青 U+9752, 青 ← 靑[U+9751] CJK Unified Ideographs 靓 →[U+9753] ⻘ U+2ED8, ⻘ ← ⻗[U+2ED7] CJK Radicals Supplement ⻙ →[U+2ED9] Stroke order Stroke order (Japan)
青 (Kangxi radical 174, 靑+0, 8 strokes, Cangjie input 手一月 (QMB), four-corner 50227, composition ⿱龶月)
- Appendix:Chinese radical/靑
- 倩, 凊, 啨, 埥, 婧, 崝, 情, 掅, 清, 猜, 晴, 腈, 棈, 皘, 睛, 碃, 精, 綪 (𬘬), 聙, 䑶, 蜻, 請 (请), 䝼 (䞍), 輤, 錆 (锖), 鯖 (鲭), 鼱
- 郬, 鶄 (䴖), 氰, 寈, 菁, 箐, 䨝, 圊
- 靑 (Orthodox form in Kangxi dictionary, preferred form in Korean hanja)
- Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 1381, character 19
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 42564
- Dae Jaweon: page 1893, character 1
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4046, character 1
- Unihan data for U+9752
Zhang (2022): Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sʰleːŋ): phonetic 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs) + phonetic 井 (OC *skeŋʔ). [1]
Shuowen interprets it as an ideogrammic compound of 生 (“growth of plants”) + 丹 (“cinnabar”). A variant inspired by this interpretation is 𤯞. The implication being that cinnabar, being used for dyeing, would imply “color” in general, giving the combined meaning “color of growing plants” → “blue-green”.
In the modern glyph, the top component is reduced to 龶, and the bottom component resembles the unrelated 月 (yuè, “moon”).
The second-round simplified form of the character is based on the calligraphic form of the character.
trad. 青/靑 simp. 青 2nd round simp. 𰀈 alternative forms
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sreŋ (“to live; to be alive; to give birth; raw; green”). Cognate with 生 (OC *sʰleːŋ, *sreŋs, “to live”), 蒼 (OC *sʰaːŋ, “green; blue”), 性 (OC *sleŋs, “nature”), 姓 (OC *sleŋs, “surname”). Note 蒼 (OC *sʰaːŋ) may be an old dialect variant of 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ) (Schuessler, 2007).
青
- blue-green (“grue”); blue (of sky, stone etc.); green (of grass, plants, mountains etc.) 青天 ― qīngtiān ― blue sky 青筋 ― qīngjīn ― blue veins 青草 ― qīngcǎo ― green grass 青山綠水／青山绿水 ― qīngshānlǜshuǐ ― green hills and rivers
- blue-green (“grue”)-colored items
- green grass 踏青 ― tàqīng ― to go on an outing to the countryside during spring
- crops that have not yet ripened 青黃不接／青黄不接 ― qīnghuángbùjiē ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- black (of hair, cloth, silk thread etc.) 青絲／青丝 ― qīngsī ― black hair
- (Southern Min) green 青紅燈／青红灯 [Hokkien] ― chheⁿ-âng-teng [Pe̍h-ōe-jī] ― traffic light
- (Hong Kong) lime green 青BB [Cantonese] ― ceng1 bi1 bi1 [Jyutping] ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- young; adolescent 青年 ― qīngnián ― youth; adolescence 青春 ― qīngchūn ― youth
- short for 青年 (qīngnián) 老中青 ― lǎozhōngqīng ― the old, the middle-aged and the young 知青 ― zhīqīng ― zhiqing, “”educated youth” 覺青／觉青 ― juéqīng ― “politically-awakened youth”
- (literary, obsolete) east
- (literary, obsolete) spring
- short for 青海 (Qīnghǎi, “Qinghai Province”) 青藏鐵路／青藏铁路 ― Qīng Zàng tiělù ― Qinghai-Tibet Railway
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, triad slang) knife (Classifier: 把 c)
- 攞把青 彈彈 開山刀 [Cantonese, trad.]𫽋把青 弹弹 开山刀 [Cantonese, simp.]lo2 baa2 ceng1, daan6 daan6, hoi1 saan1 dou1 [Jyutping](please add an English translation of this quotation)
- a surname
The meaning for “blue” and “black” is more commonly used in Classical Chinese, while in modern Chinese, the meaning for “green” is more common. In fact, 青 covered both green and blue (“grue”) until modern times. For example, 青山綠水 / 青山绿水 (qīngshānlǜshuǐ, “hill or water green in color”), 青蘋果 / 青苹果 (qīng píngguǒ, “green apple”). However, there are still some expressions for the meaning of blue, e.g. 青天 (qīngtiān, “blue sky”), 青出於藍 / 青出于蓝 (qīngchūyúlán, “blue comes from indigo; someone performing better than their teacher”)
In Cantonese, the use of 青 to mean “black” is still used in circumstances where 黑 (hak1) would be considered inauspicious, as it is a near-homophone of 乞 (hat1, “beggar”). For example, 黑衣 (hak1 ji1) used to describe clothing would be a near-homophone of both beggar and a beggar’s garment.
- 藍／蓝 (lán)
- 蒼／苍 (cāng)
- 紺／绀 (gàn)
- 碧 (bì)
Others:
- → Tocharian A: tseṃ (“blue”)
- → Tocharian B: tseṃ m (“blue”), tseñña f
- → Vietnamese: xanh (“green”)
青
- alternative form of 菁 (jīng) used in 青青 (jīngjīng)
trad. 青 simp. # 青
青
- (Hokkien) alternative form of 鮮 / 鲜 (chhiⁿ)
- fresh
- 我欲尚青的現撈仔 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]我欲尚青的现捞仔 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]góa beh siōng chhiⁿ ê hiān-lâu-á [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]I want the freshest catch
- 吃遍了山珍海味 寶島上青 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]吃遍了山珍海味 宝岛上青 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]Chia̍h phiàn liáu san-tin-hái-bī, Pó-tó siōng chhiⁿ [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]After eating all kinds of delicacies, Formosa’s are the freshest
- (of clothes) bright; pretty; neat
- 洋裝青青 歡喜要來去約會 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]洋装青青 欢喜要来去约会 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]iûⁿ-chong chhiⁿ-chhiⁿ, hoaⁿ-hí beh lâi-khì iok-hōe [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]With a pretty suit, happy to go to a date
- fresh
- Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A04499
- “青”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)[5], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014-
- “青”, 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.
Shinjitai
青
Kyūjitai
靑
(First grade kyōiku kanji)
- blue, cyan, azure
- (obsolete, poetic) green
- immature, unripe, young
- publication, record
- east
- Go-on: しょう (shō, Jōyō †)←しやう (syau, historical)
- Kan-on: せい (sei, Jōyō)
- Sō-on: しい (shii)
- Kun: あお (ao, 青, Jōyō)←あを (awo, 青, historical)、あおい (aoi, 青い, Jōyō)←あをい (awoi, 青い, historical)、さお (sao, 青)←さを (sawo, 青, historical)
- Nanori: お (o)、きよ (kiyo)、はる (haru)
Kanji in this term 青 あおGrade: 1 kun’yomi Alternative spelling 靑 (kyūjitai)
/sawo/ (uncertain, may be compound as opposed to root) → /awo/ → /ao/
From Old Japanese, ultimately from Proto-Japonic *awo.[1]
Appears as the latter part in older compounds with an -s- infix or prefix. It is unclear if this leading /s/ is indicative of an earlier form (sawo), or if this was an addition for euphony to avoid vowel clusters, or for other reasons. This /s/ is also seen in 雨(あめ) (ame, “rain”, becoming same in old compounds) and 稲(いね) (ine, “rice”, becoming shine in old compounds).
- (Tokyo) あお [áꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])[3][2]
- IPA(key): [a̠o̞]
- Audio:(file)
- (Kyōto) あお [àó] (Teiki – [0])[2]
- (Kyōto) あおぉ [àô] (Teiki)[4][2]
青(あお) • (ao) ←あを (awo)?
- blue
- one of three primary colors
- a shade of blue to blue green
- (dated) green 青(あお)林(りん)檎(ご) ― ao ringo ― green apple
- short for 青信号 (aoshingō): green light (traffic light color, as the color of plants) Antonym: 赤 (aka)
- the black, bluish color of a horse’s hair; also, such a horse Synonym: 青毛 (aoge)
- [5] Auo. アヲ (青) 馬の毛色で, 全体に黒くて青みがあり, 両耳の内側に多少白いところのあるもの. この部分の毛も他の部分と同じようにすっかり黒い時には, Curo(黒)と呼ばれる.
- (card games, hanafuda) short for 青短 (aotan): one of the three hanafuda cards bearing a blue 短冊 (tanzaku, “narrow card used for poetry”); a 役 (yaku) of the three aotan cards, worth 3 points
- (card games) a blue card in 天正カルタ (Tenshō karuta)
- short for 青本 (aohon, “a blue-green covered book containing summaries of plays, histories, and legends”)
- short for 青銭 (aosen, “a 4 mon coin in circulation from 1768”)
Colors in Japanese · 色(いろ) (iro) (layout · text) 白(しろ) (shiro) 灰(はい)色(いろ) (haiiro),鼠(ねずみ)色(いろ) (nezumiiro) (dated) 黒(くろ) (kuro) 赤(あか) (aka); 深(しん)紅(く) (shinku),クリムゾン (kurimuzon),紅(べに)色(いろ) (beniiro),紅(くれない)色(いろ) (kurenaiiro),茜(あかね)色(いろ) (akaneiro) 橙(だいだい)色(いろ) (daidaiiro),オレンジ (orenji); 茶(ちゃ)色(いろ) (chairo),褐(かっ)色(しょく) (kasshoku) 黄(き)色(いろ) (kiiro); クリーム色(いろ) (kurīmuiro) 黄(き)緑(みどり) (kimidori) 緑(みどり) (midori),青(あお) (ao) (dated) 若(わか)緑(みどり) (wakamidori) 水(みず)色(いろ) (mizuiro),シアン (shian); 鴨(かも)の羽(はね)色(いろ) (kamo no hane iro) 空(そら)色(いろ) (sorairo), 縹(はなだ) (hanada); 青(あお) (ao) 紺(こん)藍(あい) (kon’ai);紺(こん) (kon) 菫(すみれ)色(いろ) (sumireiro); 藍(あい)色(いろ) (aiiro),インジゴ (injigo) 赤(あか)紫(むらさき) (akamurasaki),マゼンタ (mazenta); 紫(むらさき) (murasaki) 桃(もも)色(いろ) (momoiro),ピンク (pinku)
青(あお) • (ao-) ←あを (awo-)?
- unripe, young
青(あお) • (Ao) ←あを (Awo)?
- a female given name
- a surname
Kanji in this term 青 せいGrade: 1 on’yomi Alternative spelling 靑 (kyūjitai)
From Middle Chinese 青 (MC tsheng).
- IPA(key): [se̞ː]
青(せい) • (sei)
- the color blue
青(せい) • (Sei)
- a female given name
- a surname
Kanji in this term 青 しいGrade: 1 sōon Alternative spellings 靑 (kyūjitai)𤯝 眚
Unknown. The reading might be an obscure term from Old Japanese or dialect. The use of the character 青 arises from its 宋音(そうおん) (sōon, “Song-dynasty pronunciation”).[6]
- IPA(key): [ɕiː]
青(しい) • (shii)
- (rare, archaic, mythology) a beast that looks like a weasel, and is said to have lived in present-day Fukuoka and Yamaguchi prefectures
- (rare, archaic, mythology) a beast that looks like a wolf, and is said to have appeared around Mount Yoshino
- “青”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia][6] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015-2026
青 (eumhun 푸를 청 (pureul cheong))
- alternative form of 靑 (“blue; green”)
- Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea (대한민국 대법원, Daehanmin’guk Daebeobwon) (2018). Table of hanja for personal names (인명용 한자표 / 人名用漢字表, Inmyeong-yong hanja-pyo), page 42. [7]
青: Hán Việt readings: thanh[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] 青: Nôm readings: xanh[1][2][3][4], thênh[1][2][4], thanh[1][2], thinh[1]
- chữ Hán form of thanh (“(only in compounds) grue (green or blue)”)
- chữ Nôm form of thanh (“(somewhat literary or formal) Indicates long, thin, inflexible objects, such as swords, planks, metal strips, etc.”)
- chữ Nôm form of thênh (“vast; spacious”)
- chữ Nôm form of thinh (“(only in compounds) silent, speechless”)
- chữ Nôm form of xanh (“grue”)
