南

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南 U+5357, 南
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5357
← 卖
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 単 →

Translingual

Stroke order
9 strokes

Han character

南 (Kangxi radical 24, 十+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十月廿十 (JBTJ), four-corner 40227, composition ⿱十⿵冂𢆉)

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 157, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
  • Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 65, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+5357

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 南
2nd round simp. ⿱十冂
Wikipedia has articles on:

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (南) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
南 *nuːm
楠 *nuːm
腩 *nuːmʔ
湳 *nuːmʔ
揇 *nuːmʔ
萳 *nuːmʔ
罱 *ruːmʔ
喃 *rnuːm
諵 *rnuːm, *rnuːms

This character has been explained as a pictogram (象形) of a hanging percussion instrument (bell), originally identical to the left side of 㱿. Under this hypothesis its borrowing for the word “south” is difficult to explain.

Sagart (1988) instead proposes that it is a pictogram of the front of a house. Archaeological evidence confirms that in antiquity, at least in some regions, houses were built to face south.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-nam (“sky, sun”) (STEDT; Schuessler (2007); Benedict (1972)); the south is traditionally associated with the sun & light, compare 陽 (OC *laŋ, “light, sun-lit south-side of a hill”).

If so, cognate with Tibetan གནམ (gnam, “sky”), ནམ (nam, “night”), Tshangla ngam (“sun, noon, day, sky”), Chepang न्‍याम् (nyam, “sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather”).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates this word to Old Chinese *nɨm (revised to *nˤm in 2014) "belly, front of the body", further "south" to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nam (“rib(s)”), as one term for one body-part often shifts its meaning to another body-part nearby.

If so, 南 is cognate with 妊 (OC *njɯms, “to carry inside one's belly → to be pregnant”), 任 (OC *njɯm, *njɯms, “to carry a burden, especially in front of the body”), also 腩 (OC *nuːmʔ, “belly (of an ox)”), Southern Pumi nõ⁵⁵, Burmese နံရိုး (nam-rui:, “side of the body, rib”), and thus is a semantic counterpart to 北 (OC *pɯːɡ, “north”), which is related to 背 (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs, “back of the body”).

Pronunciation

Note:
  • lam5 - Chaozhou, Raoping;
  • nam5 - Shantou, Chaoyang, Jieyang;
  • nang5 - Chenghai.
Note:
  • Jinhua:
    • 2noe - vernacular;
    • 2nan - literary.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 南
Mandarin Beijing /nan³⁵/
Harbin /nan²⁴/
Tianjin /nan⁴⁵/
Jinan /nã⁴²/
Qingdao /nã⁴²/
Zhengzhou /nan⁴²/
Xi'an /nã²⁴/
Xining /nã²⁴/
Yinchuan /nan⁵³/
Lanzhou /lɛ̃n⁵³/
Ürümqi /nan⁵¹/
Wuhan /nan²¹³/
Chengdu /nan³¹/
Guiyang /nan²¹/
Kunming /nã̠³¹/
Nanjing /laŋ²⁴/
Hefei /læ̃⁵⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /næ̃¹¹/
Pingyao /nɑŋ¹³/
Hohhot /næ̃³¹/
Wu Shanghai /nø²³/
Suzhou /nø¹³/
Hangzhou /nẽ̞²¹³/
Wenzhou /nø³¹/
Hui Shexian /lɛ⁴⁴/
Tunxi /lɔ⁴⁴/
Xiang Changsha /lan¹³/
Xiangtan /nan¹²/
Gan Nanchang /lan⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /nam¹¹/
Taoyuan /nɑm¹¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /nam²¹/
Nanning /nam²¹/
Hong Kong /nam²¹/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /lam³⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /naŋ⁵³/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /naŋ³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /nam⁵⁵/
Haikou (Hainanese) /nam³¹/
Rime
Character 南
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 泥 (8)
Final (韻) 覃 (159)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 那含切
Baxter nom
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/nʌm/
Pan
Wuyun 		/nəm/
Shao
Rongfen 		/nɒm/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/nəm/
Li
Rong 		/nᴀm/
Wang
Li 		/nɒm/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/năm/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		nán
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		naam4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 南
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		nán
Middle
Chinese 		‹ nom ›
Old
Chinese 		/*nˁm/
English south

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 南
Reading # 1/1
No. 9355
Phonetic
component 		南
Rime
group 		侵
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		南
Old
Chinese 		/*nuːm/

Definitions

南

  1. south; southern

Coordinate terms

compass points: 方位 (fāngwèi):  

西北 (xīběi) 北 東北 / 东北 (dōngběi)
西 (xī) 東 / 东 (dōng)
西南 (xīnán) 南 東南 / 东南 (dōngnán)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (南):
  • → Japanese: 南(なん) (nan)
  • → Okinawan: 南(なん) (nan)
  • → Korean: 남(南) (nam)
  • → Vietnamese: nam (南)

Others:

  • → Japanese: 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind (mahjong tile)”)

Compounds

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Definitions

南

  1. only used in 南無／南无 (nāmó)

References

Japanese

Kanji

南

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
南
みなみ
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

⟨mi1nami1⟩ → */mʲinamʲɨ/ → /minami/

From Old Japanese.

Pronunciation

(Can we verify(+) this pronunciation?)

Noun

南(みなみ) • (minami) 

  1. the south (cardinal point)
    • c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo
      和可夜之奈比乃可波利爾波(わがやしなひのかはりには)、於保末之末須(おほまします)、美奈美(みなみ)乃末知奈流(のまちなる)奴(やつこ)乎宇氣與止(をうけよと)...
      我(わ)が養(やしな)ひの代(かは)りには、おほ坐(ま)します、南(みなみ)の街(まち)なる奴(やつこ)を受(う)けよと...
      waga yashinai no kawari ni wa, ōmashimasu, minami no machi naru yatsuko o ukeyo to...
      (please add an English translation of this example)
    Antonym: 北 (kita)
  2. a southerly, south wind
    Synonym: 南風 (minamikaze, hae)
    Antonym: 北 (kita)
Coordinate terms

compass points: 方角 (hōgaku):  

北西 (hokusei)
西北 (seihoku) 		北 (kita) 北東 (hokutō)
東北 (tōhoku)
西 (nishi) 東 (higashi)
西南 (seinan)
南西 (nansei) 		南 (minami) 東南 (tōnan)
南東 (nantō)
Derived terms
Derived terms

Proper noun

南(みなみ) or 南(ミナミ) • (Minami) 

  1. (historical) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo (as it was located south of Edo Castle)
  2. the name of a ward in various cities throughout Japan, especially a former ward in the city of Osaka which is now part of Chūō Ward
  3. a male given name
  4. a female given name
  5. a surname

Verb

南(みなみ)する • (minami suru) suru (stem 南(みなみ)し (minami shi), past 南(みなみ)した (minami shita))

  1. (archaic) to go south
    • 1789, Seikashū (haikai by Takai Kitō)
      紅楓(もみぢ)深(ふか)し、みなみし西(にし)す、水(みづ)の隅(すみ)
      momiji fukashi, minami shi nishi su, mizu no sumi
      (please add an English translation of this example)
Conjugation
Conjugation of "南する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") 南し みなみし minami shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") 南し みなみし minami shi
Shūshikei ("terminal") 南する みなみする minami suru
Rentaikei ("attributive") 南する みなみする minami suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical") 南すれ みなみすれ minami sure
Meireikei ("imperative") 南せよ¹
南しろ² 		みなみせよ¹
みなみしろ² 		minami seyo¹
minami shiro²
Key constructions
Passive 南される みなみされる minami sareru
Causative 南させる
南さす 		みなみさせる
みなみさす 		minami saseru
minami sasu
Potential 南できる みなみできる minami dekiru
Volitional 南しよう みなみしよう minami shiyō
Negative 南しない みなみしない minami shinai
Negative continuative 南せず みなみせず minami sezu
Formal 南します みなみします minami shimasu
Perfective 南した みなみした minami shita
Conjunctive 南して みなみして minami shite
Hypothetical conditional 南すれば みなみすれば minami sureba
¹ Written imperative

² Spoken imperative

Classical conjugation of "南す" (サ行変格活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形) 南せ みなみせ minamise
Continuative (連用形) 南し みなみし minamisi
Terminal (終止形) 南す みなみす minamisu
Attributive (連体形) 南する みなみする minamisuru
Realis (已然形) 南すれ みなみすれ minamisure
Imperative (命令形) 南せよ みなみせよ minamiseyo
Key constructions
Negative 南せず みなみせず minamisezu
Contrasting conjunction 南すれど みなみすれど minamisuredo
Causal conjunction 南すれば みなみすれば minamisureba
Conditional conjunction 南せば みなみせば minamiseba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) 南しき みなみしき minamisiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) 南しけり みなみしけり minamisikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action) 南しつ みなみしつ minamisitu
Perfect tense (natural event) 南しぬ みなみしぬ minamisinu
Perfect-continuative tense 南せり
南したり		 みなみせり
みなみしたり		 minamiseri
minamisitari
Volitional 南せむ みなみせむ minamisemu

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
南
みんなみ
Grade: 2
irregular

/minami/ → /minːami/

Appears in The Pillow Book, completed in 1002.

Alteration of minami.

Pronunciation

Noun

南(みんなみ) • (minnami) 

  1. (archaic) the south

Proper noun

南(みんなみ) • (Minnami) 

  1. (historical, archaic) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
南
なん
Grade: 2
goon

/namʉ/ → /naɴ/

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nom).

Noun

南(なん) • (nan) 

  1. the south
    Synonym: 南方 (nanpō)
  2. short for 南鐐 (nanryō): beautiful silver; a type of silver coin in the Edo period
Derived terms

Affix

南(なん) • (nan) 

  1. south, southern
  2. Used in Sanskrit transliterations
Derived terms
Derived terms

Proper noun

南(なん) • (Nan) 

  1. a female given name
  2. a surname

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
南
なん
Grade: 2
irregular

From Mandarin 南 (nán).

Noun

南(ナン) • (nan) 

  1. (mahjong) south wind (mahjong tile)
    Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
  2. (mahjong) a 役 (yaku, “winning hand”) with a triplet or quad of south wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 翻 (han, “doubles”)
    Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)
Coordinate terms

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
南
みなん
Grade: 2
irregular

Shift from standard Japanese minami, dropping the final vowel and keeping the nasal.

  • /minami/ → /minaɴ/

Pronunciation

Noun

南(みなん) • (minan) 

  1. (dialect, Kagoshima) south (cardinal point)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ^ Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, →ISBN.

Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nom).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 남 (Yale: nàm)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 앏 (Yale: àlp) 남 (Yale: nàm)
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576 남녁 (Yale: namnyek)
앏 (Yale: alp)		 남 (Yale: nam)

Pronunciation

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

南 (eumhun 남녘 남 (namnyeok nam))

  1. hanja form? of 남 (“south; southern”)

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Hanja

南 (eumhun 나무 나 (namu na))

  1. hanja form? of 나 (“Only used in 나무 (南無, namu)”)

References

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

Okinawan

Alternative forms

Kanji in this term
南
ふぇー
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Kanji

南

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Compounds

Etymology

Cognate to Yonaguni 南 (hai, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

Pronunciation

Noun

南(ふぇー) (fē) 

  1. the south (cardinal point)
  2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

Derived terms

References

Old Japanese

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Compound of み (mi1, uncertain, possibly “sea” or “water”) +‎ な (na, apophonic form of attributive particle の (no2)) +‎ 見 (mi1, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of verb 見る (mi1ru), “to look, see”)?”

Noun

南 (mi1nami1) (kana みなみ)

  1. the south (cardinal point)
    • Shosoin document, text here
      和可夜之奈比乃、可波利爾波、於保末之末須、美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎、宇気与止
      wa ga yasinapi₁ no₂, kapari ni pa, opo masimasu mi₁nami₁ no₂ mati naru nu wo, uke₂ yo₂ to₂
      (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

Usage notes

Also used in the Man'yōshū (759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨na⟩ and 借訓 (shakkun) kana for ⟨namu⟩.

Descendants

  • Japanese: 南 (minami)

Tày

Noun

南 (nam)

  1. Nôm form of nam (“south”).

References

  • Dương Nhật Thanh, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày ‎ (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội

Vietnamese

Han character

南: Hán Nôm readings: nam

Adjective

南 • (nam)

  1. chữ Hán form of nam (“south, southern”)

Coordinate terms

compass points:  

tây bắc (西北) bắc (北) đông bắc (東北)
tây (西) đông (東)
tây nam (西南) nam (南) đông nam (東南)

References

Yonaguni

Kanji

南

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Etymology

Cognate to Okinawan 南 (fē, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

Pronunciation

Noun

南(はい) (hai) 

  1. the south (cardinal point)
  2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

References

Zhuang

Noun

南

  1. Sawndip form of namz
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia