蟬

Translingual

Han character

蟬 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+12, 18 strokes, cangjie input 中戈口口十 (LIRRJ), four-corner 5615₆, composition ⿰虫單)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1097, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33616
• Dae Jaweon: page 1562, character 10
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2891, character 7
• Unihan data for U+87EC

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 蟬
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *djan) : semantic 虫 (“insect”) + phonetic 單 (OC *taːn, *djan, *djanʔ, *djans).

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Definitions

蟬

1. cicada (Classifier: 隻／只 m c)

   • 飲而不食者，蟬也；不飲不食者，蜉蝣也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     饮而不食者，蝉也；不饮不食者，蜉蝣也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Xunzi, c. 3^rd century BCE

     Yǐn ér bùshí zhě, chán yě; bùyǐn bùshí zhě, fúyóu yě.

     That which drinks but does not eat is the cicada. That which neither drinks nor eats is the mayfly.

2. (literary) a type of silk as thin as a cicada's wing
3. (literary) cicada-shaped decoration
4. (literary) continuously; unendingly

   蟬聯／蝉联  ―  chánlián  ―  to continue in a post; to win a title in successive years

Synonyms

• (cicada):

Compounds

References

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A03682

Japanese

Kanji

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

1. cicada
2. continuous

Readings

• Go-on: ぜん (zen)
• Kan-on: せん (sen)
• Kun: せみ (semi, 蟬); せび (sebi, 蟬)
• Nanori: せみ (semi)

Korean

Hanja

蟬 • (seon) (hangeul 선, revised seon, McCune–Reischauer sŏn, Yale sen)

1. cicada

Vietnamese

Han character

蟬: Hán Nôm readings: thiền

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