Modern Chinese Writing, In: The World's Writing Systems

SECTION 15

Modem Chinese Writing

Victor H. Mair

Since the great codification of the Chinese writing system at the end of the first cen-
tury c.E. in Xu Shen's Shud wenjiezi 'Explanation of simple and compound graphs',
the number of sinograms ('characters'; hdnzi, Jpn. kanji, Kor. hanja) has continued
to grow steadily. Xu's dictionary included a total of 9,353 characters. In succeeding
centuries, lexicographic works contained the following numbers of characters:
11,520 (compiled during the period 227-239); 12,824 (in 400); 13,734 (in 500);
22,726 (in 534); 26,911 (in 753); 31,319 (in 1066); 33,179 (in 1615); 47,043 (in
17 16). The most recent dictionary of single graphs published in China, Hdnyuda zi-
didn (1986-90) lists about 60,000.

So long as the script is actively used, the number of sinograms will continue to
grow because, unlike a phonetic script, the traditional Chinese writing system is
open-ended. This is due to the fact that, as in any language, words are constantly be-
ing added to the lexicon. Since the representation of these words is fundamentally
logographic — or, more precisely, morphosyllabic — new sinograms must be invented
when new morphemes arise in the Chinese languages or enter through borrowings.

Although the characters are made up of recurring components, their shapes and
proportions change in combination; hence each character is a distinct entity and must
be stored as a separate unit in memories or fonts. But of course the number of char-
acters in daily use is at least a factor of ten smaller than the total number in existence.

Massive statistical studies of a wide variety of reading material in China during
the last two decades have repeatedly demonstrated that 1,000 sinograms cover ap-
proximately 90% of all occurrences in typical texts, 2,400 sinograms cover 99%,
3,800 cover 99.9%, 5,200 cover 99.99%, and 6,600 cover 99.999%. The percentages
are intriguingly similar for earlier periods of Chinese history when only Classical
Chinese texts were normally composed and written (written Vernacular Chinese, a
relatively late phenomenon, had not yet come into existence; see Mair 1994). It would
appear that there is a natural upper limit to the number of unique forms that can be
tolerated in a functioning script. For most individuals, this amount seems to lie in the
range of approximately 2,000-2,500. Still, the command of 2,400 diverse signs — the
number considered by educators as essential for basic reading and writing skills — is
a formidable task.

The vast majority of the graphs found in the largest Chinese character dictionar-
ies are extremely rare. Many are so obscure that neither the sound nor the meaning is

SECTION 15: MODERN CHINESE WRITING

known, only the shape; others may only have been used once or twice in all of history.
Unfortunately, they cannot be completely ignored by font-makers, lexicographers,
and classicists.

Many scholars, especially Unguists and Sinologists, now agree that the Chinese
script may be described as an enormously large but phonetically imprecise syllabary,
with strong visual and semantic quaUties (DeFrancis 1984, 1989). A few philosophers
still insist that the Chinese writing system is pictographic and "ideographic" (Hansen
1993). but their views have been effectively countered by empirical and historical ev-
idence (linger 1990, 1993). Nonetheless, it must be admitted that Chinese characters
function differently from a purely phonetic script in that they have a powerful ability
to carry semantic weight in and of themselves — i.e., without entering into combina-
tions, as is necessary for the elements of phonetic scripts to convey meaning. This can
be seen in the semantic dissonance that occurs when they are used for transcriptional
purposes. Thus, because of semantic interference, readers frequently misinterpret
such expressions as ^ilftjSffi'R n Tend Gudngbo Didntdi as 'Special Acceptance
Broadcasting Station' instead of as Turner Broadcasting Station'.

All Chinese characters, whether they have one stroke or sixty-four strokes, are
designed to fit into the same square frame; hence they are sometimes called
fdngkudizi 'tetragrams' by the Chinese. (Chinese characters were not always written
as single syllabic units occupying a square; but for over two thousand years there has
been a fixed convention of writing each character, no matter how complex, in the
same size square.) In premodem times, all genres of texts, including poetry, were cus-
tomarily written from top to bottom, right to left, in long strips of unbroken, equidis-
tantly spaced characters, with no indication of word breaks or punctuation.
Punctuation became common in the twentieth century, although it remains unstand-
ardized and not fully utilized. Except for a few unpublicized experiments, no attempt
has been made to group syllables into words. There are still no established conven-
tions for such things as emphasis and distinguishing proper names, although various
devices (such as types of underlining or sidelining) have been invented. The direction
of writing has largely shifted so that most Chinese books and journals now read hor-
izontally from left to right, by way of accommodation to international usage.

Examination and analysis of the 8,075 sinograms in the extremely popular
Xinhua zididn 'New China character dictionary' reveal that 1,348 (17% of the total)
may function independently or as semantic or phonetic components of other charac-
ters, but 6,542 (8 1 %) are made up of a phonetic component plus a semantic "radical,"
of which there are approximately 200 (the number varies with different dictionaries).
Only 185 (2%) do not function as components in other graphs and are not composed
of such components (Zhou 1992: 179).

It must be pointed out that neither the semantic nor the phonetic components of
the sinograms provide an exact indication of meaning or sound, but only give a vague
approximation. Thus, ^ We 'sprain [ankle]' is a combination of the radical JS zu
'foot' with the phonetic Jft bi 'shabby'— which, in combination with other semantic

202 PART IV: EAST ASIAN WRITING SYSTEMS

elements, gives the pronunciations bie, bie, pie, pie. Readers must guess or memorize
the appropriate sound of the phonetic for each character in which it occurs; they must
also associate the graph with a word that they already know. Only then can they arrive
at the meaning of the sinogram in question. In many cases, phonetic components have
much wider latitude than in bie 'sprain'; some have as many as a dozen or more dif-
ferent pronunciations depending on the characters in which they are found. Often a
large number of pronunciations exist for the same sinogram, e.g., 5S has the following
possibilities in MSM: wei, kdi, ndi, wei, yi,ji, kdi, di, m<9, gdi. In such cases, the vari-
ant pronunciations may indicate multiple meanings of the graph. Conversely, hun-
dreds of different characters may be used to represent the same sound, though with
different meanings. For example, yi is the MSM pronunciation of -^ or S 'one', ^
'clothing', fi< 'depend on', He 'iridium', f^ 'he/she' (used regionally), also a sur-
name, l# partof a word meaning 'squeak' or 'babble', B 'physician', R 'tantamount
to', J§ 'to bow with hands clasped in front', © 'alas' (interjection), ^ or 31 'ripple',
If name of a district, and so on. In earlier times, many of these sinograms would have
had distinctive pronunciations, but through a long and complicated process of pho-
netic reduction, they have collapsed into a single sound.

Relationship to the Chinese languages

One of the most difficult problems in dealing with Chinese characters (zi) is that they
are frequently confused with words (ci), the assumption being that Sinitic languages
are exclusively monosyllabic (allegedly, one graph = one syllable = one word). On
the contrary, even in the artificial classical or literary written language (passages are
not intelligible when read aloud unless previously memorized), there were many
polysyllabic words. The Lidnmidn and Citong dictionaries compiled in the twentieth
century list thousands of examples drawn from ancient texts, such as hudie 'butterfly',
zhizhu 'spider', shdnhu 'coral', weiyi 'self-possessed, nonchalant', and weichi 'sinu-
ous, winding' . The latter two words can both be written with many different combi-
nations of characters; this demonstrates the primacy of sound over symbol, and of
word over graph, even in Chinese where the characters are so powerful.

In modem Mandarin, the average length of a word has been shown to be almost
exactly two syllables. Typical words art feiji 'airplane', ddziji 'typewriter', 7 m^77
'economies', y day dng 'to swim', cuifei 'to fatten', feicui 'jadeite, halcyon', and tuifei
'decadent'. The non-monosyllabic nature of Sinitic languages is even reflected in
some deviant features of the script itself, where unofficial but widely used characters
such as ^ tushugudn 'library', ^ qidnwd 'kilowatt', and It] wenti 'question' show
that speakers clearly recognize these words as polysyllabic, in spite of the strongly
monosyllabic features of the script.

The script is well suited for writing Classical Chinese, but it is poorly equipped
to record the vernaculars and the regional variants (fdngydn). This defect was already
evident toward the end of the second century c.e., when the first attempts were made

SECTION 15: MODERN CHINESE WRITING

TABLE 15. 1 : Phonological Variation through Time

600B.C.E. 600 C.E.

1008

1250

dao

de

jing

1993

H 'way, track'

1^ 'virtue, doughtiness'

M. 'classic, file'

*drog taw^
*dugh t9j"
*gwing kiq

tfiaw^

t35k

kjiajq

daw'

t9k

kejq

[dau]
[d3ii]]

TABLE 15.2: Phonological Variation through Space

MSM (Northern)

Suzhou

Wenzhou

Canton

Amoj

^ 'tea'

i^ 'thousand'

fS 'uncle'

cha [tg'a]
qian [tQ^ien]
bo/bai [bv/bai]

cts'ii

PO?o

cdzo

ctc'i'

etfa

ctf'in

pok,

cta/cte

ctf'in

pok^/pak^

by Buddhists to write integral vernacular texts (Mair 1994). Before that time, only the
barest snatches of vernacular ever appeared in writing, and there were really no con-
ventions for composing anything other than Literary Sinitic. Still today, and even for
Pekingese (which is the current foundation for Mandarin, the lingua franca), authors
complain that it is impossible to write out all their favorite expressions in characters.
In the nonstandard, regional languages, it is all the more difficult to write out unadul-
terated speech in characters, since many of the most frequently used morphemes are
not represented in the standard set of 60,000 sinograms. Consequently, to write lan-
guages such as Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Shanghainese, it is necessary to invent nu-
merous nonce characters — or simply to resort to romanization, as has often been done
since the late nineteenth century, particularly under the influence of Western mission-
aries.

Another difficult problem caused by the sharp disjunction between spoken word
and written script in China is that the latter has remained relatively stable for over two
millennia — while the former, like all living languages, has evolved steadily. Although
there have been stylistic variations since the standardization of the characters during
the Qin dynasty (221-207 b.c.e.), their basic shapes and construction have changed
little. In contrast, the sounds of the Sinitic languages, and consequently the pronun-
ciations assigned to individual graphs, have changed dramatically through time and
space (see tables i 5.1 and 15.2; diacritics preceding and following syllables indi-
cate tone).

Reform /

Various Chinese scholars, since at least the twelfth century, have recognized the cum-
bersomeness of their morphosyllabic script and the superior efficiency of phonetic
scripts for conveying the sounds of language (Mair 1993). However, because of a gen-
eral conservatism of the culture and a strong emotional attachment to the characters,
they never developed a fully functioning phonetic script of their own.

204 PA^T IV: EAST ASIAN WRITING SYSTEMS

Around the end of the Ming dynasty (first half of the i6th century), with the ar-
rival of the Jesuits in China, many progressive ideas became current, including the
concept of romanization. The first schemes were created by Matteo Ricci (1605) and
Nicolas Trigault (1625). During the ensuing centuries, the notion of phonetic scripts
for Sinitic languages matured, especially with their widespread adoption by Christian
missionaries for the previously unwritten regional varieties. Around the end of the
nineteenth century, there was a great wave of protest against the moribund policies of
the Manchu government in the face of foreign encroachment, and a vigorous push for
reform in all areas of intellectual, poHtical, and social life took place; many proposals
for phonetic scripts were then put forward by Chinese patriots as means for the sal-
vation of their country (to make China "wealthy and strong," as they put it). The first
such proposal was advanced in 1892 by Lu Zhuangzhang (1854-1928). Lu's alphabet
was keyed to the language of his native Amoy, but he declared that it could be applied
to Mandarin and all the other varieties.

The fall of the Manchu government, and with it the dynastic structures that had
lasted for more than two thousand years, came quickly (191 1). Soon thereafter, the
new Republican government replaced Classical Chinese with Mandarin as the official
written language of the state, thus setting the stage for further linguistic reforms.

One of the most influential script reforms was the creation of a National Phonetic
Alphabet (Gudyin Zimu, also called Bopomofo; table 15.3) under the Repubhc of
China in 19 13. This has been very useful in the movement to extend the use of Man-
darin nationwide; many books, newspapers, and journals published in Taiwan still
employ it in a Japanese furigana-like fashion, as a sound-annotating device for the
characters.

With the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, script reform in the
1950s and thereafter basically took a two-pronged approach: simplification of the
characters, and application of romanization to more and more spheres of activity.
Simpler variants of the characters had been used among the populace for many cen-
turies as a way to cope with their time-consuming script. Thus they used S for ^ bdo
'precious', JH for M ni 'consider', ^ for ft ti 'body', and so on. The Communists
made simplification a matter of state policy and promoted it energetically, with the
result that thousands of characters and their components took on a wholly new look.
Since most of the Chinese outside of the mainland still use the complicated forms of
the characters, the script has assumed a very different appearance (see "Comparison
of Sinitic Characters" on page 252). It has now become a task for the people of China
to read and write the unfamiliar complicated forms of the characters. In contrast, it is
hard for the people of Taiwan to read and write the alien simplified script of China.

The commonest romanization used for Mandarin in the West (and to some extent
in China) was for many years the Wade-Giles system. However, the official PRC ro-
manization known Sispinym has made great strides in specific applications during re-
cent decades. It is now used for Chinese Braille, telegraphy, shipboard semaphore,
road signs, brand names, computer input, elementary education, and a host of other

TABLE 15.3: Bopomofo,

with Pinyin

Equivalents

(Chinese Language Library 1985)

Initials

Finals

^

b

-

i

X

u U u

k

P

Y

a

- Y

ia

X Y

ua

n

m

r

xr

uo

c

f

f

e

-tt

ie

Utt lie

yj

d

y\

ai

x^

uai

t:

t

"V ^

ei

X"V

uei

~h

n

i;

ao

— ^

iao

"h

1

X

ou

— X

iou

«

g

^

an

-^

ian

xz=^

uan U H uan

^

k

H

en

-h

in

XL;

uen U 4 tin

r

h

±

ang

-±

iang

x±

uang

i\

J

Z-

eng

-z.

ing

XA

ueng

(

q

XA

ong

UA

iong

T

X

;l

er

Mi

zh
ch
sh

f

Tones

r

-

- = 1

/

- = 2

V

^ = 3 \ :i = 4

r

high level

high

rising

low

dipping high falling

p

z

■^

c

A

s

uses (for comparison of pinyin and Wade-Giles romanization, see table 15.4). Pin-
yin has been recognized by both the United Nations and the International Standards
Organization as the standard form of romanization for Mandarin. With the elabora-
tion of an official set of orthographical rules (Yin and Felley 1990; Zhou 1992: 289-
301), pinyin is now poised to take on the role of a full-fledged script. For political and
practical reasons, the government cannot now advocate such a move. Yet the facts are
inescapable: while not yet securely established as an auxiliary script, pinyin has long
been widely accepted as a handy notational system, and China may be said already to
have entered a policy of digraphia, with pinyin and the sinograms used in comple-
mentarity. Whether or not pinyin gradually displaces sinograms remains to be seen.
The pressures of technology and information processing pose severe challenges
for all users of sinograms (Unger 1987). While valiant efforts are being made by lin-
guists, engineers, and programmers to meet these challenges, it is inevitable that
economies of cost effectiveness will require additional adjustments in the script.
Nonetheless, whatever exciting developments take place during the twenty-first cen-
tury, they are unlikely to bring about the total elimination of the traditional characters,
which will certainly always be used in classical studies.

206 PA^T IV: EAST ASIAN WRITING SYSTEMS

TABLE

15.4: Mandarin Transcription Systems^

Pinyin

W-G

IPA

Pinyin

W-G

IPA

a

e

[e]

In ian = ien = [ien]

m

m

[m]^

a

[a]

before ng, u: lao = lao =

n

n

[n]

[lau]

ng

ng

[q]

a

[a]

elsewhere

[u]

After a: lao = lao = [lau]

b

P

[b]

[0]

before u\tou = t'ou = [t^ou]

c

tz'
ts'

[tsl

Before /: ci = tz'ii = [ts*"*]
elsewhere: cu = tz'u = [ts^u]

u

[u]

before ng\ zhong = chung =
[d2^uq]

ch

ch'

m

Note chi = ch'ih = [t§'j]

[V]

elsewhere: p(9 = p'o = [pV]

d

t

[d]

P

P'

[pi

e

e

[9]

Before nasals: ben = pen =
[bsn]

<?

ch'

[e]

Before i, m: <7W = ch'u =

[t^V]

eh

[e]

after /, w, >': n> = t'ieh =

r

rh

[I]

Final: er = erh = [yj]

[i\e]

J

[i]

elsewhere; note ri = jih = [j]

e

[e]

before /: we^ = wei = [wei]

s

ss/sz

[s]

Before i: si = ssii = [si]

e/o

[V]

elsewhere: he = he/ho = [^y]

s

[s]

elsewhere: si< = su = [su]

f

f

[f]

sh

sh

[?]

Note shi = shih = [§j]

8

k

[g]

t

t'

[t1

h

h

[xi

u

u

[y]

After q, j, x, y: qu = ch'u =

i

ih

W

After ch, r, sh, zh: chi =

[teV]

ch'ih = [tg'^j]

u

["u]

after /: diu = tiu = [diuu]

u

[i]
[li]

after c, 5, z: d = tz'ii = [ts^i]
after gu, ku\ kui = k'uei =

u

[u]

before a vowel: kua = k'ua
= [kV]

[k'uii]

u

[0]

before n: sun = sun = [sun]

i

[i]

before/after vowels: lai = lai

u

[u]

elsewhere: mu = mu= [mu]

= [lai]

a

u

[y]

After /, n: nU = n\X = [ny]

i

[I]

before n, ng: bin = pin =

w

w

[w]

[bin]

X

hs

[Q]

Before /, u: xu = hsii = [qy]

i

[i]

elsewhere: // = li = [li]

y

y

[y]

J

ch

W^]

Before /, u: ju = chii = [d^y]

z

tz

[dz]

Before /: zi = tzu = [dzi]

k

k'

M

ts

before u: zu = tsu = [dzu]

I

1

[1]

zh

ch

m

Note zhi = chih = [d2^j]

a. The four basic tones are written a, a, a, a in pinyin,
here for clarity.

a}, a2, a^, a.^ in Wade-Giles (W-G). Pinyin is italicized

SECTION 15: MODERN CHINESE WRITING 2

Sample of Chinese

/. Sinograms:

2. Piny in:

3. Transcription:

4. Gloss:

chang
tg'dr)

PAST

nian
nien
think

^ H :^ *

Zhongguo wen zi,
&zpr] guo won dzi

/.
2.

4-

bei,
bei
prepare

yi

zui fan
dzuei fan

China

nan.
nan

scnpt

also most manifold difficult

2. ri

3>
4. day

/. I« ^
2. dii
3' dii

du5.
du5
many

zi diSn
dzi dien
dictionary

m

su5
su5

REL

shou,

§ou

receive

Cang
ts'ar)
Cang

ram

SI wan
Si wan
40,000

Shi
scribe

zui

dzuei

most

yi

since

wei
wei
be'^

m^i
m6i
beautiful

Jiang, zi
d^aq dzi

yu

jy

surplus

zi.

dzi

graph

ru
multiply

± A
shi ren
gj jsn
scholar

shu,
?u

bi
bi

sheng

4. study lifelong

bu
bu
not

neng

nog

can

Jin

d^in

complete

shi.
recognize

'I have thought that, while Chinese characters are the most beautiful and
complete, they are also the most complicated and difficult. Since the time of
Cang Jie [the mythical inventor of Chinese characters], they have grown and
multiplied day by day. Those which are gathered in dictionaries are more than
40,000. Scholars who read books for their whole lives cannot recognize all of
them. ' - Preface to Cai Xiyong 1896, cited in Ni Hdishu 1959: 34.

Cai Xlydng (i 847-1 897) was a scholar, diplomat, educator, and reformer in the late Qing dynasty.

208 P^^T IV: EAST ASIAN WRITING SYSTEMS

1993. "Cheng Ch'iao's Understanding of Sanskrit: The Concept of Spelhng in China." In

A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Jao Tsung-i on the Occasion of His Seventy -fifth Anniver-
sary, pp. 33 1-4 1. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong.

1994. "Buddhism and the Rise of the Written Vernacular in East Asia: The Making of Na-

tional Languages." Journal of Asian Studies 53: 707-51
Mair, Victor H., and Yongquan Liu, eds. 1991. Characters and Computers. Amsterdam: lOS Press.
Ni HSishu {^MM. 1959. Qing-md hdnyupinyin yunddng (Qieyinzi yunddng) bidnnidns hi [Yearly

chronology of the Late Qing Sinitic spelhng movement (tomogrammic movement)] if 7^/f t^

^=§UW] iWa-^MWl) li^^. Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe.
Norman, Jerry. 1988. Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pulleyblank, Edwin. 1991. Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late

Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
Ramsey, S. Robert. 1987. The Languages of China. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Schuessler, Axel. 1987. A Dictionary of Early Zhou Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Unger, J. Marshall. 1987. The Fifth Generation Fallacy: Why Japan Is Betting Its Future on Artificial

Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press.
. 1990. "The Very Idea: The Notion of Ideogram in China and Japan." Monumenta Nipponica

45:391-411.

, 1993. Communication to the Editor. Journal of Asian Studies 52: 949-54-

Xinhua zididn [New China character dictionary] ffH^ft- I957. I992. Beijing: Shangwu.

Yin Binyong and Mary Felley. 1990. Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography Pe-
king: SinoUngua.

Zhou Yduguang Jfl Wt^. 1992. Zhongguo yuwen zdngheng tan [Desultory discussions of Chinese
language and writing] ^MtaXM^"^^- [Beijing]: Renmin jiaoyu.

Comparative Table
of Sinitic Characters

The following list is intended to give a sampling of Chinese characters that have
more thian one form in current use: Traditional (used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sin-
gapore, and other overseas Chinese communities). Simplified (used in the People's
Republiic of China), and Japanese. In addition, the list illustrates the differences in
pronunciation that are found as one goes from Mandarin Chinese (in pinyin roman-
ization) to Japanese on and kun readings (in the Hepburn romanization) and to Korean
(Yale system). Items are arranged alphabetically by the pinyin forms. Data were pro-
vided by Victor H. Mair, Janet S. (Shibamoto) Smith, and Ross King.

PY

Tr.

Si. Chinese Gloss

Jp. On Kun

Jpn. Gloss ifdiff. Korean

ai

m

^ silly obstinacy

:^(ho)

—

ai

a

#love

S:ai

ay

bing

M

^ together, moreover

M hei nami

naraberu
narabu
narabi ni

line up, equal

pyeng

bu

m

i^h supplement

If ho oginau

po

cai

m

^ just, then

jg (san (wazukani)
/zan/sai)

a little, a small
quantity

cay

can

#

# blend, confused

# san maim

three

cham

chan

m

tt" cut into, carve

(sen) (surudoi)

going, coming

(chan)

chan

m

li bind up, involve

IS (ten) (matou)

cen

ch^n

m

f produce, estate

M san umu

umarem
ubu

+ childbirth

san

chan

'K

tf to regret, ritual

« (zan)

cham

chang

w

^ to taste, past

'S (sho) (namem)

sang

chang

m

M intestines

Sgcho

cang

chang,

s

^ long, to grow

;5 cho nagai

cang

zh^ng

ch^ng

m

r shed,storehouse,factory |^ (sho)

chang

che

$

$ cart, car

^ sha kumma

cha, ke

Chen

<^ dust

^ chin chiri
jin gomi

cin

chen

M

M inner garments

M (shin)

chun

chen,

m

i^ fitting, suitable

W^ (sho)

name, title

ching

cheng

chi

m

iS slow, late

M chi okureru
okurasu
osoi

ci

chi

m

# teeth

M shi ha

chi

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF SINITIC CHARACTERS

PY Tr. Si. Chinese Gloss Jp. On Kun Jpn. Gloss ifdiff. Korean

chong

m

K^ collide, rush against

«sho

chwung

ch6ng

m

% kindness, grace

ft (cho)

favor, affection chong

chdu

m

5. deformed

M shu minikui

ugliness chwu

cM

m

^ place

Misho

Che

cong

ri

A follow, from

t^ ju shitagau
sho shitagaeru

cong

d^ng

m

^ political party

^to

tang

di

m

il hand in/to, exchange

jI tei

chey

dong

M

^ east

^ to higashi

tong

dong

ft

^ to move

W) do ugoku
ugokasu

t5ng

er

^

jL infant, boy

Eji

a

er

«

Mi two, second

^ ni

1

fa

m

^ put forth, start

^ hatsu

hotsu

pal

m

M

^ hair (of the head)

^ hatsu kami

pal

fei

m

IS to fly

M hi tobu
tobasu

pi

feng

m

jxL wind

JE fu kaze
fu kaza

phwung

feng

m

^ abundant

^ ho yutaka

phwung

fen

m

^ grave, cemetery

i^ fun

pwun

fen

m

^ spirited, earnest

# fun furu

pwun

feng

a

jxL phoenix

E(h6)

pong

fo

m

^ Buddha

ils futsu hotoke

pwul

fu

®

J^ skin

If fu

pwu

fu

m

M. cover

S fuku ou
kutsugaesu
kutsugaeru

+ overthrow; pok
overturn

fu

m

K again, repeat

^fuku

pok

fu

m

% double garment

W. fuku

double pok

fu

m

ja woman, wife

*»fu

pwu

gan

^

Tdry

^ kan kawaku
kawakasu

kan/ken

gan

#

^ attend to, tree trunk

^ kan miki

tree trunk kan

ge

m

^ a measure word

Sko

kay

gu

«

# grain

^koku

kok

gua

m

M to blow (of wind)

i^ katsu/
kechi

—

gu^ng

m

r broad

jX ko hiroi

hiromam
hiromeru
hirogaru
hirogeru

kwang

gud

m

S country, kingdom

H koku kuni

kwuk

PY

Tk SL Chinese Gloss

Jp. On

Run

Jpn. Gloss ifdijf.

Korean

guo

lit M pass by, exceed

jgka

sugiru
sugosu
ayamatsu
ayamachi

error; excess

kwa

ha

m HTfrog

^(a)

(kaeru)

ha 'shrimp'

hai

m Estill

jS kan

return

hwan 'return'

han

m ?X Chinese

ylkan

han

hao

^ ^ appellation, mark

-^go

ho

heng

1S fl constant, persevering

tiko

hang

hou

ti: Jn after

f*go
ko
fn (ko/g(

nochi

hwu

hou

J^ jg queen

3)(kisaki)

hwu

hua

¥ ^ splendor, China

¥ka

ke

Hga

hana

+ flower

hwa

hua

M M picture

hwa

kaku

hoyk 'stroke'

hua

tU M to carve, mark

f!| (kaku)

hoyk

huai

fS t^ bosom, to cherish

^1^ kai

futokoro
natsukashii

hoy

natsukashimu

natsuku

natsukeru

huan

#: %X rejoice, happy

©Ckan

hwan

hui

# ^ assemble, meet

^kai

au

hoy

huo

^ ^ to reap

e
^kaku

hoyk

hu6

^ iilC comrade, partner

^(ka)

obitadashii

immense

kwa

jl

il I/La mechanism

liki

hata

ki

ji

/i4 chicken

Hkei

niwatori

kyey

jl

^ IR accumulate

W, seki

tsumu
tsumoru

cek

jl

^ ^ attack, beat

W geki

utsu

kyek

jl

g U utmost, extreme

S kyok
goku

u kiwameru
kiwamaru
kiwami

kuk

JI

H JL how many, a few

mki

iku

ki

jl

Pf W border, limit

^sai

kiwa

+ time, occasion

cey

jl

li ^ connect, continue

likei

tsugu

kyey

jia

^^ t^ clasp under the arm

Rkyo

hasamu
hasamaru

+ put between.

hyep
insert

ji3

fg Ji false, borrow

fSka
ke

kari

vanity; tempo-
rary, provisiona'

ka
I

jia

fH ifi^ price, value

ffika

atai

ka

jian

II M hardship, calamity

IS (kan) (nayamu)

kan

jian

m M firm, hard

^ken

katai

kyen

jian

^ i^ prison, oversee

^ kan

official; director

kam

ji^n

W ft frugal, economical

Ptken

kewashii

steep; severe

kem

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF SINITIC CHARACTERS

PY

Tr.

5?. Chinese Gloss

Jp. On

Kun

Jpn. Gloss ifdiff. Korean

ji^n

w

'^ cocoon

M (ken) (mayu)

kyen

ji^n

M

M visiting card, to select

^ (kan/ (erabu)

kan

ken)

jian

M

# introduce, recommend

M sen

susumeru

chen

jian

M

£ see

Mi ken

mini

mieru

miseru

kyen

Jiang

m

>|^ take, presently

# sho

+ commander

cang

Jiang

m.

# ginger

M (kyo) (hajikami)

kang

ji^ng

m

i^ explain, lecture

^ko

kang

jie

m

15^" Steps, levels

Ptkai

kyey

jie

m

^ heroic, eminent

M ketsu

excellence

kel

jie

Iff

Ti joint, festival

IB setsu
sechi

fushi

eel

JIn

m

fX barely, just

m (kin)

(wazuka)

kun

jIn

ffi

.^ barely, utmost

S jin

mama

as it is

.

Jin

^

^ exhaust, uttermost

>^ jin

tsukusu

} cin

Jin

m

if advance, enter

M shin

susumu
susumeru

cin

jing

m

i^ past, a classic

^kei
kyo

heru

longitude; sutra;
pass, elapse

kyeng

jing

m

W. terrify, alarm

Mkyo

odoroku
odorokasu

+ surprise

kyeng

jiu

m

IRold

10 kyu

kwu

jue

«

^ perceive, feel

^ kaku

oboeru
samasu
sameru

+ remember;

kak
awake

kai

Bi

Jp open

Mkai

hiraku
hirakeru
aku
akeru

kay

lai

S5

^ come

^rai

kuru

kitaru

kitasu

nay

li^ng

ffi

i^ two, tael

S ryo

Vang,
nyang

lU

ij^ donkey

m (ro)

'ye

m^i

M

^ to buy

Kbai

kau

may

mai

#

^ wheat

^ baku

mugi

mayk

mai

«

M to sell

^ bai

urn
ureru

may

m6n

PI

n door

n mon

kado

mwun

n3o

'i

^ vexed, resentful

tSi no

nayamu
nayamasu

distress; illness

noy

qi

W

^ equal, even

^ sei

cey

ql

Mi

.a

S how (rhetorical)

^(ki)

ki, kay

ql

Jg^

jp to open, divide

^ (kei)

kyey

256 P^^T IV: EAST ASIAN WRITING SYSTEMS

PY

Tr.

Si. Chinese Gloss

Jp. On

/^Tmh

Jpn. Gloss ifdiff. Korean

qi

M

# reject, discard

*(ki)

ki

qi

m

% breath, air, temper

^ki

ke

ki

qian

m

jgp to ascend, transfer

M sen

chen

qi^n

m

tie shallow

^ sen

asai

chen

qiang

m

Ife rifle

it (so)

spear, lance

I

qiang

m

iiwall

m (sho)

(kaki)

cang

qiao

m

llf bridge

1Sky5

hashi

kyo

qiao

m

^ aperture

m (kyo)

kyu

qi6

m

^ steal, pilfer

^ setsu

secret, stealthy

eel

qin

m

M relation(ship)

M shin

oya

shitashii

shitashimu

intimacy;
parents, relative

chin

qing

m

^ congratulate, lucky

^kei

kyeng

qiong

m

^ poor, exhausted

Hkyu

kiwameru
kiwamaru

kwung

qudn

m

H authority, power

ft ken

gon

kwen

que

^

^ deficient, vacancy

^ ketu

kakeru
kaku

kyel

qu

m

E region, to distinguish

Kku

kwu

Aag

m

it waive, yield

Mjd

yuzuru

yang

KlO

M

^ wind around

^(jo)

surround

yo

th

is

^hot

Wi netsu

atsui

yel

Thn

i

iX recognize

M nin

mitomeru

in

sheng

m

P sound

^ sei
sho

koe
kowa

seng

sh6u

m

longevity

# shu

kotobuki

swu

sM

m

M belong to

M zoku

sok

sul

m

W bits, petty

# sai

kudaku
kudakeru

break, smash

sway

tiao

m

^ strip, twig

^jo

article, clause

CO

tiS

m

^ iron

ife tetsu

chel

ting

m

JT hall

/tcho

gov'ment office

cheng

w6i

m

11 to surround, enclose

H i

kakomu
kakou

wi

wei

^

^ to do, make

^ i

(tame)

+ welfare

wi

wu

m

^ not, without

#imu
bu
S gi

nai

mwu

XI

m

#1 sacrifice

buy

xi

w

^ practice, habit

® shu

narau

sup

XI

m

M joke, theater

«gi

tawamureru

buy

xian

m

Jlc salty

m (kan)

ham

xidn

m

1^ leisure, idle

PbI kan
ken

aida
ma

interval, space

ban

xidn

Mr

M obvious

m ken

hyen

xian

m

M. contribute

M ken

hen

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF SINITIC CHARACTERS

PY

Tr.

SL Chinese Gloss

Jp. On

Kun

Jpn. Gloss ifdiff. Korean

kon

xian

w

3: district

IS: ken

hyen

xian

m

^ constitution

M ken

hen

xiang

m

^ village

IE|5 kyo

crr\

+ native place

hyang

xi^ng

m

P|nl noise, echo

go
#kyo

hibiku

hyang

xie

Izw

1^ mutual, to aid

tiS kyo

hyep

xi6

m

^ to write

^ sha

utsuru
utsusu

copy, picture

sa

Xing

m

^ prosper, originate

Mko
kyo

okoru
okosu

+ interest, enter-
tainment; revive

hung

xudn

m

^ elect

?1 sen

erabu

sen

xue

m

^ learn, study

^ gaku

manabu

hak

xiin

m

# seek

# jin

tazuneru

+ ask

sim

y^

^

3E ugly, inferior

M a

rank next

a

yi

m

IS medicine

gi

uy

yi

s

-t one

^ ichi

il

yi

m

f^ etiquette, rites

ligi

uy

yi

m

W interpret, translate

IR yaku

wake

yek

yi

m

X righteousness, mng.

^ gi

uy

ying

m

j^ ought, correspond

iSo

ung

yu

m

fefish

M gyo

uo
sakana

e

yuan

m

HI circular, a dollar

Ren

marui

wen

yun

M

m transport

31 un

hakobu

wun

zha

m

tL write out, a memorial

+L satsu

fuda

paper money

cap/cha; chal

zhai

M

^ abstain, foot, a shop

^ sai

cay

zhai

m

M owe, a debt

ft sai

chay

zhan

m

^ rough felt, as for rugs

K (sen)

cen

zhan

Sc

i*fjc alarmed, to fight, war

11 sen

ikusa
tatakau

cen

zhao

m

M. hasten to, a surname

m (cho)

CO

zhe

m

Jff to fold, document

iff setsu

oru
ori
oreru

cep

zhe

M

iithis

jI (sha)

crawl, creep

ce

zheng

m

tiE testify, summon

ffisei

cing

zh^ng

*

#■ wrangle, contest

#- so

arasou

cayng

zheng

m

^ a surname

iP (tei)

ceng

zhi

M

K measure word

A (si)

(tada)

only; free

chek

Zhl

fi

^ seize, grasp

#1 shitsu torn

cip

shu

zhi

m

IR office, official duty

^ shoku

I

cik

zhI

ffi

R only

ffi (gi)

national god

ci 'respect'

zhong

m

#|i cup

a (sho)

gather; collect

cong

zhong

m

# bell, clock

M sho

kane

cong

zhdng

m

# kind, seed

a Shu

tane

cong

258 P^RT IV: EAST ASIAN WRITING SYSTEMS

PY

Tk

Si. Chinese Gloss

Jp. On Kun

Jpn. Gloss ifdiff. Korean

zhong

m

ik crowd

^ shu
shu

cwung

zhou

m

g daytime

M chu hiru

cwu

zhou

m.

i^ crape, wrinkled

m

IK (shu) (shiwa)

chwu

zhii

m

^ construct

^ chiku kizuku

chwuk

zhuan

*

^ special

M sen moppara

mainly, solely

cen

zhuang

m

JS sedate, estate

ffiso
sho
ee sho level'

cang Villa'

zhui

M

^ to fall, sink

K tsui

chwu

zhuo

m

fi turbid, stupid

JS daku nigoru
nigosu

thak

Kokuji

The following are characters created in Japan, following the structural principles of
Chinese character formation (more or less); some of them have on-readings.

Jpn. On

Kun

Gloss

A. On the joyo-kanji list

m do

hataraki
hataraku

work, effect

m

toge

mountain pass

m

hata
hatake

field, one's specialty

a

komu

be crowded; get into,

komeru

include, concentrate on

#

waku

frame, framework

B. Not on the joyo-kanji list

shitsuke upbringing

kamishimo samurai; ceremonial garb of samurai

yuki sleeve length

tsuma skirt

THE WORLD'S
WRITING SYSTEMS ■•='«™*

William Bright