子

子 U+5B50, 子 ← 孏[U+5B4F] CJK Unified Ideographs 孑 →[U+5B51] ⼦ U+2F26, ⼦ ← ⼥[U+2F25] Kangxi Radicals ⼧ →[U+2F27] Stroke order Stroke order

子 (Kangxi radical 39, 子+0, 3 strokes, Cangjie input 弓木 (ND), four-corner 17407, composition ⿻了一)

1. Kangxi radical #39, ⼦.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/子
• 仔, 吇, 好, 㞨, 汓, 䦻, 杍, 㺭, 矷, 秄, 籽, 耔, 虸, 釨(𫓦), 䰵
• 䢊, 覎(觃), 屘, 芓, 斈, 㫗, 李, 享, 箰, 㞌, 斿, 囝, 㳺, 逰

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 277, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6930
• Dae Jaweon: page 543, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1006, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5B50

• 子 on Wikidata.Wikidata

simp. and trad. 子 alternative forms

Pictogram (象形) – an image of a baby, with a large head and spread arms. The legs are wrapped in a blanket. Compare with 了, where the arms are wrapped, and 㜽, in which a lock of hair is visible on top. Compare also 棄 and 毓, in which the image of the baby is reversed upside-down.

The big seal script form is much more elaborate, showing a baby with hair on a head (囟) and arms on the two sides of the body, sitting on a stool (几).

See also the right component of 保.

child From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsəʔ (“child”). Cognate with 字 (OC *zlɯs, “character; letter”), 慈 (OC *zɯ, “loving; kind”), 滋 (OC *ʔsɯ, “to grow, to breed, to propagate, to bring about, to increase”), 孳 (OC *ʔsɯ, *zɯs, “to breed, to propagate”). first earthly branch In oracle bone and Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, 子 had been the sixth earthly branch which later supplanted the original first earthly branch, one of whose written forms – 𢀇 – survives in Shuo Wen (Matsumaru, 2015). Smith (2011) proposes the first earthly branch had been 甾. Observing that 甾 is closely linked with 緇 (“dark, stained”), 淄 (“murky (water)”), 菑 (zī, “field cleared by burning”) (all pronounced *tsrə), he proposes that initially the first earthly branch 甾 (OC *ts[r]əʔ) had meant “darkened, voided, the darkened stage” and had denoted the new moon phase (ibid.). Meanwhile, 子 (OC tsəʔ) had originated from a Sino-Tibetan root meaning “to come forth” and had denoted the moon’s “coming forth” stage (i.e. early waning-gibbous phase) (ibid.). Sometime in Warring States period, a change occurred that 子 became the first earthly branch and 巳 (OC *s-ləʔ) filled the void of the sixth earthly branch (Matsumaru, 2015), “due to phonological closeness (combined with the semantic opacity of the Branch terms at later eras)” (Smith, 2011). Association with the rat was possibly arbitrary, analogous to how 辰, the fifth earthly branch, was arbitrarily associated with the dragon (Ferlus, 2013).

子

1. child; offspring; descendant
   • 不康禋祀，居然生子。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge’s versionBù kāng yīn sì, jū rán shēng zǐ. [Pinyin]Had He not accepted her pure offering and sacrifice, So that thus easily she brought forth her son?
2. son 獨生子／独生子 ― dúshēngzǐ ― only son 愛子／爱子 ― àizǐ ― beloved son 一子一女 ― yī zǐ yī nǚ ― one son and one daughter
   • 子也者，親之後也，敢不敬與。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]子也者，亲之后也，敢不敬与。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Book of Rites, c. 4th – 2nd century BCEZǐ yě zhě, qīn zhī hòu yě, gǎn bù jìng yǔ. [Pinyin]And the son was the descendant of those parents—could any father dare not to show him respect?
   • 你舉目向四方觀看；眾人都聚集來到你這裏。你的眾子從遠方而來；你的眾女也被懷抱而來。 [MSC, trad.]你举目向四方观看；众人都聚集来到你这里。你的众子从远方而来；你的众女也被怀抱而来。 [MSC, simp.]From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 以賽亞書 (Isaiah) 60:4Nǐ jǔmù xiàng sìfāng guānkàn; zhòngrén dōu jùjí lái dào nǐ zhèlǐ. Nǐ de zhòng zǐ cóng yuǎnfāng ér lái; nǐ de zhòng nǚ yě bèi huáibào ér lái. [Pinyin]Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
3. (Christianity) the Son
   • 所以，你們要去，使萬民作我的門徒，奉父、子、聖靈的名給他們施洗。 [MSC, trad.]所以，你们要去，使万民作我的门徒，奉父、子、圣灵的名给他们施洗。 [MSC, simp.]From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 馬太福音 (Matthew) 28:19Suǒyǐ, nǐmen yào qù, shǐ wànmín zuò wǒ de méntú, fèng Fù, Zǐ, Shènglíng de míng gěi tāmen shīxǐ. [Pinyin]Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
4. (suffix) person 女子 ― nǚzǐ ― female; woman
5. (literary, respectful) master; teacher; if just one 子 is shown in Classical Chinese, it should mean Confucius.
   • 子曰：「學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]子曰：「学而时习之，不亦说乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCEZǐ yuē: “Xué ér shí xí zhī, bù yì yuè hū? Yǒu péng zì yuǎnfāng lái, bù yì lè hū? Rén bù zhī ér bù yùn, bù yì jūnzǐ hū?” [Pinyin]The Master said, “Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?”
6. (archaic) A respectful title for teachers, usually attached after their surnames. 孔子 ― kǒngzǐ ― Master Kong (Confucius) 老子 ― Lǎozǐ ― Laozi
7. (archaic, literary, polite) you
   • 匪我愆期，子無良媒。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]匪我愆期，子无良媒。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge’s versionFěi wǒ qiān qī, zǐ wú liáng méi. [Pinyin]It is not I who would protract the time; but you have had no good go-between.
   • 以子之矛陷子之楯，何如？ [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]From: Han Feizi, circa 2nd century BCEYǐ zǐ zhī máo xiàn zǐ zhī dùn, hérú? [Pinyin]How about using your halberds to pierce through your shields?
8. alternative form of 籽 (zǐ, “seed”); also its second-round simplified form. 葵花子 ― kuíhuāzǐ ― sunflower seed
9. egg 魚子／鱼子 ― yúzǐ ― caviar
10. young; tender; small
11. (figurative) Prefix attached to nouns, denoting “a part of”, “belonging to” or “individual”; sub-. 子目錄／子目录 ― zǐmùlù ― subdirectory
12. (astrology) First earthly branch: rat in the Chinese zodiac, 11th solar month, midnight (11:00 pm to 1:00 am)
13. (historical) viscount (fourth of five ranks of Chinese aristocracy under the Zhou dynasty)
14. (physics, biology) -on
15. a surname
16. (Southern Min) grain-like object; particle; granule
17. (Southern Min, music) rhythm
18. (Southern Min) Classifier for small, round objects: granule, grain, particle, piece

子

1. Suffix:
   1. Used to nominalize. 瓶子 ― píngzi ― bottle 刷子 ― shuāzi ― brush 胖子 ― pàngzi ― fat person
   2. (colloquial) Used in some classifiers. 一下子 ― yīxiàzi ― all of a sudden

子 (Hokkien)

1. small, round object 算盤子／算盘子 [Hokkien] ― sǹg-pôaⁿ-jí [Pe̍h-ōe-jī] ― abacus bead
2. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien) Classifier for small objects.
3. (Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) Classifier for bananas.

Others:

• → Vietnamese: tí (“a little bit”)

For pronunciation and definitions of 子 – see 茈 (“(Hokkien) immature; young and small”).(This character is a variant form of 茈).

• (Mandarin)
  • “子”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.
  • “子”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.
• (Cantonese)
  • “子”, 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-
• (Hakka)
  • “子”, in 臺灣客語辭典 [Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka] (overall work in Mandarin and Hakka), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2022.
• (Puxian Min)
  • 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “子”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 576.
  • 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “子”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 591.
  • 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “子”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 318.
  • 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “子”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 164.
• (Southern Min)
  • William Campbell (1913), A dictionary of the Amoy vernacular spoken throughout the prefectures of Chin-Chiu, Chiang-Chiu and Formosa (in Hokkien), 8th edition, Tainan: Taiwan Church Press, published 1961, →OCLC, page 52.
  • William Campbell (1913), A dictionary of the Amoy vernacular spoken throughout the prefectures of Chin-Chiu, Chiang-Chiu and Formosa (in Hokkien), 8th edition, Tainan: Taiwan Church Press, published 1961, →OCLC, page 273.
  • William Campbell (1913), A dictionary of the Amoy vernacular spoken throughout the prefectures of Chin-Chiu, Chiang-Chiu and Formosa (in Hokkien), 8th edition, Tainan: Taiwan Church Press, published 1961, →OCLC, page 793.
  • 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931-1932), “子”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC
  • 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931-1932), “子”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC
  • 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931-1932), “子”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC
  • “子”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.
  • “子”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.
  • “子”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

1. (gender-neutral) child
2. (archaic) honorific for an adult man
3. (archaic) honorific for a learned man, master
4. (archaic) man (in general)
5. (historical) fourth rank of nobility in Meiji-postwar Japan, viscount
6. egg, fruit, seed
7. small object
8. interest
9. diminutive suffix
10. Rat (earthly branch)
11. midnight
12. north

• (midnight, north): Antonyms : 午

• Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Tō-on: す (su, Jōyō)、つ (tsu)
• Kan’yō-on: ず (zu)
• Kun: こ (ko, 子, Jōyō)、ね (ne, 子)、み (mi, 子)
• Nanori: このえ (konoe)、さね (sane)、しげ (shige)、しげる (shigeru)、たか (taka)、ただ (tada)、たね (tane)、ちか (chika)、つぐ (tsugu)、とし (toshi)、みる (miru)、やす (yasu)

Not to be confused with the visually similar , an obsolete variant form (変体仮名) of the katakana ネ (ne) not encoded in Unicode.

Kanji in this term 子 こGrade: 1 kun’yomi Alternative spellings 児 (uncommon)娘 (female)

⟨ko1⟩ → */kʷo/ → /ko/

From Old Japanese,[1] attested in the Kojiki (712 CE) and the Man’yōshū (c. 759 CE), two of the oldest examples of written Japanese.

Cognate with 蚕 (ko, “silkworm”) and possibly 小 (ko, “little”, diminutive prefix).

Possibly cognate with Goguryeo 仇 (*gu), which appears in an ancient place name with an apparent meaning of child.[2]

• IPA(key): [ko̞]
• (Tokyo) こ [kò] (Heiban – [0])[3][4]

• (Kyōto) こー [kóó] (Kōki – [0])

• (Kagoshima) こ​ぉ [kô] (type A)

子(こ) • (ko) (counter 人)

1. a child うちの子(こ)がすみません。Uchi no ko ga sumimasen.I’m terribly sorry for my child‘s conduct. 男の子 (otoko no ko): male child → boy いい子 (ii ko): good boy; good girl
2. (figuratively) a girl, especially a dear or desired one (compare use of English baby, babe) あの子(こ)は誰(だれ)？Ano ko wa dare?Who’s that chick?
   • , text here 大舟(おほぶね)乎(を)荒海(あるみ)尓(に)榜(こぎ)出(で)八(や)船多(ふね)氣(たけ)吾(わが)見之(みし)兒(こ)等之(らが)目見者(まみは)知(しる)之母(しも) [Man’yōgana]大船(おほぶね)を荒海(あるみ)に漕(こ)ぎ出(で)や船(ふね)たけ我(わ)が見(み)し子(こ)らがまみはしるしも [Modern spelling]ōbune o arumi ni kogi de ya fune take waga mishi ko-ra ga mami wa shirushi moRowing the big boat into the rough seas, putting our backs into it, the looks of those girls I saw are clear [in my mind]
3. (endearing) creature この子(こ)は「ミシシッピアカミミガメ」と言(い)います。Kono ko wa “Mishishippi akamimigame” to iimasu.This little guy is called a “red-eared slider”. この子(こ)は噛(か)みます。Kono ko wa kamimasu.This little fella might bite.
4. a smaller or younger version of a bigger object 木の子 (ki no ko): tree + child/little one → 茸 (kinoko, “mushroom”) 竹の子 (take no ko): bamboo + child/little one → 筍 (takenoko, “bamboo shoot”)
5. (hanafuda, card games, by extension, board games, gambling) person who is dealt cards Coordinate term: 親 (oya)

子(こ) • (ko-)

1. an object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another object 子会社 (kogaisha): derivative + company → a subsidiary 子犬 (koinu): derivative + dog → a puppy

子(こ) • (-ko)

1. suffix used in female given names, such as 智子 (​Tomoko), 英子 (​Eiko), 秀子 (​Hideko), 美奈子 (​Minako), 有希子 (​Yukiko)
2. (rare) suffix used in male given names
3. an object having a particular state or property (sometimes diminutive) 振子 (furiko): an object that swings → a pendulum
4. roe (only when preceded by a fish name, or fish-related prefix) 明太子 (mentaiko, “pollock roe”) 飛子 (tobiko, “flying fish roe”)

子(こ) • (Ko)

1. a surname

Kanji in this term 子 すGrade: 1 on’yomi Kanji in this term 子 しGrade: 1 on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 子 (MC tsiX), also used in the Man’yōshū (c. 759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨si⟩. Compare modern Mandarin 子 (zǐ).

The goon reading of shi is likely the original borrowing:

/t͡sɨ/ → /sɨ/ → */ɕɨ/ → /ɕi/

The tōon reading su appears later, and only shows up in certain set terms borrowed from Chinese, where it seems to serve as a kind of nominalizing suffix:

/t͡sɨ/ → /sɨ/ → */sʉ/ → /su/

• IPA(key): [ɕi]
• (Tokyo) し [shíꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])[3]

• IPA(key): [sɨ̥]

子(し) or 子(す) • (shi or su)

1. a child
2. short for 子爵 (shishaku): the fourth rank of nobility in Meiji-postwar Japan, equivalent to a viscount
3. an honorific for a learned man, such as teacher or master
4. a philosophy branch of Chinese literature, either derived from or outside of the Hundred Schools of Thought
5. an object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another object
6. an object having a particular state or property (sometimes diminutive) 中性子 (chūseishi): neutral + small thing → a neutron 椅子 (isu): chair + small thing → a chair

• This affix is never used in isolation. It is only used in on’yomi compounds.
• In some kanji compounds, 子 is part of the word but does not carry much meaning in Japanese, as in 椅子 (isu, “chair”). Possibly because of this erosion of meaning, spelling out 子 in some compounds has become optional, as in 椰子 vs. 椰 (yashi, “a palm tree”), or 柚子 vs. 柚 (yuzu, “an aromatic citron”).
• In some compounds, the shi or su reading becomes voiced as ji or zu due to rendaku.

子(し) • (shi)

1. (archaic) second-person pronoun: you (of one’s equals)

子(し) • (Shi)

1. (Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches Hypernyms: 十二支, 地支 Coordinate terms: 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥

Kanji in this term 子 ねGrade: 1 kun’yomi

Contracted from 鼠 (nezumi, “mouse, rat”).

• IPA(key): [ne̞]
• (Tokyo) ね [nè] (Heiban – [0])

子(ね) • (Ne)

1. (Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches: Hypernyms: 十二支, 地支 Coordinate terms: 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥
   1. north Synonym: 北 (kita)
   2. the hours between 11:00 P.M./midnight and 1:00/2:00 A.M.
   3. a day or year assigned to the Rat
   4. the eleventh month of the lunar calendar
2. a place name

子(ね) • (ne)

1. (obsolete) variant katakana syllable ネ (ne) [until the 19th century]
   • Udagawa Yōan, 遠西医方名物考, vol. 4, 1822 剥篤(ポット)亞斯(アス)蘭 「シ子レス、カラーヘルラチ」羅[…] 是ヲ燒ク法、曠野ニ一大坑ヲ穿チ其底ト内圍ニ遍(アマ子)ク瓦磗ヲ敷(シキ)連子、樹ノ幹枝𪜈ニ截(キリ)テ其内ニ積ミ焚(モヤ)シ了(オハリ)テ煙消シ通紅トナルトキ尋常(ツ子)ノ灰汁(アク)ヲ取テ少シ宛(ツヽ)頻〻ニ撒(マキチラ)ストキハ其灰ノ鹽氣凝結𬼀堅キ塊片トナル。
   • 第1回国会参法一覧 小杉イ子議員

Kanji in this term 子 みGrade: 1 kun’yomi For pronunciation and definitions of 子 – see the following entry. 【実み】3 [noun] fruit (a product of fertilization in a plant) [noun] seed [noun] ingredients of soup (meat or vegetables) [noun] (figurative) contents; substance; essence [noun] (figurative) good result (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (This term, 子, is an alternative spelling (archaic, rare) of the above term.)

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

From Middle Chinese 子 (MC tsiX). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄌᆞ〮 (có) (Yale: có) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [t͡ɕa̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [자]

子 (eumhun 아들 자 (adeul ja))

1. hanja form? of 자 (“son; man”)
2. hanja form? of 자 (“offspring”)
3. hanja form? of 자 (“a noun suffix”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• On (unclassified): そー (sō)
• Kun: く (ku)、こ (ko)、くゎー (kwā)

• IPA(key): [soː]

子(そー) (sō)

1. small

Cognate with standard Japanese 小 (ko).

子(く) or 子(こ) or 子(くゎー) (ku or ko or kwā)

1. small
2. child

子: Hán Việt readings: tý (即(tức)里(lý)切(thiết))[1][2], tử[2][3], tí[3] 子: Nôm readings: tý[1][2], tử[2][4], tí[1], tít[2], tở[3]

1. chữ Hán form of Tí (“first of the twelve earthly branches”) Hypernyms: 地支, 十二支 Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥
2. chữ Nôm form of tí (“a little bit; small”)
3. chữ Hán form of tử (“child; son; small thing”)