將

Translingual

Han character

將 (Kangxi radical 41, 寸+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 女一月木戈 (VMBDI), four-corner 2724₂, composition ⿰爿⿱𱼀寸)

Derived characters

• 摪, 㯍, 䒂, 蹡, 鏘, 鱂, 䵁, 嶈, 蔣, 䉃, 墏, 奬, 㢡, 槳, 漿, 獎, 䊢, 螿, 醬, 䵼, 𤖛, 𫦔, 𡑶

Related characters

• 将 (Simplified Chinese and Japanese shinjitai)

Further reading

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 294, character 16
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7438
• Dae Jaweon: page 583, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2375, character 10
• Unihan data for U+5C07

Chinese

Glyph origin

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : semantic 爿 (“bed; small table”) + semantic ⺼ (“meat”) + semantic 寸 (“hand”) – to offer meat as tribute by putting it on the table.

The ⺼ component is on its side, hence resembles 夕 with an added dot; compare 祭, 然.

Shuowen erroneously considers the phonetic component of 將 to be 醬 (OC *ʔsaŋs, “sauce”) (abbreviated).

Etymology

A conflation of two roots: “to take; to hold” and “will; be going to; near”.

“to take; to hold” (Pronunciations 1, 2 and 3)

Sino-Tibetan: compare Tibetan འཆང ('chang, “to hold, to keep, to carry”).

“will; be going to; near” (Pronunciation 1)

Austroasiatic: compare Khmer ចង់ (cɑng, “to want, to wish; to approach, to draw near; about to (do something), on the point of”) < Old Khmer caṅa (“to wish, to want”). Cognate with 且 (OC *sʰjaːʔ, *ʔsa, “about to; on the point of; moreover; also”) (Wu, 2015).

anteposed object introductory particle

Pulleyblank (1995) notes that 將 as well as several other particles like 唯 (OC *ɢʷi, *ɢʷiʔ) and 必 (OC *pliɡ) could in Early Classical Chinese topicalize a noun phrase, including predicate objects who are recapitulated with the verb by the pronoun 是 (OC *djeʔ), leading effectively to a construction in the form of "將 O 是 V" ("to V O"), which he notes is superficially similar to the later colloquial usage of 將 and 把.

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

將

1. will; going to

   將來／将来  ―  jiānglái  ―  future

   人類將滅絕嗎？／人类将灭绝吗？  ―  Rénlèi jiāng mièjué ma?  ―  Will humans go extinct?

   • 吳之將亡，賢愚所知，非今日也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     吴之将亡，贤愚所知，非今日也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: Chen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms, circa 3^rd century CE

     Wú zhī jiāng wáng, xián yú suǒ zhī, fēi jīnrì yě.

     Wu will perish soon; this is known by the fools and by the wise; it is not today.

2. ^† soon; in the near future
3. ^† nearly; almost
   1. 78th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "on the verge" (𝍓)
4. ^† just; just now
5. ^† certainly; surely
6. ^† to take; to hold; to fetch

   • 五花馬，千金裘。呼兒將出換美酒，與爾同銷萬古愁。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     五花马，千金裘。呼儿将出换美酒，与尔同销万古愁。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: circa 752, 李白 (Li Bai), 《將進酒》

     Wǔhuāmǎ, qiānjīn qiú. Hū ér jiāng chū huàn měijiǔ, yǔ ěr tóng xiāo wàngǔ chóu.

     My precious horse, and my furs worth a thousand gold pieces; call your son and have him take them out to be swapped for fine wine, and together with you I'll drown the sorrows of ten thousand ages.

7. ^† by; by means of; with
8. ^† also; half ... half ...; or
9. ^† if; in the case that ...
10. Particle introducing the object of the verb, used in the same fashion as 把 but more formal.

    將飯做好／将饭做好  ―  jiāng fàn zuò hǎo  ―  to make the food ready

    將醫生請來／将医生请来  ―  jiāng yīshēng qǐng lái  ―  to send for a doctor

    • 恨你絕情將阮放 [Hokkien, trad.]
      恨你绝情将阮放 [Hokkien, simp.]

      From: 黃敏 (lyricist), 碎心戀

      hūn lí choa̍t-chêng chiong gún pàng [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

      I resented that you heartlessly let me go

11. ^† to support; to assist
12. ^† to advance; to go
13. ^† to take orders; to follow
14. ^† to see off; to send off
15. ^† to take along; to bring
16. ^† to use; to utilise
17. ^† to handle; to deal with
18. ^† to eat; to have
19. ^† to lead; to guide

    將軍／将军  ―  jiāngjūn  ―  military general

20. ^† to submit to; to be obedient to
21. ^† to provide for
22. ^† to recuperate; to maintain; to take care of one's health
23. ^† to express; to convey
24. (dialectal) to incite someone to action
25. (dialectal, of animals) to bear (an offspring); to give birth
26. (chess) to check

    將死／将死  ―  jiāngsǐ  ―  to checkmate

27. (obsolete or dialectal) Particle placed after the verb and before a resultative phrase (進來, 起來, 進去 etc.).

    走將出來／走将出来  ―  zǒu jiāng chūlái  ―  to walk out

    唱將起來／唱将起来  ―  chàng jiāng qǐlái  ―  to start to sing

    • 方陞座，殿角狂風驟起。只見一條大青蛇，從梁上飛將下來，蟠於椅上。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
      方升座，殿角狂风骤起。只见一条大青蛇，从梁上飞将下来，蟠于椅上。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

      From: c. 1330 - 1400: Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 1 (三國演義/第001回)

      Fāng shēng zuò, diàn jiǎo kuángfēng zhòu qǐ. Zhǐ jiàn yī tiáo dà qīng shé, cóng liáng shàng fēi jiāng xiàlái, pán yú yǐ shàng.

      As soon as the emperor ascended onto his throne, a gust of wind suddenly arose out of the corner of the hall. A big green snake was spotted which flew down from the rafters and coiled up on the seat.

28. (Hong Kong) Short for 將軍澳／将军澳 (Jiāngjūn'ào, “Tseung Kwan O”).

Synonyms

Usage notes

In Cantonese, when used for introducing the object of a verb, the action should involve a change or movement of the object.

Compounds

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

將

1. ^† to command; to lead
2. (military) general
3. high-ranking military officer
4. (xiangqi) general; king (on the black side)
5. (figurative) dab hand (at something); capable person

Coordinate terms

• (Chinese chess pieces) 帥／帅 (shuài) / 將／将, 仕 (shì) / 士 (shì), 相 / 象 (xiàng), 俥／伡 / 車／车, 傌 / 㐷 / 馬／马 (mǎ), 炮 / 砲／炮, 兵 (bīng) / 卒

Compounds

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

將

1. ^† to ask; to request; to invite
2. ^† Used in 將將／将将.

Compounds

Descendants

References

• “將”, 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–

Japanese

Kanji

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 将)

1. Kyūjitai form of 将

Readings

From 將 (MC tsjang, “just now; also, half... half..., or; take, hold; etc.”):

• Go-on: そう (sō)^{←さう (sau, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kun: はた (hata, 將); まさに (masani, 將に); もって (mo'te, 將て)

From 將 (MC tsjangH, “command, lead; commander, general; high-ranking military officer”):

• Go-on: そう (sō)^{←さう (sau, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kun: ひきいる (hikiiru, 將いる)^{←ひきゐる (fikiwiru, 將ゐる, historical)}

Nanori readings:

• Nanori: すけ (suke); すすむ (susumu); たすく (tasuku); ただし (tadashi); たもつ (tamotsu); のぶ (nobu); ひとし (hitoshi); まさ (masa); もち (mochi); ゆき (yuki)

Etymology

Nominalization of verb 勝る (masaru, “to excel, rival, surpass”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) まさ​る (Nakadaka – )
• (Tokyo) まさる (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Proper noun

將(まさる) • (Masaru) 

1. a male given name

Korean

Alternative forms

• 将

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 將 (MC tsjangH, “commander”).

Pronunciation

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

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

將

Wikisource

將 (eumhun 장수(將帥) 장 (jangsu jang))

1. Hanja form^? of 장 (“general; commander”).

Compounds

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 將 (MC tsjang, “to take; to hold”).

Pronunciation

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

Hanja

將 (eumhun 장차(將次) 장 (jangcha jang))

1. Hanja form^? of 장 (“take, hold; from now on, in the future”).

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.

Old Japanese

Alternative forms

• 當

Etymology

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

Adverb

將 (pata) (kana はた)

1. by chance
2. also

Derived terms

• 將や (pata ya)

Descendants

• Japanese: はた (hata)

Vietnamese

Han character

將: Hán Việt readings: tướng (子(tử)亮(lượng)切(thiết)), tương (資(tư)良(lương)切(thiết))
將: Nôm readings: tướng, tương

Etymology 1

Noun

將 • (tướng) (tương)

1. chữ Hán form of tướng (“(military) general; commander”).
2. chữ Hán form of tướng (“(xiangqi) a piece labeled with the character 將 in black”).

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Adverb

將 • (tương)

1. chữ Hán form of tương (“soon; in the near future”).

Derived terms

• 將來 (tương lai)

References