燕

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

燕 (Kangxi radical 86, 火+12, 16 strokes, cangjie input 廿中心火 (TLPF), four-corner 4433₁, composition ⿳廿⿴北口灬)

Derived characters

• 嚥 嬿 曣 臙 觾 讌(䜩) 醼 驠 酀 䴏 㬫 𭗬 𭣅 𫿲 𣟛 𤃇 𤒈 𤫇 𥍂 𥗕 𥽫 𧔦 𨇟 𨯧 𨽞 𮩘 𩽒 𫋩 𮨤 𥷀 𡤈 𪈏 𤓨

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 683, character 16
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19429
• Dae Jaweon: page 1095, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2239, character 6
• Unihan data for U+71D5

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 燕
Shang	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Pictogram (象形) – a swallow.

Etymology 1

Possibly related to 鳦 (OC *qriːd, *qrid) (Wang, 1982). Some have connected it with 咽 (OC *qiːns, “to swallow”), but it is unlikely to be related (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Definitions

燕

1. swallow (family Hirundinidae) or swift (family Apodidae)
2. (dialectal) shuttlecock used in jianzi

   Alternative form: 毽

Usage notes

To distinguish the two families of birds, swifts are also called 雨燕 (yǔyàn).

Synonyms

Compounds

Descendants

• → Proto-Tai: *ʔeːnᴮ
  • Proto-Southwestern Tai: *ʔɛːnᴮ

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

Definitions

燕

1. (historical) Yan, an ancient march, duchy, and kingdom of northeastern China during the Zhou dynasty
2. (historical) the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms
3. northern Hebei

   • 燕草如碧絲，秦桑低綠枝。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     燕草如碧丝，秦桑低绿枝。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 8th century, Li Bai, 春思

     Yān cǎo rú bì sī, Qín sāng dī lǜ zhī.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. a surname

Compounds

Descendants

• → English: Yan, Yen

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Definitions

燕

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of 宴 (yàn, “to feast”)

Japanese

Kanji

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

1. swallow

Readings

• Go-on: えん (en)
• Kan-on: えん (en)
• Kun: つばめ (tsubame, 燕); さかもり (sakamori, 燕); くつろぐ (kutsurogu, 燕ぐ); つばくら (tsubakura, 燕); つばくろ (tsubakuro, 燕); つばくらめ (tsubakurame, 燕)
• Nanori: やすし (yasushi)

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つばく​らめ (Nakadaka – )
• (Tokyo) つばくら​め (Nakadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

燕(つばくらめ) • (tsubakurame) 

1. a swallow (bird)
   • c. 890: Taketori Monogatari (page 11)

     石上(いそのかみ)の(の)中納言(ちゅうなごん)には、燕(つばくらめ)の持(も)たる子安(こやす)のかい、ひとつ取(と)りて賜(たま)へ

     Isonokami no chūnagon niwa, tsubakurame no motaru koyasu nokai, hitotsu torite tamahe

     To the Isonokami Counselor please obtain a cowrie shell which is possessed by a swallow.

   • 938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō, volume 7, page 29:

     是我邦所謂豆波久良米也

     This is what is called a swallow in my country

Etymology 2

 ツバメ on Japanese Wikipedia

Wikispecies has information on:

Hirundo rustica

Wikispecies

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つばめ (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

燕(つばめ) or 燕(ツバメ) • (tsubame) 

1. a barn swallow

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ツバメ.

Derived terms

• 雨(アマ)燕(ツバメ) (amatsubame)

Etymology 3

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

燕市

Wikipedia ^ja

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つ​ばめ (Atamadaka – )
• (Tsubame) つば​め (Nakadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Proper noun

燕(つばめ) • (Tsubame) 

1. Tsubame (a city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan)

References

• Horiuchi, Hideaki with Ken Akiyama (1997) Taketori Monogatari, Ise Monogatari, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
• Minamoto, Shitagō with Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (931–938) Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, published 1968, →ISBN.
• “燕”, in 漢字ぺディア (Kanjipedia)‎ (in Japanese), 日本漢字能力検定協会, 2015–2024

Korean

Hanja

燕 (eum 연 (yeon))

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

燕: Hán Nôm readings: yến, én, yên, nhạn, hiên

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.