無／南无.
Compounds
Derived terms from 南
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Japanese
Kanji
南
Readings
Compounds
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 南 |
|
みなみ Grade: 2 |
| kun'yomi |
Pronunciation
Noun
南 (hiragana みなみ, romaji minami)
- south
- c. 762: Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo
- 和可夜之奈比乃 可波利爾波 於保末之末須 美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎 宇氣與止 於保止己可都可佐乃比止伊布 之可流可由恵爾 序禮宇氣牟比止良 久流末毛太之米弖 末都利伊禮之米太末布日 與禮良毛伊太佐牟 之可毛己乃波古美於可牟毛 阿夜布可流 可由恵爾 波夜久末可利太末布日之 於保己可ツ可佐奈比氣奈波 比止乃太氣太可比止 □己止波宇氣都流
- c. 762: Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo
Proper noun
南 (hiragana みなみ, romaji Minami)
- A surname.
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 南 |
|
みんなみ Grade: 2 |
| Irregular |
Alteration of minami.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
南 (hiragana みんなみ, romaji minnami)
References
- 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
- 1 2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
- Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, ISBN 978-4-490-30010-9.