索

索 (Kangxi radical 120, 糸+4, 10 strokes, cangjie input 十月女戈火 (JBVIF), four-corner 4090₃, composition ⿳十冖糸)

• 嗦 㮦 溹 䅴 䌇 鎍(𫔅) 䞽 䖛 𠋲 𭝻 𢱢 𤌘 𥻨 𧎳 𧛻 𩌈 𬵠 𪍟 𭅬 𩘝(𩙭) 𫦎 𭮹 𮭈 𪟹 𦅕 𦃆 𦆽 𤸴 𡩡 𥰼 𦵫 𩄜 𩮛

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 918, character 16
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 27306
• Dae Jaweon: page 1349, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3369, character 9
• Unihan data for U+7D22

• Unihan data for U+F96A

Historical forms of the character 索
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 糸 (“thread”) + 𣎳 (“strip fibres off a hemp stalk”). Threads (rope) being removed from a fabric.

糸 visually represents the middle interior of the small seal script form, whereas 𣎳 is the three-pointed top part and the left and right lines.

From Austroasiatic; compare Proto-Vietic *ɟaːk (“rope”) (> Vietnamese chạc), Mon ဇုက် (“string; cord; rope; lashing; creeper”) (Schuessler, 2007).

索

1. rope; cable
2. (Teochew) to climb; to clamber
3. (mahjong, regional) bamboo tile

Ultimately Austroasiatic; compare Khmer ស (sɑɑ, “white; to show something clearly”); cognate with 素 (OC *saːs, “colourless; plain”) (Schuessler, 2007).

索

1. to search; to look for; to inquire into
2. to request; to demand
3. (literary) alone; solitary
4. (literary) uninteresting; dull; insipid

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

索

1. a surname

索

1. (Cantonese) to absorb
2. (Cantonese) to sniff; to smell

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From 嗍, 欶?”)

索

1. (Cantonese, of a female) beautiful; pretty; hot; sexually attractive

• “Entry #6503”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

(Jōyō kanji)

1. string, thread

• Go-on: しゃく (shaku)、さく (saku, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: さく (saku, Jōyō)
• Kun: なわ (nawa, 索)、もとめる (motomeru, 索める)

• 検索(けんさく) (kensaku): search, look up, retrieve
• 索引(さくいん) (sakuin): index

From Middle Chinese 索 (MC srjaek|sreak). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄉᆡᆨ〮 (Yale: sóyk) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): ~
• Phonetic hangul:

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

索

Wikisource

索 (eumhun 찾을 색 (chajeul saek))

1. hanja form^? of 색 (“to search”)
2. hanja form^? of 색 (“to request; to demand”)
3. hanja form^? of 색 (“to inquire”)

From Middle Chinese 索 (MC sak). Recorded as Middle Korean 삭〮 (sák) (Yale: sák) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:

索 (eumhun 노 삭 (no sak))

1. hanja form^? of 삭 (“rope; cable”)

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

索: Hán Nôm readings: sách, tác, xách

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