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毋 (Kangxi radical 80,毋+0, 4 strokes,cangjie input田十 (WJ),four-corner77500,composition⿻⿻𠃋𠃌𠂇(GHTV) or⿻⿻𠃋𠃌十(JK))
| simp. andtrad. | 毋 | |
|---|---|---|
| alternative forms | 不vernacular Hakka and Min Nan 唔vernacular Hakka and Min Nan 伓vernacular Min Nan 呣vernacular Min Nan 嘸／呒vernacular Min Nan | |
| Historical forms of the character毋 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Western Zhou | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan) | Liushutong (compiled inMing) |
| Bronze inscriptions | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
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In the oracle bone script,母 (“mother”) was borrowed to represent this character. It was later specialized to distinguish it from “mother”, replacing the two dots with one stroke.
Cognate with無 (OC*ma, “to not have”). Already in Zhou time, phonetically confused with and read like無 (OC*ma).
Cognate with唔 inCantonese,Teochew andHakka.
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 毋 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 明 (4) |
| Final (韻) | 虞 (24) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Closed |
| Division (等) | III |
| Fanqie | 武夫切 |
| Baxter | mju |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /mɨo/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /mio/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /mio/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /muə̆/ |
| Li Rong | /mio/ |
| Wang Li | /mĭu/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /mi̯u/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | wú |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | mou4 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 毋 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | wú |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ mju › |
| Old Chinese | /*mo/ |
| English | don"t |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 毋 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 9301 |
| Phonetic component | 母 |
| Rime group | 魚 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 無 |
| Old Chinese | /*ma/ |
| Notes | 母轉註字 |
毋
2=毋Please seeModule:checkparams for help with this warning.“毋”, in教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien),Ministry of Education, R.O.C.,2025.
Not used in Japaneseshinjitai in isolation – instead the unsimplified母 is used – but simplified form is used universally in compoundjōyō characters, such as毎,海.
However, not used inhyōgaiji, which are written inkyūjitai, such as姆.
毋• (mu) (hangeul무,revised mu,McCune–Reischauer mu,Yale mu)