仙

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See also: 仚
仙 U+4ED9, 仙
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4ED9
← 付
[U+4ED8] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 仚 →
[U+4EDA]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
0 strokes

Han character[edit]

仙 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+3, 5 strokes, cangjie input 人山 (OU), four-corner 22270, composition ⿰亻山)

Derived characters[edit]

Related characters[edit]

References[edit]

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 92, character 13
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 374
  • Dae Jaweon: page 196, character 3
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 114, character 3
  • Unihan data for U+4ED9

Chinese[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 仙
Transcribed ancient scripts

L31826

L31827

L31828

L06560

L06561

L06562

L06563

L06564

L06565

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (山) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
山 *sreːn
疝 *sreːn, *sraːns
邖 *sreːn
汕 *sreːnʔ, *sraːns
訕 *sraːn, *sraːns
仙 *sen
秈 *sen
苮 *sen
屾 *srin

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sen) : semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 山 (OC *sreːn, “mountain”) — a person moving into a mountain to practise becoming immortal.

Originally 僊. The current form is first attested in the clerical script of the Han dynasty.

Etymology 1[edit]

simp. and trad.
 仙
alternative forms
 
僊
仚
屳
㒨 ancient
僲
僊
仚
屳
㒨 ancient
僲
𠑗 ancient
𠏡

A relatively late word, perhaps Sino-Tibetan (Schuessler, 2007). Compare Tibetan གཤེན (gshen, “shaman”), as in Tibetan གཤེན་རབ (gshen rab, “Shenrab”), the founder of the Tibetan religion Bon, although this might be a loan from Chinese (ibid.). Starostin sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s[ă]n (“a kind of demon”), comparing it to Tibetan བསེན་མོ (bsen mo, “female devil”) and Jingpho sawn (“malignant female nat”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Note:
  • siêng1 - Chaozhou;
  • siang1 - Shantou.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 仙
Mandarin Beijing /ɕian⁵⁵/
Harbin /ɕian⁴⁴/
Tianjin /ɕian²¹/
Jinan /ɕiã²¹³/
Qingdao /siã²¹³/
Zhengzhou /sian²⁴/
Xi'an /ɕiã²¹/
Xining /ɕiã⁴⁴/
Yinchuan /ɕian⁴⁴/
Lanzhou /ɕiɛ̃n³¹/
Ürümqi /ɕian⁴⁴/
Wuhan /ɕiɛn⁵⁵/
Chengdu /ɕian⁵⁵/
Guiyang /ɕian⁵⁵/
Kunming /ɕiɛ̃⁴⁴/
Nanjing /sien³¹/
Hefei /ɕyĩ²¹/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕie¹¹/
Pingyao /ɕie̞¹³/
Hohhot /ɕie³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ɕi⁵³/
Suzhou /siɪ⁵⁵/
Hangzhou /ɕiẽ̞³³/
Wenzhou /ɕi³³/
Hui Shexian /se³¹/
Tunxi /siɛ¹¹/
Xiang Changsha /siẽ³³/
Xiangtan /siẽ³³/
Gan Nanchang /ɕiɛn⁴²/
Hakka Meixian /sien⁴⁴/
Taoyuan /sien²⁴/
Cantonese Guangzhou /sin⁵⁵/
Nanning /ɬin⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /sin⁵⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /sian⁵⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /sieŋ⁴⁴/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /siŋ⁵⁴/
Shantou (Teochew) /siaŋ³³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /tin²³/
Rime
Character 仙
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 仙 (77)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 相然切
Baxter sjen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/siᴇn/
Pan
Wuyun 		/siɛn/
Shao
Rongfen 		/sjæn/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/sian/
Li
Rong 		/siɛn/
Wang
Li 		/sĭɛn/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/si̯ɛn/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		xiān
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		sin1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 仙
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		xiān
Middle
Chinese 		‹ sjen ›
Old
Chinese 		/*[s]a[r]/
English immortal (n.)

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 仙
Reading # 1/1
No. 11060
Phonetic
component 		山
Rime
group 		元
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		仙
Old
Chinese 		/*sen/

Definitions[edit]

仙

  1. (Taoism) xian (an immortal; celestial being)
  2. (figurative) extraordinary person
    詩仙／诗仙  ―  shīxiān  ―  great poet; epithet of Li Bai
  3. (agent affix, chiefly Southern Min, honorific) expert; a title for a person with a specific expertise
    相命仙 [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  siòng-miā-sian [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  fortuneteller
  4. (agent affix, chiefly Southern Min, ironic) person with some specific hobby or addiction
    筊仙 [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  kiáu-sian [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  gambler
  5. a euphemism for the deceased
    仙逝  ―  xiānshì  ―  to pass away
  6. (Southern Min) Classifier for deity, idol, statue, doll. Alternative form of 身 (sian)
    Synonym: 尊 (zūn)
    大仙的王爺公，細仙的王爺囝。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
    大仙的王爷公，细仙的王爷囝。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]
    Tōa sian--ê ông-iâ kong, sè sian--ê ông-iâ kiáⁿ. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
    (idiomatic) Idols of Wang Ye's are everywhere. Literally, “The bigger idol is a senior Wang Ye; the smaller idol is a junior Wang Ye.”
  7. (Southern Min) (with negative) whatsoever, any way
    仙講都毋聽／仙讲都毋听 [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  sian kóng to m̄ thiaⁿ [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  won't listen (to you) no matter what you say
  8. a surname
Descendants[edit]
Sino-Xenic (仙):
  • → Japanese: 仙(せん) (sen)
  • → Korean: 선(仙) (seon)
  • → Vietnamese: tiên (仙)

Others:

Compounds[edit]

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

simp. and trad.
 仙
alternative forms 銑／铣 Min Nan

Borrowed from English cent.

Pronunciation[edit]

Definitions[edit]

仙

  1. (Cantonese, Southern Min, Malaysian and Singapore Mandarin) cent (Classifier: 個／个 c)
    五仙硬幣／五仙硬币 [Cantonese]  ―  ng5 sin1 ngaang6 bai6 [Jyutping]  ―  five-cent coin
    佢係私生子，佢老豆死嗰陣一個仙都冇分畀佢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    佢系私生子，佢老豆死嗰阵一个仙都冇分畀佢。 [Cantonese, simp.]
    keoi5 hai6 si1 sang1 zi2, keoi5 lou5 dau6 sei2 go2 zan6 jat1 go3 sin1 dou1 mou5 fan1 bei2 keoi5. [Jyutping]
    He is a son born out of wedlock, so when his dad died, he didn't even inherit one cent.
Synonyms[edit]
Dialectal synonyms of 分 (“fen; cent”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 分
Mandarin Beijing 分
Taiwan 分
Jinan 分
Xi'an 分
Wuhan 分
Chengdu 分
Yangzhou 分
Hefei 分
Malaysia 仙
Singapore 分
Cantonese Guangzhou 分
Hong Kong 仙, 仙士 dated
Taishan 分, 仙
Gan Nanchang 分
Hakka Meixian 分
Jin Taiyuan 分
Northern Min Jian'ou 分
Eastern Min Fuzhou 分
Southern Min Xiamen 占, 分
Quanzhou 占
Zhangzhou 占
Tainan 仙
Penang (Hokkien) 鐳, sen
Singapore (Hokkien) 占
Manila (Hokkien) 仙
Chaozhou 分
Singapore (Teochew) 占
Wu Suzhou 分
Wenzhou 分
Xiang Changsha 分
Shuangfeng 分

Compounds[edit]

See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From clipping of English senior.

Pronunciation[edit]

Definitions[edit]

仙

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) senior
Derived terms[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

仙

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

Etymology 1[edit]

Kanji in this term
仙
せん
Grade: S
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 仙 (MC sjen, literally “immortal”). Compare modern Mandarin reading xiān and Cantonese reading sin1.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

仙(せん) • (sen) 

  1. a sage or hermit, an enlightened person, usually immortal and ageless
  2. (mythology) short for 仙人 (sennin): a wizard or mage; an immortal living as a hermit in the mountains
  3. by extension, the region or area where a sennin lives
  4. the supernatural techniques for becoming immortal and ageless
  5. a person of exceptional talent

Etymology 2[edit]

Kanji in this term
仙
せんと
Grade: S
irregular

Borrowed from English cent.[1][2] The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun.

For pronunciation and definitions of 仙 – see the following entry.
【セント】
[noun] [1860] cent (various national currencies, 1⁄100 of a unit)
[noun] [1872] saint
(This term, 仙, is an alternative spelling (obsolete) of the above term.)

Usage notes[edit]

This word is almost always spelled in katakana as セント.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Chinese 仙 (MC sjen). Recorded as Middle Korean 션 (syen) (Yale: syen) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Pronunciation[edit]

Hanja[edit]

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

仙 (eumhun 신선 선 (sinseon seon))

  1. Hanja form? of 선 (“a sage or hermit, an enlightened person, usually immortal and ageless”).

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

References[edit]

  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

仙: Hán Nôm readings: tiên

Noun[edit]

仙

  1. xian, Immortal(Taoism)
  2. fairy
  3. celestial
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