太后

Chinese

		too (much); very; extremely too (much); very; extremely; highest; greatest	empress; queen; surname
simp. and trad. (太后)		太	后

Etymology

Attested earliest in Stratagems of the Warring States:

周君之秦。謂周最曰：「不如譽秦王之孝也，因以應為太后養地。秦王、太后必喜，是公有秦也。交善，周君必以為公功；交惡，勸周君入秦者，必有罪矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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周君之秦。谓周最曰：「不如誉秦王之孝也，因以应为太后养地。秦王、太后必喜，是公有秦也。交善，周君必以为公功；交恶，劝周君入秦者，必有罪矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5^th – 3^rd centuries BCE

Zhōujūn zhī qín. Wèi Zhōu Zuì yuē: “Bùrú yù Qínwáng zhī xiào yě, yīn yǐ yìng wèi tàihòu yǎngdì. Qínwáng, tàihòu bì xǐ, shì gōng yǒu Qín yě. Jiāo shàn, Zhōujūn bì yǐwèi gōng gōng; jiāo è, quàn Zhōujūn rù Qín zhě, bì yǒuzuì yǐ.” [Pinyin]

The Lord of Zhou was going to Qin, and someone spoke to Zhou Zui, saying: "You could do no better than to praise the filial piety of the King of Qin, and take the opportunity to provide land to support the Queen Dowager. The King of Qin and the Queen Dowager will certainly be pleased, and this being so you will gain Qin's support. If relations improve, the Lord of Zhou will attribute the success to you. If they decline, whoever prompted him to go to Qin will certainly be blamed."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tàihòu

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄞˋ ㄏㄡˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): taai³ hau⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thai-heu
• Eastern Min (BUC): tái-hâiu
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thài-hiǒ / thài-hō͘ / thài-hiō

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tàihòu
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄞˋ ㄏㄡˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tàihòu
    • Wade–Giles: tʻai⁴-hou⁴
    • Yale: tài-hòu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tayhow
    • Palladius: тайхоу (tajxou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰaɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ xoʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: taai³ hau⁶
    • Yale: taai hauh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: taai³ hau⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: tai³ heo⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰaːi̯³³ hɐu̯²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thai-heu
    • Hakka Romanization System: tai heu
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tai⁴ heu⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰai̯⁵⁵ heu̯⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: tái-hâiu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰai²¹³⁻⁵³ ^(h-)ɑu²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thài-hiǒ
    • Tâi-lô: thài-hiǒ
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰai⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ hio²²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thài-hō͘
    • Tâi-lô: thài-hōo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tae'ho
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰai¹¹⁻⁵³ hɔ³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰai²¹⁻⁴¹ hɔ³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /tʰai²¹⁻⁵³ hɔ²²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thài-hiō
    • Tâi-lô: thài-hiō
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tae'hioi
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰai¹¹⁻⁵³ hio³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰai²¹⁻⁴¹ hiɤ³³/

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• Middle Chinese: thajH huwX|huwH

Rime
Character	太	后	后
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	匣 (33)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	泰 (25)	侯 (137)	侯 (137)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I	I
Fanqie	他蓋切	胡口切	胡遘切
Baxter	thajH	huwX	huwH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰɑiH/	/ɦəuX/	/ɦəuH/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰɑiH/	/ɦəuX/	/ɦəuH/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɑiH/	/ɣəuX/	/ɣəuH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰajH/	/ɦəwX/	/ɦəwH/
Li Rong	/tʰɑiH/	/ɣuX/	/ɣuH/
Wang Li	/tʰɑiH/	/ɣəuX/	/ɣəuH/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰɑiH/	/ɣə̯uX/	/ɣə̯uH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tài	hòu	hòu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	taai3	hau6	hau6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ˤa[t]-s  ɢˤ(r)oʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*tʰaːds  ɡoːʔ|ɡoːs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	太	后
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tài	hòu
Middle Chinese	‹ thajH ›	‹ huwX ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥ˁa[t]-s/	/*ɢˁ(r)oʔ/
English	great	sovereign; queen
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] 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	太	后	后
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
No.	1937	5168	5172
Phonetic component	大	后	后
Rime group	祭	侯	侯
Rime subdivision	1	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	泰	厚	𠋫
Old Chinese	/*tʰaːds/	/*ɡoːʔ/	/*ɡoːs/

Noun

太后

1. empress dowager

   • 永樂太后暴崩，眾論惑焉 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     永乐太后暴崩，众论惑焉 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

     Yǒnglè tàihòu bàobēng, zhònglùn huò yān [Pinyin]

     After the empress dowager of Yongle palace suddenly died, people talked about it with suspicion

Synonyms

• 皇太后 (huángtàihòu)

Derived terms

• 呂太后的筵席
• 太皇太后 (tài huáng tàihòu)
• 慈安太后
• 慈禧太后 (Cíxǐ Tàihòu)
• 王太后 (wángtàihòu)
• 皇太后 (huángtàihòu)
• 竇太后
• 西太后 (Xītàihòu)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (太后):

• → Japanese: 太后(たいこう) (taikō)
• → Korean: 태후(太后) (taehu)
• → Vietnamese: thái hậu (太后)

→ Thai: ไทเฮา (tai-hao)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
太	后
たい Grade: 2	こう Grade: 6
on’yomi	kan’on

From Middle Chinese 太后 (MC thajH huwX|huwH).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) たいこー [tàíkóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ta̠iko̞ː]

Noun

太(たい)后(こう) • (taikō) 

1. an empress dowager

   Synonym: 皇太后 (kōtaigō)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
太	后
おお Grade: 2	きさき > きさい Grade: 6
nanori	kun’yomi

Extension of 大后 (ōkisaki, “empress”), also read as later ōkisai.

Noun

太(おお)后(きさき) • (ōkisaki) ^{←おほきさき (ofokisaki)?} or 太(おお)后(きさい) • (ōkisai) ^{←おほきさい (ofokisai)?}

1. (archaic) an empress dowager
   • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Sakaki)

     大(おほ)后(きさき)も参(まゐ)りたまはむとするを...

     ōkisaki mo mairi-tamahan to suru o...

     Though the Empress Dowager also thought she would visit him...

Derived terms

• 皇太后(おおきさいの)宮(みや) (ōkisai no miya)

Korean

Hanja in this term
太	后

Noun

太后 • (taehu) (hangeul 태후)

1. Hanja form^? of 태후 (“empress dowager”).

Old Japanese

Etymology

Extension of 大后 (opoki₁saki₁, “empress”).

Noun

太后 (opoki₁saki₁) (kana おほきさき)

1. an empress dowager
   • 720, Nihon Shoki, Emperor Suizei (first year [581 BCE] and month of reign; Atsuda-bon glosses):

     尊_レ皇_-后、曰_二皇太后_一。

     [He] honoured the Empress by granting her [the title] of empress dowager.

Derived terms

• 皇太后宮 (opoki₁saki₁ no₂ mi₁ya)

Descendants

• Japanese: 太后 (ōkisaki → ōkisai)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
太	后

Noun

太后

1. chữ Hán form of thái hậu (“empress dowager”).