貞

See also: 贞

貞 U+8C9E, 貞 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8C9E ← 貝 [U+8C9D] CJK Unified Ideographs 貟 → [U+8C9F]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

貞 (Kangxi radical 154, 貝+2, 9 strokes, cangjie input 卜月山金 (YBUC), four-corner 2180₆, composition ⿱⺊貝)

Derived characters

• 偵, 𫨫, 𠸩, 𡎞, 媜, 幀, 𢔤, 𫺤, 揁, 湞, 𨺟, 楨, 𤋺, 𤦹, 禎, 𧶃, 碵, 禎, 𬓲, 𬡥, 𣦓, 緽, 𬢵, 𧶸, 赬, 𮛶, 䡠, 𥢆, 鍞, 𪺘, 𫖙, 𩹰, 𪍕, 𪑳
• 遉, 𰷺, 𢒟, 𨜓, 𠭹, 𫁅, 𫖣, 𫧸, 寊, 𦵄, 𥢅, 𤸘, 𭵐, 𥕫, 𮚯

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1204, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36658
• Dae Jaweon: page 1665, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3622, character 3
• Unihan data for U+8C9E

Chinese

trad.		貞
simp.		贞
alternative forms		鼑 𠨀 𣦵 𭾛

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 貞
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (貞) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
偵	*rtaːŋs, *tʰeŋ, *tʰeŋs
幀	*rtɯːŋs
湞	*rdeːŋ, *teŋ
貞	*teŋ
楨	*teŋ
禎	*teŋ
赬	*tʰeŋ
遉	*tʰeŋs

Pictogram (象形) - a ding (oracle bone script , ; same as 鼎 (OC *kleːŋʔ)). Borrowed for “to divine”. Later 卜 (“to divine”) was added as a semantic component (oracle bone script ; bronze script ）.

Etymology

Various comparisons have been proposed. Within Chinese, it has been compared to 偵 (OC *tʰeŋ, “to test; to detect”) (Schuessler, 2007), 正 (OC *tjeŋs, “correct; right”) (Sagart and Ma, 2020). Outside of Chinese, it has been compared to Tibetan དྲང་པོ (drang po, “straight”) (Sagart, 2020b).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): zhēn (zhen¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄣ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): zen¹

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): zing¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): zen¹

• Gan (Wiktionary): ziin¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chṳ̂n

  (Meixian, Guangdong): zen¹

• Jin (Wiktionary): zeng¹
• Northern Min (KCR): déng
• Eastern Min (BUC): dĭng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): cheng / chin

  (Teochew, Peng'im): zêng¹

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ¹tsen
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): zhen¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhēn
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhen
    • Wade–Giles: chên¹
    • Yale: jēn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jen
    • Palladius: чжэнь (čžɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: zen¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zen
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zing¹
    • Yale: jīng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzing¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: jing¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɪŋ⁵⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: zen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sen³³/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: ziin¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɨn⁴²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chṳ̂n
    • Hakka Romanization System: ziin´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: zin¹
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sɨn²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: zen¹
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sən⁴⁴/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: zeng¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sə̃ŋ¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: déng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /teiŋ⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: dĭng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Hui'an, Changtai, Zhangpu, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: cheng
    • Tâi-lô: tsing
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zefng
    • IPA (Zhangpu): /t͡sɛŋ⁵⁵/
    • IPA (Hui'an): /t͡seŋ³³/
    • IPA (Changtai): /t͡seŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /t͡siɪŋ³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡siɪŋ⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Longyan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chin
    • Tâi-lô: tsin
    • Phofsit Daibuun: cyn
    • IPA (Longyan): /t͡sin³³⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: zêng¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tseng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡seŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ¹tsen
    • MiniDict: tsen^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹tsen
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sən⁵³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: zhen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /ʈ͡ʂən³³/
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /t͡sən³³/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 貞
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/ʈ͡ʂən⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/ʈ͡ʂən²¹/ /t͡sən²¹/
	Jinan	/ʈ͡ʂəŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/tʃəŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/ʈ͡ʂəŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/ʈ͡ʂẽ²¹/
	Xining	/ʈ͡ʂə̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ʈ͡ʂəŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/ʈ͡ʂə̃n³¹/
	Ürümqi	/ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/t͡sən⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/t͡sən⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/t͡sen⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/ʈ͡ʂə̃⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/ʈ͡ʂən³¹/
	Hefei	/ʈ͡ʂən²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡səŋ¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ʈ͡ʂəŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/t͡sə̃ŋ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/t͡səŋ⁵³/
	Suzhou	/t͡sən⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/t͡sen³³/
	Wenzhou	/t͡seŋ³³/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕiʌ̃³¹/
	Tunxi	/t͡ɕiɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʈ͡ʂən³³/
	Xiangtan	/ʈ͡ʂən³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sɨn⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sən⁴⁴/
	Taoyuan	/tʃen²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡seŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/t͡seŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/t͡siŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/tiŋ⁵⁵/ /t͡siŋ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/tiŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/teiŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡seŋ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/t͡seŋ²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: trjeng

Rime
Character	貞
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	知 (9)
Final (韻)	清 (121)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	陟盈切
Baxter	trjeng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʈiᴇŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/ʈiɛŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/ȶiæŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʈiajŋ/
Li Rong	/ȶiɛŋ/
Wang Li	/ȶĭɛŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/ȶi̯ɛŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhēng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zing1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*treŋ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*teŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	貞	貞
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zhēn	zhēn
Middle Chinese	‹ trjeng ›	‹ trjeng ›
Old Chinese	/*treŋ/	/*treŋ/
English	straight; correct	divine (v.)
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	貞
Reading #	1/1
No.	17027
Phonetic component	貞
Rime group	耕
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	貞
Old Chinese	/*teŋ/
Notes	說文鼎省聲，甲文原假借鼎字

Definitions

貞

1. virtuous; chaste; pure
2. loyal; faithful

   忠貞／忠贞  ―  zhōngzhēn  ―  loyal and steadfast

3. ^† to divine

   • 辛未貞：𠦪禾于河，尞三牢，沉三牛，宜牢。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     辛未贞：𠦪禾于河，尞三牢，沉三牛，宜牢。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 12th century BCE, Oracle bone Heji 32028

     Xīnwèi zhēn: hū hé yú hé, liáo sān láo, chén sān niú, yí láo. [Pinyin]

     xīnwèi [day 8] divining: pray for the harvest to Hé, making a burnt offering of three penned oxen, submerging three oxen, and put the penned oxen on the sacrificial table.

   • 季冬，陳玉以貞來歲之媺惡。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     季冬，陈玉以贞来岁之媺恶。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Rites of Zhou, circa 3^rd century BCE

     Jìdōng, chén yù yǐ zhēn láisuì zhī měi'è. [Pinyin]

     In the last month of winter, set out precious stones and divine the good and ill of the year to come.

Compounds

• 一念堅貞／一念坚贞
• 三貞九烈／三贞九烈
• 不貞／不贞 (bùzhēn)
• 九烈三貞／九烈三贞
• 堅貞／坚贞 (jiānzhēn)
• 堅貞不屈／坚贞不屈 (jiānzhēnbùqū)
• 女貞酒／女贞酒
• 守貞／守贞 (shǒuzhēn)
• 居貞／居贞
• 忠貞／忠贞 (zhōngzhēn)
• 忠貞不渝／忠贞不渝 (zhōngzhēnbùyú)
• 王義貞／王义贞 (Wángyìzhēn)
• 童貞／童贞 (tóngzhēn)
• 縮屋稱貞／缩屋称贞
• 義貞／义贞
• 聖女貞德／圣女贞德 (Shèngnǚ Zhēndé)
• 艱貞／艰贞
• 貞亮／贞亮 (zhēnliàng)
• 貞人／贞人 (zhēnrén)
• 貞卜文字／贞卜文字
• 貞固／贞固 (zhēngù)
• 貞士／贞士 (zhēnshì)
• 貞夫烈婦／贞夫烈妇
• 貞女／贞女 (zhēnnǚ)
• 貞女石／贞女石
• 貞婦／贞妇 (zhēnfù)
• 貞懿賢淑／贞懿贤淑
• 貞操／贞操 (zhēncāo)
• 貞木／贞木
• 貞淑／贞淑 (zhēnshū)
• 貞潔／贞洁 (zhēnjié)
• 貞烈／贞烈
• 貞白／贞白 (zhēnbái)
• 貞石／贞石
• 貞節／贞节 (zhēnjié)
• 貞節牌坊／贞节牌坊
• 貞臣／贞臣
• 貞蕤／贞蕤
• 貞觀／贞观 (Zhēnguàn)
• 貞觀之治／贞观之治
• 貞觀政要／贞观政要
• 貞靜／贞静
• 貞風亮節／贞风亮节
• 貞高絕俗／贞高绝俗

 

References

• “貞”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A03928

Japanese

Kanji

貞

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. virtue, faithfulness, uprighteousness
2. chastity

Readings

• Go-on: ちょう (chō)
• Kan-on: てい (tei, Jōyō)
• Kan’yō-on: じょう (jō)
• Kun: ただしい (tadashii, 貞しい)
• Nanori: さだ (sada)

Korean

Hanja

貞 • (jeong) (hangeul 정, revised jeong, McCune–Reischauer chŏng, Yale ceng)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

貞: Hán Nôm readings: trinh, riêng, tranh

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.