鯤

See also: 鲲

鯤 U+9BE4, 鯤 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9BE4 ← 鯣 [U+9BE3] CJK Unified Ideographs 鯥 → [U+9BE5]

Translingual

Han character

鯤 (Kangxi radical 195, 魚+8, 19 strokes, cangjie input 弓火日心心 (NFAPP), four-corner 2631₁, composition ⿰魚昆)

See also

• 鲲

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1473, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46247
• Dae Jaweon: page 2005, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4696, character 1
• Unihan data for U+9BE4

Chinese

FWOTD – 31 October 2021

trad.		鯤
simp.		鲲
alternative forms		鵾／鹍 鰥／鳏 𩽞 𩻋

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
昆	*kuːn
琨	*kuːn
鯤	*kuːn
菎	*kuːn
崐	*kuːn
蜫	*kuːn
惃	*kuːn, *kuːnʔ
錕	*kuːn, *kuːnʔ
猑	*kuːn
騉	*kuːn
緄	*kuːnʔ
輥	*kuːnʔ
棍	*kuːns, *ɡuːnʔ
餛	*ɡuːn
混	*ɡuːnʔ
焜	*ɡuːnʔ
倱	*ɡuːnʔ
掍	*ɡuːnʔ
箟	*kʰrun

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kuːn) : semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 昆 (OC *kuːn).

Etymology

“fish roe”

Related to 昆 (OC *kuːn, “descendants”) (Ye, 2014). See there for more.

“kun (sea monster)”

Perhaps related to 鵾 (“large bird”) (Liu, 1999).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kūn (kun¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄣ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): kwan¹, gwan¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): kun¹

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): khûn

  (Meixian, Guangdong): kun¹

• Eastern Min (BUC): kŏng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): khun

  (Teochew, Peng'im): kung¹

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ¹kuen

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kūn
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kun
    • Wade–Giles: kʻun¹
    • Yale: kwūn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kuen
    • Palladius: кунь (kunʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰu̯ən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: kwan¹, gwan¹
    • Yale: kwān, gwān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kwan¹, gwan¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: kuen¹, guen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷʰɐn⁵⁵/, /kʷɐn⁵⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: kun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰun³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khûn
    • Hakka Romanization System: kun´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kun¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰun²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: kun¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰun⁴⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: kŏng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰouŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khun
    • Tâi-lô: khun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qwn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰun³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰun⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: kung¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khung
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰuŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ¹kuen
    • MiniDict: kuen^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kun
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kuən⁵³/

---

• Middle Chinese: kwon

Rime
Character	鯤
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	魂 (55)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古渾切
Baxter	kwon
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuən/
Pan Wuyun	/kuon/
Shao Rongfen	/kuən/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kwən/
Li Rong	/kuən/
Wang Li	/kuən/
Bernard Karlgren	/kuən/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gūn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gwan1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*kuːn/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	鯤
Reading #	1/1
No.	7521
Phonetic component	昆
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	昆
Old Chinese	/*kuːn/

Definitions

鯤

1. (literary) fish roe; fry; spawn

   alt. forms: 卵 (luǎn)

   • 且夫山不槎蘗，澤不伐夭，魚禁鯤鮞 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     且夫山不槎蘗，泽不伐夭，鱼禁鲲鲕 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

     Qiěfú shān bù chá bò, zé bù fá yāo, yú jìn kūn ér [Pinyin]

     Moreover, the mountains do not fell the cork trees; the marshes do not cut down the young shoots; the fish protect their roe and fry

2. (Chinese mythology) kun, a large fish that transforms into a roc (鵬／鹏 (péng))

   • 鯤之大，不知其幾千里也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     鲲之大，不知其几千里也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Kūn zhī dà, bùzhī qí jǐ qiān lǐ yě. [Pinyin]

     The size of the kun, I do not know how many thousand li it is.

Compounds

• 脩鯤／脩鲲
• 靈鯤／灵鲲
• 青鯤／青鲲
• 鮞鯤／鲕鲲
• 鯤化／鲲化
• 鯤壑／鲲壑
• 鯤子／鲲子
• 鯤島／鲲岛 (Kūndǎo)
• 鯤弦／鲲弦
• 鯤池／鲲池
• 鯤洋／鲲洋
• 鯤海／鲲海
• 鯤絃／鲲弦
• 鯨跳鯤擲／鲸跳鲲掷
• 鯤身／鲲身
• 鯤雞／鲲鸡
• 鯤魚／鲲鱼
• 鯤鮑／鲲鲍
• 鯤鮞／鲲鲕
• 鯤鯓／鲲鯓
• 鯤鯁／鲲鲠
• 鯤鯨／鲲鲸
• 鯨鯤／鲸鲲
• 鯤鱗／鲲鳞
• 鯤鳳／鲲凤
• 鯤鵬／鲲鹏 (kūnpéng)
• 鯤鵬展翅／鲲鹏展翅
• 鯤鵬得志／鲲鹏得志
• 鯤龍／鲲龙
• 鵬鯤／鹏鲲

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (鯤):

• → Japanese: 鯤(こん) (kon)
• → Korean: 곤(鯤) (gon)
• → Vietnamese: côn (鯤)

References

• “鯤”, 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), B05981

Japanese

Kanji

鯤

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

1. large mythical fish
2. roe

Readings

• Go-on: こん (kon)
• Kan-on: こん (kon)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
鯤
こん Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 鯤 (MC kwon).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こ​ん [kóꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [kõ̞ɴ]

Noun

鯤(こん) • (kon) 

1. (Chinese mythology) a mythological giant fish that is several thousand 里 (ri, “leagues”) long and that lives in the northern seas

References

• Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

鯤 • (gon) (hangeul 곤, revised gon, McCune–Reischauer kon, Yale kon)

1. (곤이 곤, gon-i-): roe; very young fish
2. (곤어 곤, gon-eo-): mythical fish of an unaccountable length