倭

倭 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+8, 10 strokes, cangjie input 人竹木女 (OHDV), four-corner 2224₄, composition ⿰亻委)

• 䔀, 𬕥

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 109, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 796
• Dae Jaweon: page 232, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 179, character 8
• Unihan data for U+502D
• Shuowen Jiezi: volume 15, page 46, character 18

Historical forms of the character 倭
Small seal script s05700 Transcribed ancient scripts L34578
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *qoːl, *qoːlʔ, *qrol) : semantic 人 + phonetic 委 (OC *qrol, *qrolʔ).

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

Various theories suggest that 倭 was influenced by Old Japanese 我 (wa, “I, me”) or referring to the practice of bowing among the ancient Japanese.

倭

1. (historical, now derogatory) Japan; Yamato
2. (in some animal names) dwarf; pygmy

   倭蛙  ―  wōwā  ―  Nanorana pleskei

   倭河馬／倭河马  ―  wōhémǎ  ―  pygmy hippopotamus

   倭黑猩猩  ―  wōhēixīngxīng  ―  bonobo; pygmy chimpanzee

• (Japan):

• 大和 (Dàhé)
• 日本 (Rìběn)

倭

1. Used in 倭遲／倭迟, alternative form of 逶迤 (wēiyí, “winding; meandering”)

倭

1. Only used in 倭墮髻／倭堕髻 (wǒduòjì, “a hairstyle for women that was popular during the Han Dynasty in which the hair was gathered up in a lopsided bun”).

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

1. Yamato
2. the country of Japan

• Go-on: い (i)^{←ゐ (wi, historical)}、わ (wa)
• Kan-on: い (i)^{←ゐ (wi, historical)}、わ (wa)
• Kun: やまと (yamato, 倭)、したがう (shitagau, 倭う)

From Middle Chinese 倭 (MC 'wa). Various theories suggest that 倭 was influenced by Old Japanese 我 (wa, “I, me”) or referring to the practice of bowing among the ancient Japanese.

• (Tokyo) わ (Atamadaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

倭(わ) • (Wa) 

1. ancient Japan

During the Nara period, Japanese scholars believed that 倭 was derogatory as a name for their own country, because the Chinese word depicted a man bending down. Around 757 CE, Japan replaced 倭 with 和(わ) (Wa), which had the same pronunciation in Old Japanese, but instead meant "harmonious".

From a corrupted or unorthodox reading. The original reading is 와 (wa) based on Middle Chinese 倭 (MC 'wa).

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

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

倭

Wikisource

倭 (eumhun 왜나라 왜 (waenara wae))

1. hanja form^? of 왜 (“ancient Japan, Yamato”)

From Middle Chinese 倭 (MC 'jwe).

倭 (eumhun 유순할 위 (yusunhal wi))

1. (literary Chinese) hanja form^? of 위 (“docile, obedient”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

倭: Hán Nôm readings: uy, oải, nụy/nuỵ, oa

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