Stroke order Stroke order in simplified Chinese
象 (Kangxi radical 152,豕 +5in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean , 豕+4in simplified Chinese , 12 strokesin traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean , 11 strokesin simplified Chinese ,cangjie input 弓日心人 (NAPO ),four-corner 27232 ,composition ⿱⺈ ⿻口 𧰨 (G ) or⿳⺈ 𫩏 𧰨 (H T ) or⿸⿳⺈ 𫩏 ⿹⿱丿 ㇁ ⿱丿丿⿺乀 丿 (J K V ))
像 ,嶑 ,潒 ,橡 ,豫 ,䂊 ,襐 ,蟓 ,鐌 ,鱌 (𬶲 ),勨 ,䴂 Additional Derived Characters
𫮧 ,𢄵 ,𢇐 ,𢐣 ,𢠽 ,𪮱 ,𤡸 ,𭩈 ,𭶆 ,𤩪 ,𮂚 ,𮃯 ,𧬛 ,𬥌 ,𫏡 ,𩞧 (𱄇 ),𢒶 𨖶 ,𬥆 ,𩕓 ,𬂏 ,𦺨 ,𬙧 ,𫂤 ,𧲜 Kangxi Dictionary:page 1195 , character 21 Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36372 Dae Jaweon: page 1658, character 1 Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3611, character 9 Unihan data for U+8C61 Old Chinese 潒 *l'aːŋʔ, *ljaŋʔ 像 *ljaŋʔ 象 *ljaŋʔ 橡 *ljaŋʔ 蟓 *ljaŋʔ, *hljaŋs 襐 *ljaŋʔ 勨 *ljaŋʔ, *laŋʔ 鱌 *ljaŋʔ 嶑 *ljaŋʔ
Pictogram (象形 ) -pictographic representation of an elephant.⺈ represents the trunk,𫩏 represents the head, and𧰨 represents the body.
This character is used to represent two semantic fields ‘elephant; tusk’ and ‘to outline; to depict; to delineate; to represent; to resemble; to map’. Both fields are found from the earliest layers of the edited literature onwards, whereas only the first meaning is amply attested in oracle bone inscriptions.
Traditionally, the two senses are treated as related, with the sense of ‘to depict; to resemble’ considered a derivative of the sense of ‘elephant’. The derivation from the ‘elephant’ meaning to the ‘likeness’ meaning is explained inHan Feizi , first attested inc. 221 BCE: “Men rarely see living elephants. As they come by the skeleton of a dead elephant, they imagine its living form according to its features. Therefore it comes to pass that whatever people use for imagining the real is called象 .”
Modern etymology studies on Old Chinese have challenged this opinion.
As for the ‘elephant; tusk’ sense, this is a widely used area word in East and Southeast Asia. Literature opinions differ on the origin and immediate relationship of this Chinese word; some (e.g.Schuessler, 2007 ) believe the Chinese form is a loanword from a Southern language, since it is unlikely that peoples all over Southeast Asia and the Himalayan foothills would borrow a word from Northern China to denote an indigenous animal. Others believe the direction of borrowing is reversed (i.e. Tai-Kadai borrowing from Chinese), and that Chinese象 should be compared withTibetan གླང ( glang ) ,གླང་ཆེན ( glang chen ,“ elephant ” ) arising from a commonProto-Sino-Tibetan *glaŋ ( “ ox, bull; elephant ” ) , which may ultimately have anAustroasiatic origin (Schuessler, 1994 (unpublished)apud Behr, 2004a ; cf.Old Mon draṅ ( draŋ ) ,[script needed] ( graŋ ,“ animal horn, elephant tusk ” ) ,Mon ဂြၚ် ( krɛ̀aŋ ,“ horn, tusk ” ) andKharia ɖeɽeŋ fromProto-Austroasiatic *krɨŋ ( “ horn ” ) ). The second viewpoint is supported by the early attestation of this character and the archaeological findings of the historical ranges of elephants. However, Schuessler disputes that second viewpoint and links ST*glaŋ to犅 (OC *klaːŋ , “ox, bull”).
See below for a tentative borrowing history of the various forms of this general area word.
Mandarin (Standard ) (Pinyin ) :xiàng (xiang4 )(Zhuyin ) :ㄒㄧㄤˋ (Chengdu ,Sichuanese Pinyin ) :xiang4 (Xi'an ,Guanzhong Pinyin ) :xiāng (Nanjing ,Nanjing Pinyin ) :siān (Dungan ,Cyrillic andWiktionary ) :щён (xi͡on, III)Cantonese (Guangzhou –Hong Kong ,Jyutping ) :zoeng6 (Dongguan ,Jyutping++ ) :zoeng3 (Taishan ,Wiktionary ) :diang5 Gan (Wiktionary ) :xiong5 Hakka (Sixian ,PFS ) :siong (Hailu ,HRS ) :siong˖ (Meixian ,Guangdong ) :xiong4 Jin (Wiktionary ) :xion3 Northern Min (KCR ) :siōng Eastern Min (BUC ) :chiông Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing ): cieo5 / ciunn5 / syorng5 / syoeng5 Southern Min (Hokkien ,POJ ) :chhiūⁿ /chhiǔⁿ /chhiōⁿ /chhiāuⁿ /siōng /sióng /siǒng /chhiāng (Teochew ,Peng'im ) :ciên6 / cion6 / siang6 (Leizhou , Leizhou Pinyin ) :qio6 / xiang6 Southern Pinghua (Nanning ,Jyutping++ ) :ziang6 Wu (Wugniu ) (Northern ) :6 zhian /6 zian /4 zian /4 zhian /4 jian /6 jian(Jinhua ) :6 ziaon;6 dziaonXiang (Changsha ,Wiktionary ) :sian4 (Loudi ,Wiktionary ) :siong4 Note :
cieo5/ciunn5 - vernacular; syorng5/syoeng5 - literary. Southern Min (Hokkien :Xiamen ,Taipei ,Kaohsiung ,Lukang ,Sanxia ,Yilan ,Kinmen ,Magong ,Hsinchu ,Taichung ) (Hokkien :Quanzhou ,Jinjiang ,Lukang ) (Hokkien :Zhangzhou ,Tainan ) (Hokkien :Penang ) (Hokkien :Xiamen ,GeneralTaiwanese ) (Hokkien :variant inTaiwan ) (Hokkien :Quanzhou ,Jinjiang ) (Hokkien :Zhangzhou ) Note :
chhiūⁿ/chhiǔⁿ/chhiōⁿ - vernacular; siōng/sióng/siǒng/chhiāng - literary. Note :
ciên6 - Chaozhou (“elephant”); cion6 - Shantou (“elephant”); siang6 - other senses. (Leizhou ) Leizhou Pinyin :qio6 / xiang6 SinologicalIPA :/t͡sʰiɔ³³/, /siaŋ³³/ Note :
qio6 - vernacular; xiang6 - litetary. Note : 6jian (Ningbo) - only used in
象山 (“Xiangshan, Ningbo”).
Baxter –Sagart system 1.1 (2014 )Character 象 Reading # 1/1 Modern Beijing (Pinyin) xiàng Middle Chinese ‹ zjangX › Old Chinese /*s-[d]aŋʔ/ English elephant 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 象 Reading # 1/1 No. 13664 Phonetic component 象 Rime group 陽 Rime subdivision 0 Corresponding MC rime 像 Old Chinese /*ljaŋʔ/
象 (1) 象 (1) (Chinese Chess ) 象 (3)象
elephant (Classifier :頭 / 头 m ; 隻 / 只 m c mn ) 幼 象 ― yòuxiàng ― young elephantivory ;tusk Synonym: 象牙 ( xiàngyá ) 象 床 ― xiàng chuáng ― ivory-decorated bed( xiangqi ) elephant :🩩 (on the black side)(Classifier :隻 / 只 c ) Synonym: 相 ( chess ) bishop symbol ;emblem 象 徵/ 象 征 ― xiàng zhēng ― symbolappearance ;shape ;phenomenon 天象 ― tiānxiàng ― celestial phenomenon現象 / 现象 ― xiànxiàng ― phenomenon景象 ― jǐngxiàng ― scene( traditional Chinese medicine ) complexion 病象 ― bìngxiàng ― disease signs and symptomsimage ;picture ;portrait See also:像 sign ;indication ( obsolete ) law ;legislation ( obsolete ) principle ( obsolete ) calendar ( literary ) toimitate ; tofollow the example of象 形 ― xiàng xíng ― pictogram象 聲詞/ 象 声词 ― xiàng shēngcí ― onomatopoeia( literary ) totrace ; tooutline ; todepict toresemble See also:像 ( historical ) governmentofficial that translates southernlanguages ( ~郡 ) ( historical ) Xiang , acommandery ofHan China asurname Dialectal synonyms of
大象 (“elephant”)
[map] Variety Location Words Classical Chinese 象 Formal(Written Standard Chinese ) 象 Taxonomic name 象 Northeastern Mandarin Taiwan 大象 Singapore 大象 Central Plains Mandarin Luoyang 象 Wanrong 象 Xi'an 象 Sokuluk(Gansu Dungan) 象 Lanyin Mandarin Ürümqi 象 Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 象 Wuhan 象 Guiyang 象 Liuzhou 大象 Cantonese Guangzhou 大笨象 Hong Kong 大笨象 Hong Kong(Kam Tin; Weitou) 象 Macau 大笨象 Guangzhou(Panyu) 大笨象 Guangzhou(Huashan, Huadu) 大笨象 Guangzhou(Conghua) 大笨象 Guangzhou(Zengcheng) 大笨象 Foshan 大笨象 Foshan(Shatou, Nanhai) 大笨象 Foshan(Shunde) 大笨象 Foshan(Sanshui) 大笨象 Foshan(Mingcheng, Gaoming) 大象 Zhongshan(Shiqi) 大笨象 Zhuhai(Qianshan, Xiangzhou) 大笨象 Zhuhai(Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka) 象 Zhuhai(Doumen) 象 Jiangmen(Baisha) 象 Jiangmen(Xinhui) 象 Taishan 象 ,大笨象 Taishan(Guanghai) 大象哥 ,大象 Kaiping(Chikan) 象 Enping(Niujiang) 象 Heshan(Yayao) 象 Dongguan 大笨象 Shenzhen(Shajing, Bao'an) 大笨象 Nanning 大笨象 Wuzhou 大笨象 Yulin 大象 Hepu(Lianzhou) 大象 Guiping 大笨象 Mengshan(Xihe) 象 Guigang(Nanjiang) 大笨象 Beiliu(Tangliao) 象 Baise 大笨象 Bobai 大象 Lingshan 象 Pubei 象 Qinzhou 大笨象 Beihai 大笨象 Ningming 大象 Hengzhou 大象 Hezhou(Pumen, Babu) 大象 Mandalay(Taishan) 象 Gan Nanchang 象 Hakka Meixian 象 Huizhou(Huicheng; Bendihua) 大笨象 Dongguan(Qingxi) 象 Shenzhen(Shatoujiao) 大笨象 Zhongshan(Wuguishan) 大笨象 Zhongshan(Nanlang Heshui) 大笨象 Guangzhou(Lütian, Conghua) 大象 Miaoli(N. Sixian) 象仔 ,大象 Pingtung(Neipu; S. Sixian) 象仔 ,大象 Hsinchu County(Zhudong; Hailu) 象 ,大象 Taichung(Dongshi; Dabu) 象 ,大象 Hsinchu County(Qionglin; Raoping) 象 ,大象 Yunlin(Lunbei; Zhao'an) 象 ,大象 Beiliu(Tang'an) 象 Mashan(Pianlian) 象 Jin Taiyuan 象 Northern Min Jian'ou 象 Eastern Min Fuzhou 象 Southern Min Xiamen 象 Quanzhou 象 Zhangzhou 象 Zhao'an 象 Dongshan 象 Taipei 象 New Taipei(Sanxia) 象 Kaohsiung 象 Yilan 象 Changhua(Lukang) 象 Taichung 象 Taichung(Wuqi) 象 Tainan 象 Taitung 象 Hsinchu 象 Kinmen 象 Penghu(Magong) 象 Penang(Hokkien) 象 Singapore(Hokkien) 象 ,大象 Manila(Hokkien) 象 Pingnan(Shangdu) 象 Shantou 象 Shantou(Chaoyang) 象 Haikou 象 Puxian Min Putian 象 Central Min Yong'an 象 Zhongshan Min Zhongshan(Longdu, Shaxi) 大笨象 ,大象 Southern Pinghua Nanning(Tingzi) 大象 Wu Shanghai 象 ,象鼻頭 Shanghai(Chongming) 象 Suzhou 象 Danyang 象 Hangzhou 象 Xiang Quanzhou 大象
不啻 ( bùchì ) ( literary ) 似 ( ci5 ) ( Cantonese, Classical Chinese ) 似乎 ( sìhū ) 似如 ( si4 y2 ) ( Xiang ) 像 ( xiàng ) 像係 / 像系 ( Hakka ) 像是 ( xiàngshì ) 儼如 / 俨如 ( yǎnrú ) ( literary ) 儼然 / 俨然 ( yǎnrán ) 儼若 / 俨若 ( yǎnruò ) ( literary ) 勝如 / 胜如 ( 5 sen-zy) ( Wu ) 好似 ( hǎosì ) 好像 ( hǎoxiàng ) 如同 ( rútóng ) 好比 ( hǎobǐ ) 宛 ( Classical Chinese, or compounds only ) 宛如 ( wǎnrú ) ( literary ) 宛然 ( wǎnrán ) ( literary ) 宛若 ( wǎnruò ) ( literary ) 就像 ( jiùxiàng ) 彷彿 / 仿佛 ( fǎngfú ) 忽如 ( hūrú ) ( literary ) 恰像 ( Hokkien ) 恍若 ( huǎngruò ) 恰親像 / 恰亲像 ( Hokkien ) 敢若 ( Hokkien ) 敢若是 ( Hokkien ) 𣍐輸 / 𫧃输 ( bē-su ) ( Hokkien ) 有如 ( yǒurú ) ( formal ) 猶似 / 犹似 ( yóusì ) ( literary ) 猶像 / 犹像 ( yóuxiàng ) ( literary ) 猶如 / 犹如 ( yóurú ) ( formal ) 甲像 ( Hokkien ) 甲像是 ( Hokkien ) 甲親像 / 甲亲像 ( Hokkien ) 看上去 ( kàn shàngqù ) 看似 ( kànsì ) 看來 / 看来 ( kànlái ) 看樣子 / 看样子 ( kànyàngzi ) 看起來 / 看起来 ( kànqilai ) 若 ( Classical Chinese, or compounds only ) 若像 ( Hokkien ) 若親像 / 若亲像 ( Hokkien ) 表面上 ( biǎomiànshang ) 親像 / 亲像 ( Hakka, Hokkien ) 貌似 ( màosì ) 賽可 / 赛可 ( Ningbonese ) 賽過 / 赛过 ( Suzhounese ) 較像 / 较像 ( Hokkien ) 較像是 / 较像是 ( Hokkien ) 較親像 / 较亲像 ( Hokkien ) 顯得 / 显得 ( xiǎnde ) (Chinese chess pieces )帥 / 帅 ( shuài ) /將 / 将 ( jiàng ) ,仕 ( shì ) /士 ( shì ) ,相 /象 ( xiàng ) ,俥 / 伡 /車 / 车 ( jū ) ,傌 / 㐷 /馬 / 马 ( mǎ ) ,炮 /砲 / 炮 ,兵 ( bīng ) /卒 ( zú ) Others :
→ ? Bulgar: (from象 (OC *s-[d]aŋʔ )[ 1] [ 2] )→ Proto-Common Turkic:*yaŋan (from *žaŋ ga(n) <象 (MC zjangX )[ 2] )→ Kalmyk:зан ( zan ) → Mongolian:заан ( zaan ) → Proto-Tai:*ɟaːŋꟲ ( “ elephant ” ) 象 was the official simplified form of像 ( xiàng ) only until 1986. ^ Vovin, Alexander (2011 ),First and second person singular pronouns: a pillar or a pillory of the ‘Altaic’ hypothesis? [1] , pages271–272 ↑2.0 2.1 Ünal, Orçun (2014 ), “Once Again on the Etymology of the Old Turkic Yaŋa ~ Yaŋan ~ Yagan 'Elephant'”, inHacettepe University Journal of Turkish Studies , volume11 , number21 ,Extended Summary , pages229-249. ^ Alves, Mark (2024 ), “Refuting the Vieto-Katuic Hypothesis: Reconsidering Ethnohistorical Linguistic Scenarios”, inPaul Sidwell , editor,Austroasiatic Linguistics: In honour of Gérard Diffloth (1939-2023) [2] , page 134-135 of 125-146 象
(Fifth grade kyōiku kanji , shinjitai kanji,kyūjitai form𧰼 )
/zau/ →/zɔː/ →/zoː/
FromMiddle Chinese 象 ( zjangX ,“ elephant; image, resemblance ” ) . Compare modernCantonese readingzoeng6 .
Thegoon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.
象( ぞう ) or 象( ゾウ ) • (zō ) ←ざう ( zau ) ? (counter 頭 )
elephant /sjau/ →/sjɔː/ →/ɕɔː/ →/ɕoː/
FromMiddle Chinese 象 ( zjangX ,“ elephant; image, resemblance ” ) . Compare modernMin Nan readingsiōng orMandarin xiàng .
Thekan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.
象( しょう ) • (shō ) ←しやう ( syau ) ?
likeness ,appearance FromOld Japanese .
Kokugo Dai Jiten proposes cognacy with橒 ( kisa ,“ wood grain ” ) , from the way thativory also has agrain .[ 3] Vovin (2021) instead derived象 ( kisa ) fromAustroasiatic by adducing attested and reconstructed Austroasiatic comparanda meaning "elephant" likeProto-Palaungic *(k)caaŋ (whenceTai Loi [script needed] ( k’sang ) , Kem DegneBlang [script needed] ( kesaŋ ) ,Samtao [script needed] ( kǝsáŋ ) ,Danau [script needed] ( kǝtsaŋ⁴ ) ),Proto-Katuic *Ɂaciaŋ ,Proto-Vietic *ʔa-ɟaːŋ , and CuangKhmu sca:ŋ .[ 4]
象( きさ ) • (kisa )
( obsolete ) elephant 938 ,Minamoto no Shitagō ,Wamyō Ruijushō , volume 7, page52 :象 [...]岐佐 [...] 獣名、似水牛、大耳、長鼻、眼細、牙長者也 Elephant, [...]kisa a kind of beast, looks like water buffalo, having big ears, long nose, slender eyes and long teeth 970–999 ,Utsubo Monogatari , page Toshikage:それより西を行ケば、虎狼ひと山さワぐ所有り。キサ 出デてその山をこしつ。 When he went west from there, there was a place where tigers and monkeys clamoured on a mountain.Elephants had set out and crossed that mountain ↑1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira , editor (2006 ),大辞林 [Daijirin ] (in Japanese), Third edition,Tokyo :Sanseidō ,→ISBN ^ 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 ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988 ),国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition) ] (in Japanese),Tōkyō :Shogakukan ,→ISBN ^ *Vovin, Alexander (2021 ), “Names of Large Exotic Animals and the Urheimat of Japonic ”, inInternational Journal of Eurasian Linguistics , number 3, page 106-107 of 105-120 “△ 象 ”, in漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia ][3] (in Japanese),The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation ,2015–2026 Kōno, Tama (c. 970–999 ),Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 10:Utsubo Monogatari 1 (in Japanese),Tōkyō :Iwanami Shoten , published1959 ,→ISBN . Minamoto, Shitagō with Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (931–938 ),Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese),Kyōto : Rinsen, published1968 ,→ISBN .FromMiddle Chinese 象 (MC zjangX ). Recorded asMiddle Korean 샤ᇰ〮 ( syáng ) (Yale :syang ) inHunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회 ), 1527.
象 (eumhun 코끼리 상 ( kokkiri sang ) )
hanja form? of상 ( “ elephant ” ) hanja form? of상 ( “ shape ;figure ;appearance ” ) 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary,전자사전/電子字典 .[4] 象 :Hán Nôm readings:tượng
(in compounds)elephant axiangqi piece which represents anelephant shape ;scene