Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word you have here. The definition of the word will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: 𧰼 and
U+8C61, 象
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8C61

CJK Unified Ideographs

Translingual

Stroke order
Stroke order in simplified Chinese
Japanese
Simplified
Traditional

Alternative forms

Han character

(Kangxi radical 152, +5 in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, 豕+4 in simplified Chinese, 12 strokes in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, 11 strokes in simplified Chinese, cangjie input 弓日心人 (NAPO), four-corner 27232, composition 𧰨(GV) or 𫩏𧰨(HT) or ⿸⿳𫩏⿹⿱丿⿱丿丿⿺丿(JK))

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1195, character 21
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36372
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1658, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3611, character 9
  • Unihan data for U+8C61

Chinese

trad.
simp. #
2nd round simp. ⿱⺈𫩏
Wikipedia has articles on:

Glyph origin

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

Pictogram (象形) - pictographic representation of an elephant. represents the trunk, 𫩏 represents the head, and 𧰨 represents the body.

Etymology 1

This character is used to represent two semantic fields ‘elephant; tusk’ and ‘to outline; to depict; to delineate; to represent; to resemble; to map’. Both fields are found from the earliest layers of the edited literature onwards, whereas only the first meaning is amply attested in oracle bone inscriptions.

Traditionally, the two senses are treated as related, with the sense of ‘to depict; to resemble’ considered a derivative of the sense of ‘elephant’. The derivation from the ‘elephant’ meaning to the ‘likeness’ meaning is explained in Han Feizi First attested in c. 221 BCE: “Men rarely see living elephants. As they come by the skeleton of a dead elephant, they imagine its living form according to its features. Therefore it comes to pass that whatever people use for imagining the real is called .”

Modern etymology studies on Old Chinese have challenged this opinion.

As for the ‘elephant; tusk’ sense, this is a widely used area word in East and Southeast Asia. Literature opinions differ on the origin and immediate relationship of this Chinese word; some (e.g. Schuessler, 2007) believe the Chinese form is a loanword from a Southern language, since it is unlikely that peoples all over Southeast Asia and the Himalayan foothills would borrow a word from Northern China to denote an indigenous animal. Others believe the direction of borrowing is reversed (i.e. Tai-Kadai borrowing from Chinese), and that Chinese should be compared with Tibetan གླང (glang), གླང་ཆེན (glang chen, elephant) arising from a common Proto-Sino-Tibetan *glaŋ (ox, bull; elephant), which may ultimately have an Austroasiatic origin (Behr, 2004). The second viewpoint is supported by the early attestation of this character and the archaeological findings of the historical ranges of elephants. However, Schuessler disputes that second viewpoint and links ST *glaŋ to (OC *klaːŋ, “ox, bull”).

See below for a tentative borrowing history of the various forms of this general area word.

Pronunciation


Note:
  • cieo5/ciuⁿ5 - vernacular;
  • syong5/syeng5 - literary.
Note:
  • chhiūⁿ/chhiǔⁿ/chhiōⁿ - vernacular;
  • siōng/sióng/siǒng/chhiāng - literary.
    • (Teochew)
      • Peng'im: ciên6 / cion6 / siang6
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshiĕⁿ / tshiŏⁿ / siăng
      • Sinological IPA (key): /t͡sʰĩẽ³⁵/, /t͡sʰĩõ³⁵/, /siaŋ³⁵/
Note:
  • ciên6 - Chaozhou (“elephant”);
  • cion6 - Shantou (“elephant”);
  • siang6 - other senses.

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (17)
Final () (105)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter zjangX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/zɨɐŋX/
Pan
Wuyun
/ziɐŋX/
Shao
Rongfen
/ziɑŋX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/zɨaŋX/
Li
Rong
/ziaŋX/
Wang
Li
/zĭaŋX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/zi̯aŋX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
xiàng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
zoeng6
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
xiàng
Middle
Chinese
‹ zjangX ›
Old
Chinese
/*s-aŋʔ/
English elephant

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
Reading # 1/1
No. 13664
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*ljaŋʔ/

Definitions

象 (1)
(Chinese Chess) 象 (3)

  1. elephant (Classifier: m;  m c mn)
      ―  yòu xiàng  ―  young elephant
  2. ivory; tusk
    Synonym: 象牙 (xiàngyá)
      ―  xiàngchuáng  ―  ivory-decorated bed
  3. (xiangqi) elephant: 🩩 (on the black side) (Classifier: c)
    Synonym:
  4. (chess) bishop
  5. symbol; emblem
      ―  xiàngzhēng  ―  symbol
  6. appearance; shape; phenomenon
      ―  tiānxiàng  ―  celestial phenomenon
      ―  xiànxiàng  ―  phenomenon
      ―  jǐngxiàng  ―  scene
  7. (traditional Chinese medicine) complexion
      ―  bìngxiàng  ―  disease signs and symptoms
  8. image; picture; portrait
    See also:
  9. sign; indication
  10. (obsolete) law; legislation
  11. (obsolete) principle
  12. (obsolete) calendar
  13. (literary) to imitate; to follow the example of
      ―  xiàngxíng  ―  pictogram
    聲詞声词  ―  xiàngshēngcí  ―  onomatopoeia
  14. (literary) to trace; to outline; to depict
  15. to resemble
    See also:
  16. (historical) government official that translates southern languages
  17. () (historical) Xiang, a commandery of Han China
  18. a surname
Synonyms
  • (elephant):
  • (like):
Coordinate terms

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic ():

Others:

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of – see (“picture; image; photograph; figure; statue; figure; sculpture; etc.”).
(This character is the former (1964–1986) first-round simplified form of ).
Notes:

Usage notes

  • was the official simplified form of (xiàng) only until 1986.

See also

Chess pieces in Mandarin · 國際象棋棋子国际象棋棋子 (guójì xiàngqí qízǐ) (layout · text)
♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
(wáng),
國王国王 (guówáng)
(hòu),
皇后 (huánghòu)
(),
城堡 (chéngbǎo)
(xiàng),
主教 (zhǔjiào)
(),
騎士骑士 (qíshì)
(bīng)

References

  1. ^ 李榮 (1998) 成都方言詞典(現代漢語方言大詞典·分卷), 江蘇教育出版社, →ISBN
  2. ^ Vovin, Alexander (2011) First and second person singular pronouns: a pillar or a pillory of the ‘Altaic’ hypothesis?, pages 271–272
  3. ^ 李榮 (1998) 成都方言詞典(現代漢語方言大詞典·分卷), 江蘇教育出版社, →ISBN
  4. ^ 李榮 (1998) 成都方言詞典(現代漢語方言大詞典·分卷), 江蘇教育出版社, →ISBN

Japanese

Kanji

(Fifth grade kyōiku kanjishinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 𧰼)

Readings

Etymology 1

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
(, kisa): an Asian elephant.
Kanji in this term
ぞう
Grade: 5
goon

/zau//zɔː//zoː/

From Middle Chinese (zjangX, elephant; image, resemblance). Compare modern Cantonese reading zoeng6.

The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation

Noun

(ぞう) or (ゾウ) (ざう (zau)? (counter )

  1. elephant
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
しょう
Grade: 5
kan'on

/sjau//sjɔː//ɕɔː//ɕoː/

From Middle Chinese (zjangX, elephant; image, resemblance). Compare modern Min Nan reading siōng or Mandarin xiàng.

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

Noun

(しょう) (shōしやう (syau)?

  1. likeness, appearance
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
きさ
Grade: 5
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Cognate with (kisa, wood grain), from the way that ivory also has a grain.[3]

Pronunciation

Noun

(きさ) (kisa

  1. (obsolete) elephant
    • 938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō, volume 7, page 52:
      象 [...] 岐佐 [...] 獣名、似水牛、大耳、長鼻、眼細、牙長者也
      Elephant, kisa a kind of beast, looks like water buffalo, having big ears, long nose, slender eyes and long teeth
    • 970–999, Utsubo Monogatari, page Toshikage:
      それより西を行ケば、虎狼ひと山さワぐ所有り。キサ出デてその山をこしつ。
      When he went west from there, there was a place where tigers and monkeys clamoured on a mountain. Elephants had set out and crossed that mountain

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese (MC zjangX). Recorded as Middle Korean 샤ᇰ〮 (syáng) (Yale: syang) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

(eumhun 코끼리 (kokkiri sang))

  1. hanja form? of (elephant)
  2. hanja form? of (shape; figure; appearance)

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

: Hán Nôm readings: tượng

  1. (in compounds) elephant
  2. a xiangqi piece which represents an elephant
  3. shape; scene