攝

攝 (Kangxi radical 64, 手+18, 21 strokes, cangjie input 手尸十十 (QSJJ), four-corner 5104₁, composition ⿰扌聶)

1. take in, absorb
2. act as deputy
3. administer, assist

• 𡆄, 𥸓

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 463, character 33
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13010
• Dae Jaweon: page 812, character 35
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1986, character 8
• Unihan data for U+651D

Historical forms of the character 攝
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *neːb, *ʔnjeb): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 聶 (OC *neb).

Probably from the same word family as 入 (OC *njub, “to enter”) (STEDT); see there for more.

攝

1. to take in; to absorb; to extract; to assimilate
2. to take a photograph; to shoot
3. (literary) to hold; to grasp; to drag
4. (literary) to manage; to command; to administer
5. (literary) to act as an agent; to be a representative; to act as a proxy

   攝政／摄政  ―  shèzhèng  ―  to act as regent

6. (literary) to arrest; to apprehend
7. (literary) to draw; to attract

   攝石／摄石   ―  sip³ sek⁶   ―  magnet (literally, “stone that attracts”)

8. (literary) to assist
9. (literary) to be squeezed in between

   • 千乘之國，攝乎大國之間，加之以師旅，因之以饑饉。
     千乘之国，摄乎大国之间，加之以师旅，因之以饥馑。

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Qiānshèng zhī guó, shè hū dàguó zhījiān, jiā zhī yǐ shīlǚ, yīn zhī yǐ jījǐn.

     Suppose the case of a state of ten thousand chariots; let it be straitened between other large states; let it be suffering from invading armies; and to this let there be added a famine in corn and in all vegetables.

10. (literary) to maintain one's health; to keep fit

    攝衛／摄卫  ―  shèwèi  ―  to maintain one's health

11. (Chinese phonetics) rhyme group; rhyme class (one of 16 sets of 韻 in Middle Chinese)
12. (Hokkien) to fold; to pleat

    攝襇／摄裥   ―  liap-kéng   ―  to pleat

13. (Hokkien) to hold back; to endure; to restrain oneself

    攝屎／摄屎   ―  liap-sái   ―  to endure a bowel movement

14. (Mainland China Hokkien) to save; to economize; to cut down on
15. (Mainland China Hokkien) to tangle up; to twist together (of rope, string, etc.)
16. (Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) to be capable; to be competent (used with 會 and 𣍐)

    𣍐攝／𫧃摄   ―  bōe-liap   ―  incapable

17. (Taiwanese Hokkien) to have one's state of mind captured (by spirits, ghosts, demons, etc.)
18. (Taiwanese Hokkien) to wrinkle; to wilt; to wither; to shrivel; to crease
19. (Taiwanese Hokkien) to shrink back; to flinch; to cower; to recoil (especially in hesitation)

• (to take in):

• (to take a photograph):

• (to maintain one's health):

• (to arrest):

• (to approach):

攝

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) only used in 攝然／摄然

Compare Wuming Zhuang saeb (“to insert into a gap”), Hlai nyiep (/⁠ȵiːp⁷⁠/, “to insert into a gap”).

攝 (Cantonese)

1. to squeeze into; to wedge in

   攝衫／摄衫   ―  sip³ saam¹   ―  to tuck in clothing

   攝封信入門罅度
   摄封信入门罅度

   sip³ fung¹ seon³ jap⁶ mun⁴ laa³ dou⁶

   to squeeze the letter into the gap between the door and its frame

2. to raise something by putting another thing underneath

• “攝”, 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–

(Jinmeiyō kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 摂)

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

• Go-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: せつ (setsu)
• Kun: おさめる (osameru, 攝める)、かねる (kaneru, 攝る)、とる (toru, 攝る)

攝 • (seop, yeop) (hangeul 섭, 엽, revised seop, yeop, McCune–Reischauer sŏp, yŏp, Yale sep, yep)

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

攝: Hán Nôm readings: nhép, nếp, nhiếp, xếp, nhẹp, nhíp, triếp

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