宙

宙 (Kangxi radical 40, 宀+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 十中田 (JLW), four-corner 3060₂, composition ⿱宀由)

• 𥇻, 𦁖, 𫈛, 𡧹

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 283, character 17
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7108
• Dae Jaweon: page 559, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 921, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5B99

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'ɯwɢs) : semantic 宀 (“roof”) + phonetic 由 (OC *lɯw). It originally represented the farthest place accessible by boat or vehicle and, by extension, came to express the idea of spatial expansion or vastness.^[1]

宙

1. (obsolete) (of a house) ridgepole and beams

   • 而燕雀佼之，以為不能與之爭於宇宙之間。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     而燕雀佼之，以为不能与之争于宇宙之间。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Huainanzi, 2^nd century BCE

     Ér yànquè jiǎo zhī, yǐwèi bùnéng yǔ zhī zhēng yú yǔzhòu zhījiān.

     So the swallows and sparrows mocked them (the fenghuang), saying that they were incapable of matching them in squabbling among the eaves and roof, ridgepole, and beams.

2. (obsolete, except in 宇宙) infinite time

   • 有實而無乎處，有長而無乎本剽，有所出而無竅者有實。有實而無乎處者，宇也；有長而無本剽者，宙也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     有实而无乎处，有长而无乎本剽，有所出而无窍者有实。有实而无乎处者，宇也；有长而无本剽者，宙也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

     Yǒu shí ér wú hū chù, yǒu cháng ér wú hū běnpiāo, yǒu suǒchū ér wú qiào zhě yǒu shí. Yǒu shí ér wú hū chù zhě, yǔ yě; yǒu cháng ér wú běn piāo zhě, zhòu yě.

     He has a real existence, but it has nothing to do with place; he has continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or end. He has a real existence, but it has nothing to do with place, such is his relation to space; he has continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or end, such is his relation to time.

   • 宇宙在乎手。 [Literary Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: 《黃帝陰符經》(The Yellow Thearch's Classic of the Hidden Talisman), circa 8th century CE, translated based on James Legge's version.

     Yǔzhòu zài hū shǒu.

     All space and time are at his disposal.

3. (obsolete) heaven, sky

   • 霜凝碧宙，水瑩丹霄。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     霜凝碧宙，水莹丹霄。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 7th century CE, Wang Bo,《七夕賦》 (Rhapsody on the Seventh Month's Seventh Night).

     Shuāng níng bì zhòu, shuǐ yíng dān xiāo.

     Dew forms in the cerulean sky; water-droplets glisten in the scarlet welkin.

4. (geology) eon (geochronologic unit)

• “宙”, 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), “宙”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 312.

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

1. mid-air

• Go-on: じゅう (jū)^{←ぢう (diu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ちゅう (chū, Jōyō)^{←ちう (tiu, historical)}
• Kun: そら (sora, 宙)、も (mo, 宙)

宙(ちゅう) • (chū) 

1. mid-air

From Middle Chinese 宙 (MC drjuwH).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

宙

Wikisource

宙 (eumhun 집 주 (jip ju))

1. hanja form^? of 주 (“infinite time in 우주 (宇宙, uju, “space”)”)
2. hanja form^? of 주 (“house; ridgepole; pillar”)

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

宙: Hán Nôm readings: trụ

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