| ||||||||
| Japanese | 差 |
|---|---|
| Simplified | 差 |
| Traditional | 差 |
Note that the character in simplified Chinese has 9 strokes. Simplified from差 (𦍌丿 →⺶)

差 (Kangxi radical 48,工+7in traditional Chinese, 工+6in simplified Chinese, 10 strokesin traditional Chinese, 9 strokesin simplified Chinese,cangjie input廿手一 (TQM),four-corner80211,composition⿱𦍌⿰丿工(HTJK) or⿸⺶工(GV))
| Stroke order | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. | 差 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp.# | 差 | |
| alternative forms | 荖 𢀩 𢀠 𢀞 | |
| Historical forms of the character差 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Western Zhou | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan) | Liushutong (compiled inMing) |
| Bronze inscriptions | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| 左 | *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls |
| 佐 | *ʔsaːls |
| 袏 | *ʔslaːls |
| 蹉 | *sʰlaːl |
| 瑳 | *sʰlaːl, *sʰlaːlʔ |
| 搓 | *sʰlaːl |
| 磋 | *sʰlaːl |
| 溠 | *sʰlaːl, *sraːl, *ʔsraːls |
| 傞 | *sʰlaːl, *slaːl |
| 醝 | *zlaːl |
| 瘥 | *zlaːl, *ʔsljal, *sʰreːls |
| 鹺 | *zlaːl |
| 嵯 | *zlaːl, *sʰral |
| 嵳 | *zlaːl |
| 蒫 | *zlaːl, *ʔsljal, *ʔslɯl |
| 艖 | *zlaːl, *sʰraːl |
| 齹 | *zlaːl, *sʰral, *zral |
| 縒 | *slaːlʔ, *sʰral, *sʰlaːɡ |
| 褨 | *slaːlʔ |
| 嗟 | *ʔsljal |
| 差 | *sʰraːl, *sʰraːls, *sʰreːl, *sʰreːl, *sʰreːls, *sʰral |
| 鎈 | *sʰraːl |
| 槎 | *zraːl, *zraːlʔ |
| 髊 | *zlals |
Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 來(“wheat”) + 𠂇(“left hand”) – tohullwheat by rubbing grains inside hands. Original form of搓 (OC*sʰlaːl, “to rub with hands; to scrub; to twist”).
工 or口 was later added under𠂇 to form左 (OC*ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls, “left”), which is also this character's phonetic component.
| Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium. Particularly: “CompareBurmeseချာ(hkya,“inferior (in quality), poor”), though if related, the relation would have to be a borrowing from a modern Sinitic dialect to Burmese rather than a shared inheritance.” |
| Rime | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 差 | 差 |
| Reading # | 4/5 | 2/5 |
| Initial (聲) | 初 (19) | 初 (19) |
| Final (韻) | 麻 (98) | 佳 (31) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | II | II |
| Fanqie | 初加切 | 楚佳切 |
| Baxter | tsrhae | tsrhea |
| Reconstructions | ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡ʃʰˠa/ | /t͡ʃʰˠɛ/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ʈ͡ʂʰᵚa/ | /ʈ͡ʂʰᵚæ/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡ʃʰa/ | /t͡ʃʰæi/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ʈ͡ʂʰaɨ/ | /ʈ͡ʂʰaɨj/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡ʃʰa/ | /t͡ʃʰɛ/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡ʃʰa/ | /t͡ʃʰai/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʈ͡ʂʰa/ | /ʈ͡ʂʰai/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | chā | chāi |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | caa1 | caai1 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 1/5 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | chā |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsrhæ › |
| Old Chinese | /*tsʰraj/ |
| English | distinction; to select |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Character | 差 | 差 | 差 |
| Reading # | 2/6 | 3/6 | 4/6 |
| No. | 18030 | 18037 | 18038 |
| Phonetic component | 左 | 左 | 左 |
| Rime group | 歌 | 歌 | 歌 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 差 | 釵 | |
| Old Chinese | /*sʰraːls/ | /*sʰreːl/ | /*sʰreːl/ |
| Notes | 金文上從來,本指以手揀麥子分等次, 左亦聲 | ||
差
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 3/5 |
| Initial (聲) | 初 (19) |
| Final (韻) | 皆 (33) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | II |
| Fanqie | 楚皆切 |
| Baxter | tsrheaj |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡ʃʰˠɛi/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ʈ͡ʂʰᵚæi/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡ʃʰɐi/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ʈ͡ʂʰəɨj/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡ʃʰɛi/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡ʃʰɐi/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʈ͡ʂʰăi/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | chāi |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | caai1 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 差 | 差 |
| Reading # | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | chāi | chāi |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsrhɛ › | ‹ tsrhɛj › |
| Old Chinese | /*[tsʰ]raj/ | /*[tsʰ](ˁ)raj/ |
| English | distinction; to select | distinction; to select |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | ||
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 1/6 |
| No. | 18029 |
| Phonetic component | 左 |
| Rime group | 歌 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | |
| Old Chinese | /*sʰraːl/ |
差
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 1/5 |
| Initial (聲) | 初 (19) |
| Final (韻) | 支 (13) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | III |
| Fanqie | 楚宜切 |
| Baxter | tsrhje |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡ʃʰˠiᴇ/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ʈ͡ʂʰᵚiɛ/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡ʃʰiɛ/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ʈ͡ʂʰjiə̆/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡ʃʰje/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡ʃʰǐe/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʈ͡ʂʰie̯/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | chī |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | ci1 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 4/5 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | cī |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsrhje › |
| Old Chinese | /*tsʰraj/ |
| English | 參差 uneven |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 6/6 |
| No. | 18042 |
| Phonetic component | 左 |
| Rime group | 歌 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 差 |
| Old Chinese | /*sʰral/ |
| Notes | 見孟子 |
差
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 5/5 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | cuō |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsha › |
| Old Chinese | /*[tsʰ]ˁaj/ |
| English | rub, polish, file (v.) |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
差
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 差 |
| Reading # | 5/5 |
| Initial (聲) | 初 (19) |
| Final (韻) | 佳 (31) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | II |
| Fanqie | 楚懈切 |
| Baxter | tsrheaH |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡ʃʰˠɛH/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ʈ͡ʂʰᵚæH/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡ʃʰæiH/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ʈ͡ʂʰaɨjH/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡ʃʰɛH/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡ʃʰaiH/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʈ͡ʂʰaiH/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | chài |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | caai3 |
差
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrhae); compareMandarin差(chā):
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrheaj); compareMandarin差(chà):
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrhje); compareMandarin差(cī):
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrhea); compareMandarin差(chāi):
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrheaH); compareMandarin差(chài):
From nativeJapanese roots:
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 差 |
| さ Grade: 4 |
| on'yomi |
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrhje|tsrhea|tsrheaj|tsrhae|tsrheaH).
FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrhea|tsrhae|tsrheaH).
Recorded asMiddle Korean차(cha)訓 (Yale:cha) inSinjeung Yuhap(新增類合 / 신증유합), 1576.

FromMiddle Chinese差 (MC tsrhje, “uneven”).
差:Hán Nôm readings:sai,sái,si,sươi,sau,sây,soa
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