香 U+9999, 香 ← 馘[U+9998] CJK Unified Ideographs 馚 →[U+999A] ⾹ U+2FB9, ⾹ ← ⾸[U+2FB8] Kangxi Radicals ⾺ →[U+2FBA] Stroke order

(Kangxi radical 186, 香+0, 9 strokes, Cangjie input 竹木日 (HDA), four-corner 20609, composition ⿱禾日)

  1. Kangxi radical #186, .
  • Appendix:Chinese radical/香
  • 㗍, 𡎟, 𪬏, 㴡, 楿, 𤋭, 𤧘, 𥔜, 䅨, 𧪑, 𧯅, 𧹰, 𧽂, 𮠷, 𪨝, 𮬀, 𪋒
  • 𠝲, 𧯄, 䫝, 萫, 𥔡, 𥧎, 𩤹, 㐯, 黁, 𤼍, 麘, 䦭
  • Japanese: 𛀠 (hentaigana)
  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1428, character 21
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 44518
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1955, character 2
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4423, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+9999

In the oracle bone script, it was ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): (“glutinous millet”) + (“mouth”). The whole character perhaps indicate that millet was used to produce liquor from fermentation which could be drank and/or sacrificed.

In the seal script, the 口 was replaced with the related 甘 (“sweet”). Hence, the most conservative variant is 𪏽.

Currently, the 黍 has simplified into 禾 and the form of the bottom component 甘 has become akin to the unrelated 曰.

trad. simp. # alternative forms 𪏰𪏽𥞌𩡢麘

  1. fragrant; fragrance Antonym: 臭
  2. (of food) aromatic; delicious-smelling
  3. (of eating) having the appearance that one really enjoys the food; (of sleep) sound
  4. (Internet slang) wonderful; enjoyable (in general)
  5. popular
  6. perfume
  7. (religion) joss stick; incense (Classifier: 支 m c mn; 炷 m c; 根 m; 叢/丛 mn; 束 m; 紮/扎 c)
  8. (figurative) woman
  9. (chiefly Wu) to kiss
  10. (Cantonese, euphemistic) to die
    • 弊啦!監視器咗,點會噉㗎? [Cantonese, trad.]弊啦!监视器咗,点会噉㗎? [Cantonese, simp.]From: 1988, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (TVB’s Cantonese dubbed version)bai6 laa3! gaam1 si6 hei3 hoeng1 zo2, dim2 wui5 gam2 gaa3? [Jyutping]Damn! The monitor is dead! How come?
  11. (historical) shorthand for Hong Kong during Japanese Occupation between 1941 and 1945 督 [Cantonese] ― hoeng1 duk1 [Jyutping] ― Governor of Hong Kong
  12. a surname

Others:

  • → Indonesian: hio (“joss stick, incense”)

trad. simp. #

  1. (Hokkien, Teochew, Puxian Min) alternative form of (“fragrant”)
  • “香”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014-

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

  • Go-on: こう (kō, Jōyō)←かう (kau, historical)
  • Kan-on: きょう (kyō, Jōyō †)←きやう (kyau, historical)
  • Kun: (ka, , Jōyō)、かおり (kaori, 香り, Jōyō)←かをり (kawori, 香り, historical)、かおる (kaoru, 香る, Jōyō)←かをる (kaworu, 香る, historical)、かざ (kaza, )、かんばしい (kanbashii, 香しい)、かぐわしい (kaguwashii, 香しい)

Kanji in this term 香 かGrade: 4 kun’yomi

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[1] Compare かざ (kaza, “smell, odor, scent”).

  • IPA(key): [ka̠]
  • (Tokyo) か [kà] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
  • (Tokyo) か [káꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][3]

香(か) • (ka)

  1. [from 720] a pleasant smell; a scent, a fragrance, an aroma

Kanji in this term 香 きょうGrade: 4 kan’on

From Middle Chinese 香 (MC xjang).

  • IPA(key): [kʲo̞ː]
  • (Tokyo) きょー [kyòó] (Heiban – [0])[4]
  • (Tokyo) きょー [kyóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])[4][3]

香(きょう) • (kyō) ←きやう (kyau)?

  1. clipping of 香車 (kyōsha, “incense chariot”)

Kanji in this term 香 こうGrade: 4 goon

From Middle Chinese 香 (MC xjang). The goon reading, so likely an earlier borrowing. Compare Vietnamese hương (“fragrance; incense”).

  • IPA(key): [ko̞ː]
  • (Tokyo) こー [kóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])[3]

香(こう) • (kō) ←かう (kau)?

  1. incense Synonym: 御香 (okō)

Kanji in this term 香 かざGrade: 4 kun’yomi For pronunciation and definitions of 香 – see the following entry. 【かざ】 [noun] , 気: (now dialectal) a smell, odor, scent (This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

  • “香”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎[3] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015-2026

From Middle Chinese 香 (MC xjang).

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ça̠ŋ]
  • Phonetic hangul: [향]

(eum (hyang))

  1. hanja form? of (“fragrance; perfume; incense”)

香: Hán Việt readings: hương (虛(hư)良(lương)切(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5] 香: Nôm readings: nhang[2][3][6][4][5][7], hương[1][2][4][7], hang[1], nhàng[1]

  1. chữ Hán form of hương (“fragrance; incense”)
  2. chữ Nôm form of nhang (“incense”)
  3. chữ Hán form of Hương (“a female given name”) 胡春香 ― Hồ Xuân Hương