善于

See also: 善於

Chinese

Etymology

Xiongnu leader

Created by Wang Mang in 15 CE to replace the title of 單于 (chányú, “chanyu”) for the leader of the Xiongnu.

Pronunciation

[Show/Hide]
edit edit 善於 / 善于 鱔魚 / 鳝鱼

Rime
Character	善	于
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)	云 (35)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)	虞 (24)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	常演切	羽俱切
Baxter	dzyenX	hju
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑiᴇnX/	/ɦɨo/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑiɛnX/	/ɦio/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑjænX/	/ɣio/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑianX/	/ɦuə̆/
Li Rong	/ʑiɛnX/	/ɣio/
Wang Li	/ʑĭɛnX/	/ɣĭu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʑi̯ɛnX/	/i̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shàn	yú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sin6	jyu4

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	善	于	于
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shàn	yú	yú
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyenX ›	‹ hju ›	‹ hju ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]e[n]ʔ/	/*ɢʷ(r)a/	/*ɦʷa/ (< *ɢʷ(r)a)
English	good	go; at	單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn)
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	善	于
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	11084	15706
Phonetic component	善	于
Rime group	元	魚
Rime subdivision	2	0
Corresponding MC rime	善	于
Old Chinese	/*ɡjenʔ/	/*ɢʷa/
Notes		王筠雲籲初文

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shànyú

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄢˋ ㄩˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sin⁶ jyu¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shànyú
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄢˋ ㄩˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shànyú
    • Wade–Giles: shan⁴-yü²
    • Yale: shàn-yú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shannyu
    • Palladius: шаньюй (šanʹjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂän⁵¹ y³⁵/
    • Homophones:
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sin⁶ jyu¹
    • Yale: sihn yū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sin⁶ jy¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: xin⁶ yu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːn²² jyː⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: dzyenX hju

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]e[n]ʔ  ɢʷ(r)a|ɦʷa/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡjenʔ  ɢʷa/

Noun

善于

1. (historical, obsolete) Synonym of 單于 (chányú)

   因諭說改其號，號匈奴曰「恭奴」，單于曰「善于」，賜印綬。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
   因谕说改其号，号匈奴曰「恭奴」，单于曰「善于」，赐印绶。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

   From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

   Yīn yùshuō gǎi qí hào, hào Xiōngnú yuē “Gōngnú”, chányú yuē “shànyú”, cì yìnshòu. [Pinyin]

   He changed their names upon persuasive advice. The Xiongnu were named "Gongnu", the chanyu named "shanyu", and he bequeathed them official seals.

Verb

善于

For pronunciation and definitions of 善于 – see 善於 (“to be good at; to be adept in”). (This term is the simplified form of 善於).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.