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| Stroke order | |||
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則 (Kangxi radical 18,刀+7, 9 strokes,cangjie input月金中弓 (BCLN),four-corner62800,composition⿰貝刂)
| Historical forms of the character則 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Zhou | Spring and Autumn | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan) | Liushutong (compiled inMing) | ||||
| Bronze inscriptions | Bronze inscriptions | Bronze inscriptions | Chu slip and silk script | Qin slip script | Shizhoupian script | Ancient script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 鼎(“ding, a bronze cauldron for cooking or sacrificial rituals”) + 刂(“knife”); hence, the original version is𠟭. Perhaps it's a reference to carving something (e.g., characters) with a knife on a bronze. Its original meaning was "rule; law".
鼎 was simplified to the unrelated 貝 in the small seal script. Compare貞 (OC*teŋ, “to divine; righteous; firm”) (<鼑), which underwent the same stylization.
| trad. | 則 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp. | 则 | |
| alternative forms | 𠞋 𠟔 𠟻 𠟭 | |
| Variety | Location | 則 |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | Beijing | /t͡sɤ³⁵/ |
| Harbin | /t͡sai²⁴/ /t͡sɤ²⁴/ | |
| Tianjin | /t͡sɤ⁴⁵/ | |
| Jinan | /t͡sə²¹³/ /t͡sei²¹³/ | |
| Qingdao | /t͡sə⁴²/ /t͡se⁴²/ | |
| Zhengzhou | /t͡sɛ²⁴/ | |
| Xi'an | /t͡sei²¹/ | |
| Xining | /t͡sɨ⁴⁴/ | |
| Yinchuan | /t͡sə¹³/ | |
| Lanzhou | /t͡sə³¹/ | |
| Ürümqi | /t͡sɤ⁵¹/ | |
| Wuhan | /t͡sɤ²¹³/ | |
| Chengdu | /t͡se³¹/ | |
| Guiyang | /t͡sɛ²¹/ | |
| Kunming | /t͡sə³¹/ | |
| Nanjing | /t͡səʔ⁵/ | |
| Hefei | /t͡sɐʔ⁵/ | |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /t͡səʔ²/ |
| Pingyao | /t͡sʌʔ¹³/ | |
| Hohhot | /t͡saʔ⁴³/ | |
| Wu | Shanghai | /t͡səʔ⁵/ |
| Suzhou | /t͡səʔ⁵/ | |
| Hangzhou | /t͡səʔ⁵/ | |
| Wenzhou | /t͡se²¹³/ | |
| Hui | Shexian | /t͡sɛʔ²¹/ |
| Tunxi | /t͡sa⁵/ | |
| Xiang | Changsha | /t͡sə²⁴/ |
| Xiangtan | /t͡sæ²⁴/ | |
| Gan | Nanchang | /t͡sɛʔ⁵/ |
| Hakka | Meixian | /t͡set̚¹/ |
| Taoyuan | /t͡set̚²²/ | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /t͡sɐk̚⁵/ |
| Nanning | /t͡sɐk̚⁵⁵/ | |
| Hong Kong | /t͡sɐk̚⁵/ | |
| Min | Xiamen (Hokkien) | /t͡sik̚³²/ |
| Fuzhou (Eastern Min) | /t͡saiʔ²³/ | |
| Jian'ou (Northern Min) | /t͡sɛ²⁴/ | |
| Shantou (Teochew) | /t͡sek̚²/ | |
| Haikou (Hainanese) | /t͡sek̚⁵/ /t͡sɔk̚⁵/ |
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 則 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 精 (13) |
| Final (韻) | 德 (131) |
| Tone (調) | Checked (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 子德切 |
| Baxter | tsok |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /t͡sək̚/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | ze |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | zak1 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 則 | 則 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | zé | zé |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsok › | ‹ tsok › |
| Old Chinese | /*[ts]ˁək/ | /*[ts]ˁək/ |
| English | then | rule, pattern |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | ||
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 則 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 16595 |
| Phonetic component | 則 |
| Rime group | 職 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 則 |
| Old Chinese | /*ʔsɯːɡ/ |
則
| trad. | 則 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp. | 则 | |
| alternative forms | 積／积 | |
(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from English cheque?”)
則
| For pronunciation and definitions of則 – see才 (“(Min Nan)”). (This character is a variant form of才). |
Checked-tone variant of子 (tsy)
| For pronunciation and definitions of則 – see子 (“child;offspring;descendant;son; etc.”). (This character is a variant form of子). |
| For pronunciation and definitions of則 – see哉 (“(Suzhou Wu)”). (This character is a variant form of哉). |
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 則 |
| そく Grade: 5 |
| on'yomi |
FromMiddle Chinese則 (MC tsok, “rule”).
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 則 |
| のり Grade: 5 |
| kun'yomi |
| For pronunciation and definitions of則 – see the following entry. | ||
| ||
| (This term,則, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) |
FromMiddle Chinese.
| Historical readings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Middle Korean | ||
| Text | Eumhun | |
| Gloss (hun) | Reading | |
| Gwangju Cheonjamun, 1575 | 법즉 (Yale:pepcuk) | 즉 (Yale:cuk) |
則 (eumhun법칙(法則)칙(beopchik chik))
FromMiddle Chinese.
| Historical readings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dongguk Jeongun reading | ||
| Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 | 즉〮 (Yale:cúk) | |
則:Hán Việt readings:tắc[1][2][3][4][5],trắc[1]
則:Nôm readings:tắc[1][2][3][4][6],tấc[1][2],trắc[1]