弦

See also: 絃

弦 U+5F26, 弦 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5F26 ← 弥 [U+5F25] CJK Unified Ideographs 弧 → [U+5F27]

Translingual

Han character

弦 (Kangxi radical 57, 弓+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 弓卜女戈 (NYVI), four-corner 1023₂, composition ⿰弓玄)

Derived characters

• 娹 㡉 惤 𢮂 㭹 誸 𨧻 𧼏 𦱁 婱 𢛆

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 357, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9754
• Dae Jaweon: page 674, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 993, character 7
• Unihan data for U+5F26

Chinese

trad.		弦/絃*
simp.		弦
alternative forms		⿰弓𤣥 𢎺 𢏸

Glyph origin

	Old Chinese
弦	*ɡeːn
絃	*ɡeːn, *qʰʷeːn
舷	*ɡeːn
痃	*ɡeːn
胘	*ɡeːn, *ɡʷeːn
蚿	*ɡeːn
伭	*ɡeːn
婱	*ɡeːn
玄	*ɡʷeːn
眩	*ɡʷeːn, *ɡʷeːn
玹	*ɡʷeːn, *ɡʷeːn
玆	*ɡʷeːn
詃	*kʷeːn
泫	*ɡʷeːn
鉉	*ɡʷeːn
炫	*ɡʷeːn
袨	*ɡʷeːn
衒	*ɡʷeːn
惤	*ɡʷreːŋ

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

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ɡeːn): semantic 弓 (“bow”) + phonetic 玄 (OC *ɡʷeːn).

Pronunciation

Variety	Location	edit 弦
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕian³⁵/
	Harbin	/ɕian²⁴/
	Tianjin	/ɕian⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/ɕiã⁴²/
	Qingdao	/ɕyã⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ɕyan⁴²/
	Xi'an	/ɕiã²⁴/
	Xining	/ɕiã²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ɕian⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ɕiɛ̃n⁵³/ 彈～子 /ɕyɛ̃n⁵³/ 續～
	Ürümqi	/ɕian⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/ɕiɛn²¹³/
	Chengdu	/ɕyan³¹/
	Guiyang	/ɕian²¹/
	Kunming	/ɕiɛ̃³¹/
	Nanjing	/ɕyen²⁴/
	Hefei	/ɕyĩ⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕye¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ɕye̞¹³/
	Hohhot	/ɕye³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦi²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦiɪ¹³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦiẽ̞²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ji³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/ɕye⁴⁴/
	Tunxi
Xiang	Changsha	/ɕiẽ¹³/
	Xiangtan	/ɕiẽ¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/ɕyɵn⁴⁵/ 三～
Hakka	Meixian	/hian¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/hien¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jin²¹/
	Nanning	/jin²¹/
	Hong Kong	/jyn²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/hian³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/hieŋ⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/xyiŋ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/hĩ⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/hin³¹/ /i³¹/

Rime
Character	弦
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	先 (85)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	胡田切
Baxter	hen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦen/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦen/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɛn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦɛn/
Li Rong	/ɣen/
Wang Li	/ɣien/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣien/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xián
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jin4

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	弦
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xián
Middle Chinese	‹ hen ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɢ]ˁi[n]/
English	string of bow or instrument
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	弦
Reading #	1/1
No.	14020
Phonetic component	玄
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	賢
Old Chinese	/*ɡeːn/

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xián, xuán (xian², xuan²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢˊ, ㄒㄩㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jin⁴ / jyun⁴

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): hièn / hiàn

  (Meixian, Guangdong): hian²

• Northern Min (KCR): hṳ̌ing
• Eastern Min (BUC): hièng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hiân

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hin⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶yi

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xián
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sián
    • Wade–Giles: hsien²
    • Yale: syán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyan
    • Palladius: сянь (sjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiánr
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˊㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siánr
    • Wade–Giles: hsien²-ʼrh
    • Yale: syánr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyal
    • Palladius: сяньр (sjanʹr)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑɻ³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, nonstandard variant)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xuán
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄩㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: syuán
    • Wade–Giles: hsüan²
    • Yale: sywán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyuan
    • Palladius: сюань (sjuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy̯ɛn³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: jin⁴ / jyun⁴
    • Yale: yìhn / yùhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jin⁴ / jyn⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yin⁴ / yun⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiːn²¹/, /jyːn²¹/

Note: jyun4 - variant.

• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hièn
    • Hakka Romanization System: hien^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hian²
    • Sinological IPA: /hi̯en¹¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hiàn
    • Hakka Romanization System: hian^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hian²
    • Sinological IPA: /hi̯an¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: hian²
    • Sinological IPA: /hian¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: hṳ̌ing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xyiŋ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hièng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hieŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiân
    • Tâi-lô: hiân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hieen
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hiɛn²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hiɛn²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hiɛn¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hiɛn²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɛn²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hin⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hîⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hĩ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶yi
    • MiniDict: yi^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦi²³/

---

• Dialectal data

---

• Middle Chinese: hen

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɢ]ˤi[n]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡeːn/

Definitions

弦

1. string; bowstring
2. crescent
3. spring of a clock
4. (music) string on a musical instrument
5. (music) stringed instruments or music played by stringed instruments
6. (mathematics) chord
7. (geometry) hypotenuse
8. (figurative) wife
9. a surname

Compounds

• 一弦琴
• 七弦琴
• 三和弦 (sānhéxián)
• 下弦 (xiàxián)
• 三弦 (sānxián)
• 上弦 (shàngxián)
• 三弦書 / 三弦书
• 主和弦
• 二十五弦
• 二弦 (èrxián)
• 佩弦
• 佩韋佩弦 / 佩韦佩弦
• 公弦
• 六弦琴 (liùxiánqín)
• 初弦 (chūxián)
• 動人心弦 / 动人心弦 (dòngrénxīnxián)
• 口弦 (kǒuxián)
• 叩人心弦
• 合弦
• 和弦 (héxián)
• 品竹調弦 / 品竹调弦
• 單弦 / 单弦 (dānxián)
• 單弦拉戲 / 单弦拉戏
• 單弦說唱 / 单弦说唱
• 四弦琴 (sìxiánqín)
• 大三弦
• 如箭在弦
• 子弦
• 定弦
• 弓弦 (gōngxián)
• 弦不虛發 / 弦不虚发
• 弦仔
• 弦切角
• 弦吹
• 弦外之意
• 弦外之音 (xiánwàizhīyīn)
• 弦子 (xiánzi)
• 弦心距
• 弦月 (xiányuè)
• 弦柱
• 弦樂 / 弦乐 (xiányuè)
• 弦樂器 / 弦乐器 (xiányuèqì)
• 弦歌 (xiángē)
• 弦歌不輟 / 弦歌不辍
• 弦紋 / 弦纹
• 弦誦 / 弦诵
• 弦面板
• 弦韋 / 弦韦
• 心弦 (xīnxián)
• 應弦飲羽 / 应弦饮羽
• 扣人心弦 (kòurénxīnxián)
• 把弦兒 / 把弦儿
• 拉弦子
• 控弦 (kòngxián)
• 揉弦 (róuxián)
• 撥弦 / 拨弦
• 撥弦樂器 / 拨弦乐器
• 擦弦樂器 / 擦弦乐器
• 改弦易張 / 改弦易张
• 改弦易調 / 改弦易调
• 改弦易轍 / 改弦易辙 (gǎixiányìzhé)
• 改弦更張 / 改弦更张 (gǎixiángēngzhāng)
• 斷弦 / 断弦 (duànxián)
• 更弦易轍 / 更弦易辙
• 朱弦玉磬
• 正弦 (zhèngxián)
• 武城弦歌
• 無弦琴 / 无弦琴
• 獨弦哀歌 / 独弦哀歌
• 獨弦琴 / 独弦琴 (dúxiánqín)
• 琴弦 (qínxián)
• 琴斷朱弦 / 琴断朱弦
• 矢在弦上
• 空弦落雁
• 管弦 (guǎnxián)
• 管弦樂 / 管弦乐 (guǎnxiányuè)
• 管弦樂團 / 管弦乐团 (guǎnxián yuètuán)
• 箭在弦上
• 素女弦
• 繁弦急管
• 續弦 / 续弦 (xùxián)
• 續弦膠 / 续弦胶
• 老弦
• 舜弦
• 解弦更張 / 解弦更张
• 調弦 / 调弦
• 鉤弦 / 钩弦
• 開弦弓 / 开弦弓 (Kāixiángōng)
• 霹靂弦 / 霹雳弦
• 韋弦 / 韦弦
• 餘弦 / 余弦 (yúxián)
• 餘弦定律 / 余弦定律
• 鼓吹弦

References

• “弦”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 弦

弦

(Jōyō kanji)

1. bowstring
2. (geometry) chord

Readings

• Go-on: げん (gen, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: けん (ken)
• Kun: つる (tsuru, 弦, Jōyō)

Compounds

• 弦歌(げんか) (genka)
• 弦月(げんげつ) (gengetsu)
• 移弦(いげん) (igen)
• 下弦(かんげん) (kangen)
• 管弦(かんげん) (kangen)
• 三弦(さんげん) (sangen)
• 正弦(せいげん) (seigen)
• 上弦(じょうげん) (jōgen)
• 調弦(ちょうげん) (chōgen)
• 撥弦(はつげん) (hatsugen)
• 余弦(よげん) (yogen)

Coordinate terms

• 弓(ゆみ) (yumi): a bow

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
弦
げん Grade: S
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) げん [géꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ɡẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

弦(げん) • (gen) 

1. (music) string of a stringed instrument

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
弦
つる Grade: S
kun'yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つる [tsùrúꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[1][2]
• (Tokyo) つる [tsúꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨɾɯ̟]

Noun

弦(つる) • (tsuru) 

1. a bowstring

   Synonym: 弓弦

2. (music) the string of an instrument
3. the bow-shaped handle of a pot or teapot

Derived terms

• 弦巻(つるまき) (tsurumaki)
• 弦袋(つるぶくろ) (tsurubukuro)

References

1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

弦 • (hyeon) (hangeul 현, revised hyeon, McCune–Reischauer hyŏn, Yale hyen)

1. bowstring

Vietnamese

Han character

弦: Hán Nôm readings: huyền

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