孔

孔	U+5B54, 孔 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5B54

← 孓

CJK Unified Ideographs

孕 →

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

孔 (Kangxi radical 39, 子+1, 4 strokes, cangjie input 弓木山 (NDU), four-corner 1241₀, composition ⿰子乚)

Derived characters

吼, 𪣂, 𢗵, 𢪬, 犼, 𭥛, 𦙥, 𣏺, 𤆺, 𬗆, 𧉔, 𫁎, 𡰼, 芤, 𥥅, 𩫂, 𡵾, 𥤾, 𡦀

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 277, character 9
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6933
Dae Jaweon: page 544, character 3
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1008, character 4
Unihan data for U+5B54

Chinese

simp. and trad.		孔

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 孔
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
吼	qʰloːʔ, qʰloːs
孔	*kʰloːŋʔ

Bronze inscriptions: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 丿 (“opening”) + 子 (“child”) – opening in the skull of a newborn, i.e. fontanelle.

Etymology

"hole": From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(g/k)uŋ (“hole; orifice; inner part”). 孔 (OC *kʰloːŋʔ, “hole”) is probably the endoactive derivation of 空 (OC *kʰoːŋ, “hollow; empty”) (Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Tibetan ཁུང (khung, “hole”), Jingpho ladi hku (lədî hkū, “nostril”), Chepang घाङ् (gʰaŋ, “hole”), Burmese အခေါင်း (a.hkaung:, “hollow place; cavity”), Naxi kho³³ (“cave; hole; pit”) (STEDT).

"peacock": Starostin reconstructs 孔 (OC *khōŋ) and compares it to Proto-Vietic *k-voːŋ. Compare also Semai kuwok, Semnam kwɔːŋ.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): kǒng (kong³)

(Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄥˇ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): kong³
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): hung²

(Taishan, Wiktionary): huung²
Gan (Wiktionary): kung³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): khúng

(Meixian, Guangdong): kung³
Jin (Wiktionary): kung²
Eastern Min (BUC): kūng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kháng / khóng

(Teochew, Peng'im): kong²
Wu (Wugniu)
- (Northern): ⁵khon

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: kǒng
  - Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄥˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: kǒng
  - Wade–Giles: kʻung³
  - Yale: kǔng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: koong
  - Palladius: кун (kun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰʊŋ²¹⁴/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: kǒngr
  - Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄥˇㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: kǒngr
  - Wade–Giles: kʻung³-ʼrh
  - Yale: kǔngr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: koongl
  - Palladius: кунр (kunr)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰʊ̃ɻ²¹⁴/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: kong³
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: kung
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰoŋ⁵³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: hung²
  - Yale: húng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: hung²
  - Guangdong Romanization: hung²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hʊŋ³⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: huung²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɵŋ⁵⁵/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: kung³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰuŋ²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khúng
  - Hakka Romanization System: kung`
  - Hagfa Pinyim: kung³
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰuŋ³¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: kung³
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰʊŋ³¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: kung²
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /kʰxũŋ⁵³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: kūng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰuŋ³³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kháng
  - Tâi-lô: kháng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: qarng
  - IPA (Taipei, Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰaŋ⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰaŋ⁴¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰaŋ⁵⁵⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khóng
  - Tâi-lô: khóng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: qorng
  - IPA (Taipei, Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰɔŋ⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰɔŋ⁴¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/

Note:

kháng - vernacular;
khóng - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: kong²
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khóng
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰoŋ⁵²/

Wu
- (Shanghai):
  - Wugniu: ⁵khon
  - MiniDict: khon^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²khon
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kʰoŋ³⁴/

Middle Chinese: khuwngX

Rime
Character	孔
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)
Final (韻)	東 (1)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	康董切
Baxter	khuwngX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰuŋ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰuŋ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰuŋ^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰəwŋ^X/
Li Rong	/kʰuŋ^X/
Wang Li	/kʰuŋ^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰuŋ^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kǒng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hung²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*ʰˤoŋʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*kʰloːŋʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	孔
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	kǒng
Middle Chinese	‹ khuwng^X ›
Old Chinese	/*ʰˁoŋʔ/
English	(surname)
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	孔
Reading #	1/1
No.	7489
Phonetic component	孔
Rime group	東
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	孔
Old Chinese	/*kʰloːŋʔ/
Notes	金文象就乳，與古候切從子殼聲字（說文乳也）同源

Definitions

孔

hole; aperture; opening
鼻孔 ― bíkǒng ― nostril
classifier for cave dwellings, oil wells, etc..
(literary, for irrigation, drainage) ditch; trench; canal; channel
(literary, or in compounds) profound; far-reaching
(literary, or in compounds) unimpeded; unblocked
(literary, or in compounds) large
(literary, or in compounds) fine
(literary, or in compounds) very; extremely
(literary, or in compounds) peacock; peafowl
a surname
孔祥熙 ― Kǒng Xiángxī ― H. H. Kung (Chinese banker and politician)
(specifically) Short for 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, “Confucius”).
祭孔 ― jì Kǒng ― worship of Confucius

批林批孔 ― pī Lín pī Kǒng ― (historical) Criticize Lin Biao and Confucius movement
(Quanzhou Hokkien) classifier for partitioned grid units in a tool.

Synonyms

(hole):

Dialectal synonyms of 孔 (“hole”)

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		孔, 洞, 穴
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		孔, 洞, 孔洞, 空洞, 空穴
Mandarin	Beijing	窟窿
	Jinan	窟窿
	Luoyang	窟窿
	Wanrong	窟窿
	Xi'an	窟窿子, 窟窿
	Wuhan	窟窿, 窟眼, 洞洞, 洞
	Chengdu	窟窿, 洞洞, 洞
	Liuzhou	窿
	Yangzhou	洞, 窟窿
	Nanjing	窟窿
	Hefei	窟窿, 洞
	Singapore	洞
Cantonese	Guangzhou	窿, 咕窿
	Hong Kong	窿, 咕窿
	Taishan	孔
	Yangjiang	窿
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	窿
	Singapore (Guangfu)	窿
Gan	Nanchang	洞
Hakka	Meixian	窿仔, 窿空仔
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	空
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	空
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	空
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	空
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	空
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	空
Jin	Taiyuan	窟窿, 窟子
Northern Min	Jian'ou	川
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	空空
Southern Min	Xiamen	空, 空口
	Quanzhou	空
	Zhangzhou	空口
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	空
	Taipei	空
	Penang (Hokkien)	空
	Singapore (Hokkien)	空
	Manila (Hokkien)	空
	Chaozhou	空
	Jieyang	空, 洞
	Haifeng	空
	Singapore (Teochew)	空
	Singapore (Hainanese)	空
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	窿
Wu	Suzhou	洞
	Wenzhou	洞, 窟, 窟窿
	Jinhua	窟窿
Xiang	Changsha	洞, 洞子
Xiang	Shuangfeng	眼貢, 洞

(ditch): 渠道 (qúdào), 水道 (shuǐdào)
(profound):