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U+96CC, 雌
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-96CC

[U+96CB]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+96CD]

Translingual[edit]

Han character[edit]

(Kangxi radical 172, +6, 14 strokes, cangjie input 卜一心人土 (YMPOG), four-corner 20114, composition )

References[edit]

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1366, character 11
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 41998
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1871, character 2
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4098, character 18
  • Unihan data for U+96CC

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
alternative forms 𲍵

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character
Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Chu slip and silk script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts

Phono-semantic compound (形聲形声, OC *sʰe): phonetic (OC *sʰeʔ) + semantic .

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation[edit]



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (14)
Final () (11)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter tshje
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/t͡sʰiᴇ/
Pan
Wuyun
/t͡sʰiɛ/
Shao
Rongfen
/t͡sʰjɛ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/t͡sʰiə̆/
Li
Rong
/t͡sʰie/
Wang
Li
/t͡sʰǐe/
Bernard
Karlgren
/t͡sʰie̯/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
ci1
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/1
No. 1721
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*sʰe/

Definitions[edit]

  1. (formal) female (describing animals and plants)
  2. (literary) weak; delicate

Usage notes[edit]

  • Commonly used for animals and plants to mean "female" in academic contexts, less commonly used in non-academic contexts (use "" instead), and not used for humans (use "" instead). For example:
    母雞母鸡  ―  mǔjī  ―  hen
    母牛  ―  mǔniú  ―  cow

Synonyms[edit]

  • (weak):

Antonyms[edit]

  • (female): (xióng, “male”)

Compounds[edit]

References[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Kanji in this term
めす
Grade: S
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling

First cited to 1867.[1]

The initial me- is the same me component seen in many terms referring to senses of "female". The final -su portion is of uncertain derivation.

The kanji as used originally in Chinese and in older Japanese with the on'yomi of shi referred more specifically to female birds. If the term mesu is much older than the 1800s, the final -su portion may be the ancient morpheme that appears in various names for types of bird, such as (karasu, crow) or (uguisu, bush warbler).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

(めす) or (メス) (mesu

  1. a female (plant or animal)
  2. (vulgar) a female person; bitch
  3. an internal socket
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling

Appears in the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1]

From Old Japanese (me, woman). This spelling is used exclusively for non-human contexts.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

() (me

  1. a female (plant or animal)
    Antonym: (o)
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Kanji in this term
めん
Grade: S
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling

First cited to 1839.[1]

/me no//men/

From fusion of (me, female plant or animal) + (no, possessive particle).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

(めん) (men

  1. a female (plant or animal)
    Antonym: (on)

Etymology 4[edit]

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese (MC tshje).

Pronunciation[edit]

Affix[edit]

() (shi

  1. female (plant or animal)
    Antonym: ()
  2. effeminate

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

(ja) (hangeul , revised ja, McCune–Reischauer cha, Yale ca)

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

Old Japanese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Extension of (me1, woman). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Noun[edit]

(me1) (kana )

  1. female (plant or animal)

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Japanese: (め, me)

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

: Hán Nôm readings: thư

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