守

Stroke order

守 (Kangxi radical 40, 宀+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 十木戈 (JDI), four-corner 3034₂, composition ⿱宀寸)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 282, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7071
• Dae Jaweon: page 552, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 912, character 3
• Unihan data for U+5B88

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

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 宀 (“roof; building”) + 寸 (“hand”); to guard, keep, or defend a place (e.g., a building whose roof is visible on top of the character). It's possible that 寸 (original form of 肘 (OC *tkuʔ)) is also a phonetic component. A more conservative version is 㝊, in which 又 is not a phonetic component.

守

1. to keep; to maintain; to preserve
2. to abide by; to follow; to comply with
3. to defend; to protect; to keep watch
4. to approach; to come closer; to draw near
5. 57th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "guardedness" (𝌾)
6. a surname

• (to keep):

• (to abide by):

• (to defend):

• (to approach):

• “守”, 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–

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

1. protect, defend, watch over

• (protect): 衛, 仗

• Go-on: しゅ (shu, Jōyō)、す (su, Jōyō ^†)
• Kan-on: しゅう (shū)
• Kun: かみ (kami, 守)、こう (kō, 守)、もる (moru, 守る)、もり (mori, 守)、もり (mori, 守り, Jōyō)、まもる (mamoru, 守る, Jōyō)、まもり (mamori, 守)、まもり (mamori, 守り)、まぼる (maboru, 守る)、まぶる (maburu, 守る)
• Nanori: う (u)、し (shi)、て (te)、まもる (mamoru)、も (mo)

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 守る (moru, “to protect, to watch over”). Also spelled with the okurigana り.

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

守(もり) • (mori) 

1. a watchman, a keeper (as of a lighthouse), a caretaker
2. a nursemaid, a babysitter

From verb 守る (mamoru, “to protect”).

• IPA^(key):

守(まもる) • (Mamoru) 

1. a male given name

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 守る (mamoru, “to protect”). Also spelled with the okurigana り.

• 守り

• IPA^(key):

守(まもり) • (mamori) 

1. standing watch, standing guard
2. a watchman, a guard (especially at a castle or fort)
3. divine protection from misfortune
4. a god or spirit providing such protection
5. a ward, charm, talisman, or other item providing divine protection
6. short for 守り刀, 守刀 (mamorigatana, “protection sword”, sword always kept at one's side for personal protection)
7. a seal or coat of arms using a 守り札 (mamorifuda, “charm tag”), 守り袋 (mamoribukuro, “charm bag”), or similar charm for the design

• (watchman): 守備(しゅび) (shubi); 警備(けいび) (keibi); 警護(けいご) (keigo)
• (divine protector): 守(まも)り神(がみ) (mamorigami); 守護神(しゅごしん) (shugoshin)
• (charm): お守(まも)り (omamori); 守(まも)り札(ふだ) (mamorifuda); 護符(ごふ) (gofu); 守(まも)り袋(ぶくろ) (mamoribukuro)

Alteration of mamori.

• IPA^(key):

守(まぼり) • (mabori) 

1. see mamori above

Alteration of mabori.

• IPA^(key):

守(まぶり) • (maburi) 

1. see mamori above

From Middle Chinese 守 (shǒu).

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

守(しゅ) • (shu) 

1. (archaic) used when listing an official's titles when there are two or more (compare English cum)
2. short for 守護 (shugo, “protection, protector”)
3. (archaic) short for 国守 (kokushu, “head administrator of a kuni in the old Ritsuryō system”)

From the sense of being above in rank and status. Essentially of the same meaning as 上 (kami, “above”), but spelled 守 to convey a sense of “watching” or “overseeing”. This spelling is an example of jukujikun or ateji used for the meaning.

• 長官

• IPA^(key):

守(かみ) • (kami) 

1. (archaic) under the old Ritsuryō system of ancient Japan, the highest of the four ranks of civil servant staff, and general term for head administrators of government departments
2. (archaic) in the first year of the new Meiji era government established in 1868, the title of the seven heads of all government bureaus except the 総裁局 (Sōsai Kyoku, “Bureau of the President”), whose head was titled 総裁 (Sōsai, “president” or “director general”)

Alteration of kami.

/kami/ → /kamu/ → /kau/ → /kɔː/ → /koː/

• IPA^(key):

守(こう) • (kō) ^{←かう (kau)?}

1. (obsolete) see kami above; used in obsolete titles

The following are all titles in the old Ritsuryō system.

• 守(こう)の君(きみ) (kō no kimi)
• 守(こう)の殿(との) (kō no tono)
• 守(こう)の主(ぬし) (kō no nushi)

守 (eumhun 지킬 수 (jikil su))

1. hanja form^? of 수 (“protection”)

• 보수 (保守, bosu, “conservative”)
• 수호 (守護, suho, “protection; safeguard”)
• 수비 (守備, subi, “defense”)

守: Hán Nôm readings: thú, thủ

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