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U+4E09, 三
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E09

CJK Unified Ideographs
U+3222, ㈢
PARENTHESIZED IDEOGRAPH THREE

Enclosed CJK Letters and Months
U+3282, ㊂
CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH THREE

Enclosed CJK Letters and Months

Translingual

Stroke order
3 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

(Kangxi radical 1, +2, 3 strokes, cangjie input 一一一 (MMM), four-corner 10101, composition or 𠄟)

  1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №4

Derived characters

Descendants

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 76, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 12
  • Dae Jaweon: page 138, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 4, character 3
  • Unihan data for U+4E09

Further reading

Chinese Wikisource has digitized text of the Kangxi Dictionary entry for :
]

Wikisource

Chinese

simp. and trad.
alternative forms financial
𠫰𠬅𠬄 less used

𢦘
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • (Cantonese)
  • (Classical)

Glyph origin

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





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).

Ideogram (指事) - three parallel strokes. Compare with , one stroke meaning “one”, , two strokes meaning “two”, and , four strokes meaning “four”. Triplication of (“one”).

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-sum.

Pronunciation 1


Note: sānr - (1) "the other woman; the other man", (2) "rfdef".
Note:
  • saⁿ - vernacular;
  • sam - literary.
Note:
  • san1 - vernacular;
  • sam1 - literary.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

  • Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Initial () (16)
    Final () (143)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Baxter sam
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /sɑm/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /sɑm/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /sɑm/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /sam/
    Li
    Rong
    /sɑm/
    Wang
    Li
    /sɑm/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /sɑm/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    sān
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    saam1
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    sān
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ sam ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*s.rum/ (*s.r- > s-; infl. by 四 *s-?)
    English three

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * 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. 10963
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    3
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*suːm/

    Definitions

    1. three
    2. (Mainland China, slang, neologism) the other woman; the other man
    3. (Mainland China, slang, neologism) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
    4. a surname
    See also
    Chinese numbers
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 102 103 104 106 108 1012
    Normal
    (小寫小写)
    , , , , ,
    十千 (Malaysia, Singapore)
    百萬百万,
    (Philippines),
    面桶 (Philippines)
    亿 (Taiwan)
    萬億万亿 (Mainland China)
    Financial
    (大寫大写)
    Playing cards in Mandarin · 撲克牌扑克牌 (pūkèpái) (layout · text)
    尖兒尖儿 (jiānr) (èr) (sān) () () (liù) ()
    () (jiǔ) (shí) 鉤兒钩儿 (gōur) 圈兒圈儿 (quānr), 皮蛋 (pídàn, regional) K 小王 (xiǎowáng, black), 大王 (red),
    小鬼 (xiǎoguǐ, black), 大鬼 (dàguǐ, red)

    Compounds

    Descendants

    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Japanese: (さん) (san)
    • Korean: 삼(三) (sam)
    • Vietnamese: tam ()

    Others:

    Pronunciation 2



    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Initial () (16)
    Final () (143)
    Tone (調) Departing (H)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Baxter samH
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /sɑmH/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /sɑmH/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /sɑmH/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /samH/
    Li
    Rong
    /sɑmH/
    Wang
    Li
    /sɑmH/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /sɑmH/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    sàn
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    saam3
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    sān
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ samH ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*s.rm-s/ (*s.r- > *s-, infl. by 四 *s-?)
    English three times

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * 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. 10965
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    3
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*suːms/

    Definitions

    (obsolete)

    1. repeatedly; thrice
        ―  sān  ―  to think carefully

    Compounds

    References

    Japanese

    Kanji

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. three

    Readings

    Compounds

    Alternative forms

    • (Financial/formal form):

    Etymology 1

    Japanese cardinal numbers
     <  2 3 4  > 
        Cardinal :
    Kanji in this term
    さん
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    */sam//samu//saɴ/

    From Middle Chinese (MC sam|samH). Compare modern Mandarin (sān).

    In Old Japanese, this kanji was used phonetically to transcribe さむ (samu).

    Pronunciation

    Numeral

    (さん) (san

    1. three, 3
      Synonym: スリー (surī)
    2. third
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2

    Kanji in this term
    さん
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    Borrowing from Chinese (sān), with the pitch accent different from etymology 1. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

    Pronunciation

    Numeral

    (サン) (san

    1. three
    Coordinate terms
    Derived terms

    Etymology 3

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    ⟨mi1/mi/

    From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *mi.

    Likely an apophonic form of (mu, six), compare (yo, four) with (ya, eight). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

    Pronunciation

    Numeral

    () (mi

    1. three
      ()()()()、[…]
      hi, fu, mi, yo,
      one, two, three, four,
    Derived terms

    Etymology 4

    Kanji in this term
    みい
    Grade: 1
    irregular

    /mi//miː/

    Shift from mi above.

    Pronunciation

    Numeral

    (みい) (

    1. (colloquial) three
      (ひい)(ふう)(みい)(よお)(いつ)(むう)(なあ)(やあ)(こお)(とお)
      hī, fū, , yō, itsu, mū, nā, yā, kō, tō
      one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
    Coordinate terms
    Japanese numbers
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
    Regular (れい) (rei)
    (ゼロ) (zero)
    (いち) (ichi) () (ni) (さん) (san) (よん) (yon)
    () (shi)
    () (go) (ろく) (roku) (なな) (nana)
    (しち) (shichi)
    (はち) (hachi) (きゅう) (kyū)
    () (ku)
    (じゅう) ()
    Formal (いち) (ichi) () (ni) (さん) (san) (じゅう) ()
    90 100 300 600 800 1,000 3,000 8,000 10,000 100,000,000
    Regular (きゅう)(じゅう) (kyūjū) (ひゃく) (hyaku)
    (いっ)(ぴゃく) (ippyaku)
    (さん)(びゃく) (sanbyaku) (ろっ)(ぴゃく) (roppyaku) (はっ)(ぴゃく) (happyaku) (せん) (sen)
    (いっ)(せん) (issen)
    (さん)(ぜん) (sanzen) (はっ)(せん) (hassen) (いち)(まん) (ichiman) (いち)(おく) (ichioku)
    Formal (いち)(まん) (ichiman)
    1012 8×1012 1013 1016 6×1016 8×1016 1017 1018
    (いっ)(ちょう) (itchō) (はっ)(ちょう) (hatchō) (じゅっ)(ちょう) (jutchō) (いっ)(けい) (ikkei) (ろっ)(けい) (rokkei) (はっ)(けい) (hakkei) (じゅっ)(けい) (jukkei) (ひゃっ)(けい) (hyakkei)

    References

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

    Korean

    Etymology

    Korean numbers (edit)
    30
     ←  2 3 4  → 
        Native isol.: (set)
        Native attr.: (se), (dated) (seok), (archaic) (seo)
        Sino-Korean: (sam)
        Hanja:
        Ordinal: 셋째 (setjjae)

    From Middle Chinese (MC sam).

    Historical Readings
    Dongguk Jeongun Reading
    Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 (Yale: sàm)
    Middle Korean
    Text Eumhun
    Gloss (hun) Reading
    Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 석〯 (Yale: sěk) (Yale: sàm)

    Pronunciation

    Hanja

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    (eumhun (set sam))

    1. Hanja form? of (three).

    Compounds

    References

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

    Vietnamese

    Han character

    : Hán Việt readings: tam (()(cam)(thiết))
    : Nôm readings: tam, ba, tám

    1. chữ Hán form of tam (three).

    Compounds

    References