琴

Translingual

Han character

琴 (Kangxi radical 96, 玉+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 一土人戈弓 (MGOIN), four-corner 1120₇, composition ⿱玨今)

Derived characters

• 噖 䔷 𡡱 𣾔 𣚶 𤩍 𦠴 𨬩 𫾂 𬎋 𬒠

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 735, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 21079
• Dae Jaweon: page 1147, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1119, character 7
• Unihan data for U+7434

Chinese

Glyph origin

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

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡrɯm) : semantic 珡 + phonetic 今 (OC *krɯm).

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

Definitions

琴

1. (music) qin (“Chinese zithers”), referring to any of several traditional Chinese musical instruments, most famously the guqin
2. (literary) to play the qin

   • 象往入舜宮，舜在床琴。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     象往入舜宫，舜在床琴。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Xiàng wǎng rù Shùn gōng, Shùn zài chuáng qín.

     Xiang entered Shun's room, and found Shun on his bed playing the zither.

3. (music) collective name for certain musical instruments, usually of string or keyboard types, such as piano, organ, violin, cello, huqin, accordion, harmonica, etc.

   口琴  ―  kǒuqín  ―  harmonica

   風琴／风琴  ―  fēngqín  ―  organ

   馬頭琴／马头琴  ―  mǎtóuqín  ―  horsehead fiddle

4. (music, specifically) piano (Classifier: 部 c)

   三角琴  ―  sānjiǎoqín  ―  grand piano

   練琴／练琴 [Cantonese]  ―  lin⁶ kam⁴   ―  to practise playing the piano

   我學過兩年琴。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   我学过两年琴。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ hok⁶ gwo³ loeng⁵ nin⁴ kam⁴.

   I learned to play the piano for two years.

Synonyms

• (piano):

Descendants

• → Burmese: ခင် (hkang)
• → English: qin
• → Thai: ขิม (kǐm) (via Min Nan)

Compounds

Etymology 2

See 琴日.

Pronunciation

Definitions

琴

1. (Cantonese) yesterday

Compounds

References

• “琴”, 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

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: ごん (gon)^{←ごん (gon, historical)←ごむ (gomu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: きん (kin, Jōyō)^{←きん (kin, historical)←きむ (kimu, ancient)}
• Kun: こと (koto, 琴, Jōyō)

Compounds

Etymology 1

⟨ko₂to₂⟩ → */kətə/ → /koto/

From Old Japanese, attested in the three major literature works of the Nara period: the Kojiki (712 CE), the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), and the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE).

Possibly derived from a compound of elements 木 (ko, “tree, wood”, combining form) +‎ 音 (oto, “sound”), with the additional medial o dropped by haplology.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こ​と (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

琴(こと) • (koto) 

1. koto: a Japanese zither derived from the Chinese guzheng
2. (colloquial) guzheng: a Chinese zither on which the koto was based

   Synonym: 箏 (sō)

Derived terms

Proper noun

琴(こと) • (Koto) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Etymology 2

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

琴

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Guqin

Wikipedia

/kimʉ/ → /kiɴ/

From Middle Chinese 琴 (MC gim). The kan'on pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) き​ん (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

琴(きん) • (kin) 

1. a guqin, qin (seven-stringed Chinese zither)

   Synonym: 古琴 (kokin)

Derived terms

Affix

琴(きん) • (kin) 

1. guqin (ancient Chinese seven-stringed zither) or other related instruments
2. any stringed or keyboard instrument

Derived terms

Proper noun

琴(きん) • (Kin) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

See also

• 箏(そう) (sō, “guzheng, zheng”): a Chinese zither similar to the Japanese koto
• 瑟(しつ) (shitsu, “se”): another kind of ancient Chinese zither

Etymology 3

Various nanori readings.

Proper noun

琴(くむ) • (Kumu) 

1. a surname

琴(ぐん) • (Gun) 

1. a surname

琴(ことえ) • (Kotoe) 

1. a female given name

琴(ことざき) • (Kotozaki) 

1. a surname

琴(ことみ) • (Kotomi) 

1. a female given name

References

Korean

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

Pronunciation

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

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

琴

Wikisource

琴 (eumhun 거문고 금 (geomun'go geum))

1. Hanja form^? of 금 (“geomungo, a six-stringed Korean zither”).

Compounds

• 伽倻琴 (가야금, gayageum, kayagŭm)

Vietnamese

Chữ Hán

琴: Hán Việt readings: cầm

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

Derived terms