子

子 (Kangxi radical 39, 子+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 弓木 (ND), four-corner 1740₇, composition ⿻了一)

1. Kangxi radical #39, ⼦.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/子
• 仔, 存, 𫥱, 吇, 好, 㞨, 汓, 𤜭, 䦻, 杍, 𣬥, 𤘅, 㺭, 䢊, 𭾝, 矷, 秄, 籽, 耔, 虸, 覎(觃), 𧴯, 𧺙, 屘, 釨(𫓦), 𧆰, 𩲇, 䰵, 𪐣, 𫜠, 𬛧
• 𮬪, 𧏄, 𣏍, 𣫮, 𠯂, 𡕕, 𡵇, 芓, 𢻯, 斈, 㫗, 李, 𪞐, 𥤪, 享, 𥫞, 𡱬, 𩇫, 箰, 𦽆, 𧃯, 𪭋, 𠨯, 㞌, 𭙒, 𤴳, 𨳕(𨸀), 囝, 斿, 㳺, 逰, 𨘋

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 277, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6930
• Dae Jaweon: page 543, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1006, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5B50

• 子 on Wikidata.Wikidata

Historical forms of the character 子
Shang	Western Zhou		Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Pictogram (象形) – an image of a baby, with a large head and spread arms. The legs are wrapped in a blanket. Compare with 了, where the arms are wrapped.

The big seal script form is much more elaborate, showing a baby with hair on a head (囟) and arms on the two sides of the body, sitting on a stool (几).

child

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsa ~ za (“child, offspring, relatives; to come forth (as child at birth); to love; loving”).

Cognate with 字 (OC *zlɯs, “character; letter”), 慈 (OC *zɯ, “loving; kind”), 滋 (OC *ʔsɯ, “to grow, to breed, to propagate, to bring about, to increase”), 孳 (OC *ʔsɯ, *zɯs, “to breed, to propagate”).

first earthly branch

In oracle bone and Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, 子 was the sixth earthly branch; the first earthly branch was denoted differently. One of the forms survived in Shuo Wen (𢀇) (Matsumaru, 2015).

Smith (2011) proposed this character is 甾. Observing that 甾 is closely linked with 緇 "dark, stained", 淄 "murky (water)", 菑 "field cleared by burning" (all pronounced *tsrə), Smith (2011) proposes that initially the first earthly branch 甾 (OC *ts[r]əʔ) denoted the new moon phase and meant "darkened, voided, the darkened stage". Additionally, Smith (2011) proposes that 子 (OC tsəʔ), which originated from a Sino-Tibetan root meaning "to come forth", denoted the moon's "coming forth" stage (i.e. early waning-gibbous phase).

Sometime in Warring States period, a change occured that 子 became the first earthly branch and 巳 (OC *s-ləʔ) filled the void of the sixth earthly branch (Matsumaru, 2015), "due to phonological closeness (combined with the semantic opacity of the Branch terms at later eras)" (Smith, 2011).

Association with the rat was possibly arbitrary, analogous to how 辰, the fifth earthly branch, was arbitrarily associated with the dragon (Ferlus, 2013).

子

1. (literary) child; offspring

   • 不康禋祀，居然生子。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Bù kāng yīn sì, jū rán shēng zǐ. [Pinyin]

     Had He not accepted her pure offering and sacrifice, So that thus easily she brought forth her son?

2. son

   獨生子／独生子  ―  dúshēngzǐ  ―  only son

   愛子／爱子  ―  àizǐ  ―  beloved son

   一子一女  ―  yī zǐ yī nǚ  ―  one son and one daughter

   • 子也者，親之後也，敢不敬與。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     子也者，亲之后也，敢不敬与。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Zǐ yě zhě, qīn zhī hòu yě, gǎn bù jìng yǔ. [Pinyin]

     And the son was the descendant of those parents—could any father dare not to show him respect?

   • 你舉目向四方觀看；眾人都聚集來到你這裏。你的眾子從遠方而來；你的眾女也被懷抱而來。 [MSC, trad.]
     你举目向四方观看；众人都聚集来到你这里。你的众子从远方而来；你的众女也被怀抱而来。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 以賽亞書 (Isaiah) 60:4

     Nǐ jǔmù xiàng sìfāng guānkàn; zhòngrén dōu jùjí lái dào nǐ zhèlǐ. Nǐ de zhòng zǐ cóng yuǎnfāng ér lái; nǐ de zhòng nǚ yě bèi huáibào ér lái. [Pinyin]

     Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

3. (literary) descendant; posterity
4. (Christianity) the Son

   • 所以，你們要去，使萬民作我的門徒，奉父、子、聖靈的名給他們施洗。 [MSC, trad.]
     所以，你们要去，使万民作我的门徒，奉父、子、圣灵的名给他们施洗。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 馬太福音 (Matthew) 28:19

     Suǒyǐ, nǐmen yào qù, shǐ wànmín zuò wǒ de méntú, fèng Fù, Zǐ, Shènglíng de míng gěi tāmen shīxǐ. [Pinyin]

     Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost

5. (in compounds) person

   女子  ―  nǚzǐ  ―  female; woman

6. (literary) master; teacher

   • 子曰：「學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     子曰：「学而时习之，不亦说乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Zǐ yuē: “Xué ér shí xí zhī, bù yì yuè hū? Yǒu péng zì yuǎnfāng lái, bù yì lè hū? Rén bù zhī ér bù yùn, bù yì jūnzǐ hū?” [Pinyin]

     The Master said, "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?"

7. (literary) A respectful title for teachers, usually attached after their surnames.

   孔子  ―  Kǒngzǐ  ―  Master Kong (Confucius)

   老子  ―  Lǎozǐ  ―  Laozi

8. (literary, polite) you

   • 匪我愆期，子無良媒。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     匪我愆期，子无良媒。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Fěi wǒ qiān qī, zǐ wú liáng méi. [Pinyin]

     It is not I who would protract the time; but you have had no good go-between.

   • 以子之矛陷子之楯，何如？ [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Han Feizi, circa 2^nd century BCE

     Yǐ zǐ zhī máo xiàn zǐ zhī dùn, hérú? [Pinyin]

     How about using your halberds to pierce through your shields?

9. Alternative form of 籽 (zǐ, “seed”); also its second-round simplified form.

   葵花子  ―  kuíhuāzǐ  ―  sunflower seed

10. egg

    魚子／鱼子  ―  yúzǐ  ―  caviar

11. young; tender; small
12. Prefix attached to nouns, denoting "a part of", "belonging to" or "individual". sub-

    子目錄／子目录  ―  zǐmùlù  ―  subdirectory

13. (astrology) First earthly branch: rat in the Chinese zodiac, 11th solar month, midnight (11:00 pm to 1:00 am)
14. (historical) viscount (fourth of five ranks of Chinese aristocracy under the Zhou dynasty)
15. (physics, biology) -on
16. a surname
17. (Southern Min) grain-like object; particle; granule
18. (Southern Min, music) rhythm
19. (Southern Min) Classifier for small, round objects: granule, grain, particle, piece