數

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See also: 数
數 U+6578, 數
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6578
← 敷
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 敹 →
數 U+F969, 數
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F969
← 泌
 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs 索 →

Translingual

Japanese 数
Simplified 数
Traditional 數

Han character

數 (Kangxi radical 66, 攴+11, 15 strokes, cangjie input 中女人大 (LVOK), four-corner 58440, composition ⿰婁攵)

Derived characters

Additional Derived Characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 475, character 4
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13363
  • Dae Jaweon: page 829, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1474, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+6578

Chinese

trad. 數
simp. 数
2nd round simp. 𮲓

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (婁) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
樓 *ɡ·roː
摟 *roː, *ro
耬 *roː
僂 *ɡ·roː, *ɡ·roːs, *ɡ·roʔ
婁 *ɡ·roː, *ɡ·ro
螻 *roː
髏 *roː
蔞 *roː, *ro, *roʔ
鞻 *roː
艛 *ɡ·roː
膢 *roː, *ro
廔 *roː
嘍 *roː, *roːʔ
瞜 *roː, *ro
簍 *roː, *roːʔ, *roʔ
慺 *roː, *ro, *roʔ
鷜 *roː, *ro
褸 *roː, *roʔ
遱 *roː
謱 *roː, *roːʔ, *roʔ
嶁 *roːʔ, *roʔ
甊 *roːʔ
塿 *roːʔ
漊 *roːʔ, *roʔ
鏤 *roːs, *ro
瘻 *roːs, *ro
擻 *sloːʔ
藪 *sloːʔ
籔 *sloːʔ, *sroʔ
氀 *ro
縷 *roʔ
屢 *ros
數 *sroʔ, *sros, *sroːɡ
屨 *klos
窶 *ɡloʔ
貗 *ɡloʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sroʔ, *sros, *sroːɡ): phonetic 婁 (OC *ɡ·roː, *ɡ·ro) + semantic 攴.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-tsjəj (“to count”); cognate to Tibetan རྩི (rtsi, “to count; to calculate”), Burmese ရေ (re, “to count”), Jingpho hti, Ersu htɛ⁵⁵ (STEDT).

Schuessler (2007) connects this word with Austroasiatic; compare Mon ရိုဟ် (rɜ̀h), from Middle Mon ruih (“to count”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *rʔis (“to count”).

Pronunciation

Note:
  • só - vernacular;
  • sū - literary, rare.
Note:
  • siàu - vernacular (“to count”);
  • só͘/sò͘ - literary (“to be reckoned as; to criticise”).
Note:
  • siao3 - Shantou;
  • siou3 - Chaozhou.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 數 (數錢)
Mandarin Beijing /ʂu²¹⁴/
Harbin /ʂu²¹³/
Tianjin /su¹³/
Jinan /ʂu⁵⁵/
Qingdao /ʂu⁵⁵/
Zhengzhou /ʂuo⁵³/
Xi'an /fu⁵³/
Xining /fv̩⁵³/
Yinchuan /su⁵³/
Lanzhou /fu⁴⁴²/
Ürümqi /ʂu²¹³/
/fu²¹³/
Wuhan /səu⁴²/
Chengdu /su⁵³/
Guiyang /su⁴²/
Kunming /su⁵³/
Nanjing /su²¹²/
Hefei /sʊ²⁴/
Jin Taiyuan /su⁵³/
Pingyao /sz̩ʷ⁵³/
Hohhot /su⁵³/
Wu Shanghai /su³⁵/
Suzhou /səu⁵¹/
Hangzhou /su⁵³/
Wenzhou /sz̩³⁵/
Hui Shexian /su³⁵/
Tunxi /səu³¹/
Xiang Changsha /səu⁴¹/
Xiangtan /səɯ⁴²/
Gan Nanchang /su²¹³/
Hakka Meixian /su³¹/
Taoyuan
Cantonese Guangzhou /sou³⁵/
Nanning /su³⁵/
Hong Kong /sou³⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /sɔ⁵³/
/siau²¹/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /sou²¹²/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /su³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /siau²¹³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /tiau³⁵/
Rime
Character 數
Reading # 1/3
Initial (聲) 生 (21)
Final (韻) 虞 (24)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division (等) III
Fanqie 所矩切
Baxter srjuX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ʃɨoX/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ʃioX/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ʃioX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ʂuə̆X/
Li
Rong 		/ʃioX/
Wang
Li 		/ʃĭuX/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ʂi̯uX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		shǔ
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		so2
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 數
Reading # 1/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		shǔ
Middle
Chinese 		‹ srjuX ›
Old
Chinese 		/*s-roʔ/
English count (v.)

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 數
Reading # 1/3
No. 8506
Phonetic
component 		婁
Rime
group 		侯
Rime
subdivision 		0
Corresponding
MC rime 		數
Old
Chinese 		/*sroʔ/

Definitions

數

  1. to count; to enumerate
    數銀仔／数银仔   ―  sou2 ngan4-2 zai2   ―  to count coins
  2. to be reckoned as
    數一數二／数一数二  ―  shǔyī shǔ'èr  ―  to be reckoned as first or second; to be one of the best
  3. to criticize; to find fault; to blame
    數落／数落  ―  shǔluò  ―  to criticize, to scold
    • 子游曰：「事君數，斯辱矣，朋友數，斯疏矣。」
      子游曰：「事君数，斯辱矣，朋友数，斯疏矣。」
      From: Li Ren 26, The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE
      Zǐ Yóu yuē, "Shì jūn shǔ, sī rǔ yǐ, péngyǒu shǔ, sī shū yǐ."
      Zi You said, "Serving a prince and criticizing him, this brings disgrace; Having a friend and criticizing him, this brings alienation."
    • 爲兒時母夫人日加嚴訓，不妄交遊。一日偶宿女隷家，其母面數之曰：「我已老，日夜望汝成長，立功名爲君親榮，今乃爾與屠沽小兒遊戱媱，房酒肆耶？」
      From: 《破閑集》, 1260
      Wi a si mo bu'in il ga eomhun, bul mang gyoyu. Iril u suk nyeo rye ga, gi mo myeon su ji wal: "A yi ro, irya mang yeo seongjang, ip gongmyeong wi gunchin yeong, geum nae i yeo dogo so'a yuhui yo, bang dosa ya?"
      When he was young, his mother raised him more sternly with every passing day, so he did not befriend anyone recklessly. one day, he happened to stay the night in the house of a serf-girl. His mother faced him and scolded him: "I am old already. Day and night, I look forward to you becoming a man, making a name for yourself, and bringing glory to your lord and kin. And now, you are playing for pleasure with a girl from the riffraff, and having sex in the taverns!"

Synonyms

  • (Malaysia, Singapore) 算 (suàn)

Compounds

Etymology 2

Exopassive derivation of Etymology 1 with suffix *-s, meaning "what is counted" (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Note: sù - Taiwan, only used in 數珠.
Note:
  • sṳ - “account; fate”.
Note:
Note:
  • sò͘ - literary;
  • siàu - vernacular (“account”).
Note:
  • siao3/siou3 - noun (siou3 - Chaozhou);
  • su3 - "several" and in 無數.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 數 (數量)
Mandarin Beijing /ʂu⁵¹/
Harbin /ʂu⁵³/
Tianjin /su⁵³/
Jinan /ʂu²¹/
Qingdao /ʂu⁴²/
Zhengzhou /ʂuo³¹²/
Xi'an /fu⁴⁴/
Xining /fv̩²¹³/
Yinchuan /su¹³/
Lanzhou /fu¹³/
Ürümqi /ʂu²¹³/
/fu²¹³/
Wuhan /səu³⁵/
Chengdu /su¹³/
Guiyang /su²¹³/
Kunming /su²¹²/
Nanjing /su⁴⁴/
Hefei /sʊ⁵³/
Jin Taiyuan /su⁴⁵/
Pingyao /sz̩ʷ³⁵/
Hohhot /su⁵⁵/
Wu Shanghai /su³⁵/
Suzhou /səu⁵¹³/
Hangzhou /su⁴⁴⁵/
Wenzhou /sɤu⁴²/
Hui Shexian /su³²⁴/
Tunxi /səu⁴²/
Xiang Changsha /səu⁵⁵/
Xiangtan /səɯ⁵⁵/
Gan Nanchang /su⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /su⁵³/
Taoyuan /su⁵⁵/
Cantonese Guangzhou /sou³³/
Nanning /su³³/
Hong Kong /sou³³/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /sɔ²¹/
/siau²¹/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /sou²¹²/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /su³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /siau²¹³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /to³⁵/
/tiau³⁵/
Rime
Character 數
Reading # 2/3
Initial (聲) 生 (21)
Final (韻) 虞 (24)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division (等) III
Fanqie 色句切
Baxter srjuH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ʃɨoH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ʃioH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ʃioH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ʂuə̆H/
Li
Rong 		/ʃioH/
Wang
Li 		/ʃĭuH/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ʂi̯uH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		shù
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		so3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 數
Reading # 2/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		shù
Middle
Chinese 		‹ srjuH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*s-roʔ-s/
English number (n.)

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 數
Reading # 2/3
No. 8508
Phonetic
component 		婁
Rime
group 		侯
Rime
subdivision 		0
Corresponding
MC rime 		捒
Old
Chinese 		/*sros/

Definitions

數

  1. number; figure; amount (Classifier: 個／个; 粒 c)
    人數／人数  ―  rénshù  ―  population
  2. (mathematics) number
    整數／整数  ―  zhěngshù  ―  integer
  3. (grammar) number
    單數／单数  ―  dānshù  ―  singular
  4. several; few
    數百人／数百人  ―  shù bǎi rén  ―  several hundred people
  5. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) mathematics; reckoning (one of the Six Arts)
  6. short for 數學／数学 (shùxué, “mathematics”)
    中英數／中英数   ―  zung1 jing1 sou3   ―  Chinese, English and mathematics
  7. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) divination
  8. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) skill
  9. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) law; rule; regular pattern
  10. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) legal system
  11. fate; destiny
    氣數／气数  ―  qìshù  ―  fate
  12. (Cantonese, Hakka, Southern Min) account (Classifier: 條／条 c mn-t; 盤／盘 c)
    數簿／数簿   ―  sou3 bou6-2   ―  account book
    公數／公数   ―  gung1 sou3   ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  13. (Cantonese) debt (Classifier: 筆／笔 c; 條／条 c)
    卡數／卡数   ―  kaat1 sou3   ―  credit card debt
  14. (Cantonese) sum of money (Classifier: 筆／笔 c; 嚿 c)
  15. (Cantonese) mathematical problem (Classifier: 條／条 c)

Compounds

Etymology 3

Derivation of Etymology 1, perhaps with distributive suffix *-k (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Rime
Character 數
Reading # 3/3
Initial (聲) 生 (21)
Final (韻) 覺 (10)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) II
Fanqie 所角切
Baxter sraewk
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ʃˠʌk̚/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ʃᵚɔk̚/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ʃɔk̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ʂaɨwk̚/
Li
Rong 		/ʃɔk̚/
Wang
Li 		/ʃɔk̚/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ʂɔk̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		shuo
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		sok3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 數
Reading # 3/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		shuò
Middle
Chinese 		‹ sræwk ›
Old
Chinese 		/*s-rok/
English frequently

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 數
Reading # 3/3
No. 8512
Phonetic
component 		婁
Rime
group 		屋
Rime
subdivision 		0
Corresponding
MC rime 		朔
Old
Chinese 		/*sroːɡ/

Definitions

數

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) frequently; repeatedly
    數見不鮮／数见不鲜  ―  shuòjiàn bùxiān  ―  a common occurrence

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (數):
  • → Japanese: 数(すう) (sū)
  • → Korean: 수(數) (su)
  • → Vietnamese: số (數)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Definitions

數

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) fine and closely woven
    數罟／数罟  ―  cùgǔ  ―  closely woven net

Compounds

References

  • “數”, 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–
  • 李如龙 , 刘福铸 , 吴华英 , 黄国城 (2019) “数 (名词)”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 143.
  • 莆田市荔城区档案馆 , editor (2022), “数”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 214.

Japanese

Shinjitai

数

Kyūjitai

數

Kanji

數

(Hyōgai kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 数)

  1. count
  2. number

Readings

Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 數 (MC srjuX|srjuH).

Historical readings

Recorded as Middle Korean 수 (swu)訓 (Yale: swu) in Sinjeung Yuhap (新增類合 / 신증유합), 1576.

“number; etc.”
From Middle Chinese 數 (MC srjuH).
Recorded as Middle Korean 숭〮 (Yale: swú) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
“to count; to calculate”
From Middle Chinese 數 (MC srjuX).
Recorded as Middle Korean 슝〯 (Yale: syǔ) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.

Pronunciation

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

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

數 (eumhun 셀 수 (sel su))
數 (eumhun 셈 수 (sem su))

  1. Hanja form? of 수 (“number; fixed quantity; figure”).
  2. Hanja form? of 수 (“to count; to calculate”).
  3. Hanja form? of 수 (“a little; a bit; a few; several”).
  4. Hanja form? of 수 (“manners”).
  5. Hanja form? of 수 (“grade”).
  6. Hanja form? of 수 (“obligation; duty”).
  7. Hanja form? of 수 (“fate; destiny”).
  8. Hanja form? of 수 (“skill; technique”).
  9. Hanja form? of 수 (“trick; scheme”).
  10. Hanja form? of 수 (“means; method”).

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 數 (MC sraewk).

Historical readings

Pronunciation

Hanja

數 (eumhun 자주 삭 (jaju sak))

  1. (literary) hanja form? of 삭 (“often; frequently”)

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 3

From Middle Chinese 數.

Historical readings

Pronunciation

Hanja

數 (eumhun 촘촘할 촉 (chomchomhal chok))

  1. (literary) hanja form? of 촉 (“dense; thick”)

Compounds

References

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

Vietnamese

Han character

數: Hán Việt readings: sác, số, sổ, xúc
數: Nôm readings: số, sổ, sỗ, sộ, xọ

  1. chữ Hán form of số (“number”)
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