刺

刺 (Kangxi radical 18, 刀+6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 木月中弓 (DBLN), four-corner 5290₀, composition ⿰朿刂)

• 䱨 莿 箣 𪮁 𧼕 𠩪 𤷫 𪑟 𦖝 𧌐 𭰩 𮔗

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 139, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1969
• Dae Jaweon: page 316, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 333, character 2
• Unihan data for U+523A

• Unihan data for U+F9FF

Historical forms of the character 刺
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sʰeɡs, *sʰeɡ) : phonetic 朿 (OC *sʰeɡs) + semantic 刂 (“knife”).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-tshyar ~ *g-zyar (“thorn, nail, tack”) (provisional) (STEDT); cognate with Tibetan ཚེར་མ (tsher ma, “thorn, thorn bush”), གཟེར་བ (gzer ba, “to bore into”), and གཟེར (gzer, “nail”) (Schuessler, 2007).

刺 (OC *tsekh) "attack, satirize" (Zuozhuan) < "criticize" (Shijing) < lit. "cause to be stabbed" is exopassive/exoactive derivation of 刺 (OC *tsek) "pierce, stab" (ibid.); 朿 (OC tsʰie^C) "thorn" (SW) is Han period's general tone-C derivation of 刺 (OC *tsʰiek) (ibid.)

刺

1. a pointed structure which is able to pierce something (spike, spine, thorn, etc.)
2. (literary, or in compounds) visiting card

   名刺  ―  míngcì  ―  name card

   投刺  ―  tóucì  ―  to submit one's card (as to tender one's resignation, etc)

   • 即門者持刺入，而主人又不即出見。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     即门者持刺入，而主人又不即出见。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. mid-16th century, Zong Chen ,《報劉一丈書》, translated in English by Lin Yutang, 1960.

     Jí mén zhě chí cì rù, ér zhǔrén yòu bù jí chū jiàn.

     While the concierge goes in with his card, he is not asked to go in and is kept waiting.

刺

1. to stab; to prick
2. (literary, or in compounds) to kill discreetly; to assassinate discreetly

   被刺  ―  bèi cì  ―  to be assassinated

   荊軻刺秦王／荆轲刺秦王  ―  Jīng Kē cì qín wáng  ―  Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin

3. (literary, or in compounds) to criticize with pointed words

   • 群臣吏民，能面刺寡人之過者，受上賞。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     群臣吏民，能面刺寡人之过者，受上赏。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5^th – 3^rd centuries BCE

     Qúnchén lìmín, néng miàncì guǎrén zhī guò zhě, shòu shàng shǎng.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. (literary, or in compounds) to pry into; to investigate
5. (literary, or in compounds) to stimulate

   刺耳  ―  cì'ěr  ―  ear-piercing

6. (literary, or in compounds or Southern Min) to provoke; to irritate (through light, sound, heat, etc.)
7. (fencing) to thrust; to attack the opponent at an area parallel to the weapon's length
8. (fencing) thrust

   假直刺  ―  jiǎ zhí cì  ―  feint direct thrust

9. a surname: Ci
10. (Hokkien, by extension) to sew; to weave; to knit; to embroider
11. (Hokkien, by extension) to tattoo
12. (Mainland China Hokkien) dazzling; glaring
13. (Mainland China Hokkien) to pick out; to pluck out
14. (Taiwanese Hokkien) to expose; to bring to light
15. (Taiwanese Hokkien) prickly and uncomfortable (as if being pricked by needles)
16. (Zhangzhou Hokkien) to remind someone during a fight of the number of times one has given favors to that person

• (to stab): 捅 (tǒng), (Hokkien) 𠡡
• (to kill discreetly):

• (to criticize with pointed words):

• (to pry into):

• (to knit):

• (to expose):

刺

1. sound of rubbing

刺

1. Only used in 刺促 (qìcù).

• “刺”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00347
• (Cantonese) 粵音資料集叢

(Jōyō kanji)

• Kun: とげ (toge, 刺)、いら (ira, 刺)

From Middle Chinese 刺 (MC tshjeH, “spike, thorn; calling card”):

• Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)

From Middle Chinese 刺 (MC tshjek, “prick, stab; criticize with pointed words”):

• Go-on: しゃく (shaku)
• Kan-on: せき (seki)
• Kun: さす (sasu, 刺す, Jōyō)、ささる (sasaru, 刺さる, Jōyō)、そしる (soshiru, 刺る)

• 刺(せっ)客(かく) (sekkaku)
• 刺青(いれずみ) (irezumi)
• 肉刺(まめ) (mame)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• 棘

• (Tokyo) とげ (Odaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

刺(とげ) • (toge) 

1. a thorn, prickle
2. a splinter
3. a biting word

Nominalization of the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 刺す (sasu, “to pierce; to prick, sting”).

• 刺し
• (paper string for coins): 緡

• (Tokyo) さし (Odaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

刺(さし) • (sashi) 

1. Short for 米刺 (komesashi): a small tool used to extract a sample of rice from a bag in order to test its quality
2. (historical) in the Edo period, a paper string used to store ぜに (zeni, “round coins with a square hole in the center”)
3. Short for 刺身 (sashimi): sliced pieces of fish or other meat

• 刺(さし)身(み) (sashimi)
• 肉(にく)刺(さし) (nikusashi)
• 絽(ろ)刺(ざし) (rozashi)

Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *era.

• 苛, 莿

刺(いら) • (ira) 

1. a thorn, prickle
2. the spine (needle-like structure) of a fish's dorsal fin
3. Short for 刺草 (irakusa): nettle
4. Short for 刺虫 (iramushi): the larva of the 刺蛾 (iraga, “Monema flavescens”), a species of moth
5. the horn-like projections of 金平糖 (konpeitō, “sugar candy of varying colors and flavors”)
6. Synonym of 水母 (kurage): a jellyfish

• 刺(イラ)草(クサ) (irakusa), 蕁麻(イラクサ) (irakusa)

/si/ → /ɕi/

From Middle Chinese 刺 (MC tshjeH).

• (Tokyo) し (Atamadaka – )^[1][2]
• IPA^(key):

刺(し) • (shi) 

1. a thorn, prickle, needle
2. a calling card, name card

   Synonyms: 名札 (nafuda), 名刺 (meishi)

刺(し) • (shi) 

1. stab, prick
2. criticize with pointed words
3. spike, thorn
4. name card

From Middle Chinese 刺 (MC tshjeH).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

刺

Wikisource

刺 (eumhun 찌를 자 (jjireul ja))

1. hanja form^? of 자 (“spike; thorn”)
2. hanja form^? of 자 (“to stab; to prick”)

From Middle Chinese 刺 (MC tshjek).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:

刺 (eumhun 찌를 척 (jjireul cheok))

1. hanja form^? of 척 (“to stab; to prick”)

刺 (eumhun 나무랄 체 (namural che))

1. (literary Chinese) hanja form^? of 체 (“scold”)

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

刺: Hán Việt readings: thích, thứ
刺: Nôm readings: chích

1. Nôm form of chích (“to prick”).