極

Translingual

Han character

極 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 木一水一 (DMEM) or 木弓水一 (DNEM), four-corner 4191₄, composition ⿰木亟)

Derived characters

• 𤺷, 𦽯, 𨅰, 𮔼

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 542, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 15181
• Dae Jaweon: page 929, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1240, character 10
• Unihan data for U+6975

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 極
Spring and Autumn
Bronze inscriptions

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡɯɡ) : semantic 木 (“tree, wood”) + phonetic 亟 (OC *kʰɯɡs, *kɯɡ) – originally meaning a crossbeam rafter.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kak (“expensive; at its peak”) (STEDT). Cognate with 亟 (OC *kɯɡ, “urgent”), 殛 (OC *kɯɡ, “to kill”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

極

1. ^† ridgepole; ridgepiece
2. ^† highest position; top rank
3. ^† throne; seat of state
4. ^† highest point; top; peak

   登峰造極／登峰造极  ―  dēngfēngzàojí  ―  to reach great heights

5. extremity; limit; end; utmost point
6. extreme; of the highest degree; utmost; furthest; final

   極品／极品  ―  jípǐn  ―  item of the highest quality

   極限／极限  ―  jíxiàn  ―  limit, the utmost limits

7. extremely; exceedingly; very

   痛苦極了／痛苦极了  ―  tòngkǔ jíle  ―  extremely painful

   極不滿意／极不满意  ―  jí bù mǎnyì  ―  extremely dissatisfied

   肥牛切得極薄。 [MSC, trad.]
   肥牛切得极薄。 [MSC, simp.]

   Féiniú qiē de jí báo.

   The beef was sliced extremely thin.

8. (Cantonese) at great length; exceedingly

   講極都唔明／讲极都唔明 [Cantonese]  ―  gong² gik⁶ dou¹ m⁴ ming⁴   ―  not understand despite lengthy explanation

   搵極都搵唔到嘅？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   揾极都揾唔到嘅？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   wan² gik⁶ dou¹ wan² m⁴ dou³ ge²?

   Why do I still not find it

   睇極／睇极 [Cantonese]  ―  tai² gik⁶   ―  to watch closely or in great amounts

9. (Cantonese) at most

   貴極咪都係廿蚊 [Cantonese, trad.]
   贵极咪都系廿蚊 [Cantonese, simp.]

   gwai³ gik⁶ mai⁶ dou¹ hai⁶ jaa⁶ man¹

   Its price is at most $20.

10. ^† highest norm; highest standard
11. (Wu) to be anxious; to worry; to disturb oneself
12. (Wu) to fear
13. (Wu) to deny a wrongdoing; to cheat

    賴極皮／赖极皮 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁶la-jiq-bi [Wugniu]  ―  cheater in games (who e.g. objects to losing, being thrown out of the game, or who denies having cheated)

14. (geography, physics) pole

    北極／北极  ―  běijí  ―  north pole

    陰極／阴极  ―  yīnjí  ―  negative pole, cathode

15. (astronomy) Polaris
16. quindecillion (10⁴⁸)
17. ^† to reach (the limit or standard)

    物極必反／物极必反  ―  wùjíbìfǎn  ―  a thing turns into its opposite if pushed too far

    位極人臣／位极人臣  ―  wèijírénchén  ―  to have reached the highest official positions

18. ^† to exhaust; to do one's utmost
19. ^† to study deeply; to examine deeply
20. ^† Alternative form of 殛 (jí, “to punish”)

Compounds

See also

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

極

1. ^† Alternative form of 亟 (“fast; speedy”)
2. ^† Alternative form of 亟 (“anxiously”)

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

極

1. ^† Alternative form of 亟 (“repeatedly”)

References

• “極”, 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

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. extreme
2. pole (eg. North Pole); extremity, zenith
3. quindecillion

Readings

• Go-on: ごく (goku, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: きょく (kyoku, Jōyō)
• Kun: きわめる (kiwameru, 極める, Jōyō); きわまる (kiwamaru, 極まる, Jōyō); きわまり (kiwamari, 極まり); きわみ (kiwami, 極み, Jōyō); きめる (kimeru, 極める); きまる (kimaru, 極まる)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ご​く (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Adverb

極(ごく) • (goku) 

1. very, extremely

   ごく稀(まれ)に

   goku mare ni

   very rarely; seldom

   ごく普通(ふつう)

   goku futsū

   very ordinary

   ごく限(かぎ)られた人(ひと)

   goku kagirareta hito

   a very limited group of people

Usage notes

This word is usually written in hiragana.

Number

極(ごく) • (goku) 

1. 10⁴⁸, quindecillion

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) きょ​く (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

極(きょく) • (kyoku) 

1. extreme, extremity, height, zenith

   疲労困憊(ひろうこんぱい)の極(きょく)に達(たっ)する

   hirō konpai no kyoku ni tassuru

   to reach the highest level of fatigue; to become extremely exhausted

2. (physics, astronomy, geometry) pole

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 極 (MC gik). Recorded as Middle Korean 극 (kuk) (Yale: kuk) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

極

Wikisource

極 (eumhun 다할 극 (dahal geuk))

1. Hanja form^? of 극 (“pole; extremity”).

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

極: Hán Nôm readings: cực, cọc

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