矢

Stroke order

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Radical 111 矢

矢 (Kangxi radical 111, 矢+0, 5 strokes, cangjie input 人大 (OK), four-corner 8043₀, composition ⿱𠂉大 or ⿰㇒天)

1. Kangxi radical #111, ⽮.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/矢
• 𠤑, 𠱈, 垁, 𭜟, 𪭨, 𪵳, 𨒔, 𪰕, 䀢, 䂠, 䛈, 聅, 䠶, 鉃, 𩶇, 𫨸, 𦘗, 雉, 𩲶, 鴙
• 𭰋, 𥿅, 𠤕, 𡧦, 㞺, 𫶬, 䒨, 𪰖, 𤼩, 𬐇, 𬙜, 笶, 医, 𡱁, 𢨻, 𢇻, 疾, 𤕺, 𪊢, 𨴊
• 侯, 候, 㑨, 族, 𨕀, 彘

• 弓, 疑
• 至, which in early writing resembles 矢 pointing downward to the ground.

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 823, character 34
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 23929
• Dae Jaweon: page 1235, character 22
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2580, character 1
• Unihan data for U+77E2

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

Pictogram (象形) – an arrow. More recognizable in older forms. Compare 畀 and 至. See also the bottom component of 睪 and the original versions of 弗 and 𢦏.

arrow

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tV-lij (“bow (weapon); slingshot”), with metonymic semantic shift from "bow" to "arrow"; cognate with Burmese လေး (le:, “bow; crossbow”), Mizo li (“spring (as of gun, watch, etc.)”), Japhug tɯdi (“bow”), zdi (“arrow”), Tangut 𘎗 (*lhjɨ̣¹, “bow”), 𗮆 (*ljị¹, “arrow”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007; Hill, 2013; Jacques, 2014; Zhang, Jacques and Lai, 2019).

to swear, to vow

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From sense "arrow"?”)

矢

1. (Classical, archery, weaponry) arrow

   • 周道如砥，其直如矢。

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Zhōu dào rú dǐ, qí zhí rú shǐ.

     The way to Zhou was like a whetstone,
     And straight as an arrow.

2. to vow; to swear

   • 夫子矢之曰：「予所否者，天厭之，天厭之！」
     夫子矢之曰：「予所否者，天厌之，天厌之！」

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Fūzǐ shǐ zhī yuē: “Yú suǒ pǐ zhě, tiān yǎn zhī, tiān yǎn zhī!”

     he Master swore, saying, "Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject me! may Heaven reject me!"

• (arrow):

矢

1. alternative form of 屎 (“excrement; poop”)

   石矢   ―  sek⁶ si²   ―  concrete (alternative form of 石屎 (sek⁶ si²))

   • 夫愛馬者，以筐盛矢，以蜄盛溺。
     夫爱马者，以筐盛矢，以蜄盛溺。

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Fú ài mǎ zhě, yǐ kuāng chéng shǐ, yǐ shèn chéng nì.

     Those again who are fond of horses preserve their dung in baskets, and their urine in jars (made from large clamshell).

   • 廉將軍雖老，尚善飯；然與臣坐，頃之三遺矢矣。
     廉将军虽老，尚善饭；然与臣坐，顷之三遗矢矣。

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Lián jiāngjūn suī lǎo, shàng shàn fàn; rán yǔ chén zuò, qǐngzhī sān yíshǐ yǐ.

     General Lian, despite advanced age, has very good appetite. However, when conferring with me he had to excuse himself for toilet three times in a short while.

• “矢”, 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–
• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 , editor (2022), “矢”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 211.

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

1. arrow

• Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Kun: や (ya, 矢, Jōyō)、さ (sa, 矢)
• Nanori: ただ (tada)、ただし (tadashi)、ちこう (chikō)^{←ちかう (tikau, historical)}、なお (nao)^{←なほ (nafo, historical)}

Used in the Nihon Shoki (720 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨si⟩.

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

矢

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Arrow

Wikipedia

From Old Japanese. Found in the Kojiki of 712 CE, and in the Man'yōshū completed some time after 759 CE.

• (Tokyo) や (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

矢(や) • (ya) 

1. (archery, weaponry) an arrow

   光(こう)陰(いん)矢(や)の如(ごと)し。

   Kōin ya no gotoshi.

   Shine and shadow, just like an arrow. → Time flies like an arrow.

   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 3, poem 364:
     , text here

     大夫(ますらを)之(の)弓(ゆ)上(ずゑ)振(ふり)起(おこし)射都流(いつる)矢(や)乎(を)後(のち)将見(みむ)人(ひと)者(は)語(かたり)継(つぐ)金(がね)

     ますらをの弓(ゆ)末(ずゑ)振(ふ)り起(おこ)し射(い)つる矢(や)を後(のち)見(み)む人(ひと)は語(かた)り継(つ)ぐがね

     masurao no yuzue furiokoshi itsuru ya o nochi mimu hito wa kataritsugu gane

     (please add an English translation of this example)

2. a wedge used to break hard objects such as wood or stone
3. a 家紋 (kamon, “family crest”) with various designs of arrows

• 弓(ゆみ) (yumi, “bow”)

矢(や) • (Ya) 

1. a place name

From Old Japanese. Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.

Possibly cognate with Old Japanese-derived 幸 (sachi, “a hunting implement”) and Korean 살 (sal, “arrow”).

This reading does not appear to be used in modern Japanese.

• IPA^(key):

矢(さ) • (sa) 

1. (obsolete) an arrow
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 20, poem 4430:
     , text here

     阿良之乎乃(あらしをの)伊乎(いを)佐(さ)太波佐美(たはさみ)牟可比多知(むかひたち)可奈流麻之都美(かなるましづみ)伊埿弖登阿我久流(いでてとあがくる)

     荒(あら)し男(を)のいをさ手(た)挟(はさ)み向(むか)ひ立(た)ちかなるましづみ出(い)でてと我(あ)が来(く)る

     arasi-wo no iwo-sa tapasami mukapi-tati kanaruma sidumi idete to a ga kuru

     (please add an English translation of this example)

• 戦(いくさ), 軍(いくさ) (ikusa)
• 投(な)ぐる矢(さ)の (naguru sa no, pillow word)

矢 (transliteration needed) (khi)

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

• 矢关 (“khitai”)

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

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

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

矢

Wikisource

矢 (eumhun 화살 시 (hwasal si))

1. hanja form^? of 시 (“arrow”)

矢: Hán Nôm readings: thỉ, tẻ, thẻ, yêu, tử, tủ, tú, siệu

矢

1. chữ Hán form of thỉ (“arrow”)
2. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

• Nom Foundation
• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999