西

See also: , , , and
西 U+897F, 西
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-897F

[U+897E]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+8980]
U+2EC4, ⻄
CJK RADICAL WEST TWO

[U+2EC3]
CJK Radicals Supplement
[U+2EC5]

Translingual

Stroke order
6 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

西 (Kangxi radical 146, 襾+0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 一金田 (MCW), four-corner 10600, composition 𠁤)

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1128, character 10
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 34763
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1595, character 19
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2805, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+897F

Chinese

Glyph origin

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

Pictogram (象形) – a bag or basket, borrowed for phonetic value. Compare (OC *toːŋ, “bundle > east”). Traditionally explained as a pictogram of a bird settling into its nest, which by analogy with the setting of the sun means “west”. This etymology has been disputed (Sears), but Sagart (2004) stands by it.

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.
西
alternative forms

The word is traditionally reconstructed to have a /*s/-initial in Old Chinese, e.g. /*sɯːl/ in Zhengzhang (2003). However, recent scholarship has suggested that the Old Chinese initial should instead be reconstructed as /*s-nˤ/, one of the reasons being 西 appears to be the phonetic in (nǎi), the archaic graphic variant of (OC *nɯːʔ). The new reconstruction, /*s-nˤər/ in Baxter and Sagart (2014), also accounts for how 西 can be the phonetic in (shěn, “to smile”). For more information, see Sagart (2004), Baxter and Sagart (2014) and Nohara (2018).

In light of the new construction with the initial consonant cluster /*s-nˤ/, the possibilities of the etymology of 西, aside from being cognate with (, “to roost; to rest”) (B-S OC /*s-nˤər/), include:

  • Related to Tibetan ནེར་བ (ner ba, to sink; to fall gradually) (Unger, 1990).
  • Related to Chepang नेलःसा (nelʔ‑, to go down; to sink), which may be the same etymon as the Written Tibetan word above (Schuessler, 2007).
  • Related to the root (, “to stop”) (OC /*nˤərʔ/ for intransitive form, /*nˤərʔ-s/ for transitive form in Baxter and Sagart (2014)).
  • Related to Tibetan མནལ (mnal, sleep) and Burmese နား (na:, to rest; to stop for a while) (Hill, 2019).
  • An Austroasiatic nominal n-infix derivative from the root "go down", as in Old Mon cnis (ghat) < Old Mon cis (to go down) , with Proto-Austroasiatic *tsn- > Proto-Sinitic *sn-. Therefore, this etymon literally means "the place where one goes down to > Mon "ghat" > OC "nest, west". The base form is (OC *ʔsliːls) via Austroasiatic (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation


Note:
  • sai - vernacular;
  • se - literary;
  • si - vernacular (limited, e.g. 西瓜 (xīguā)).
    Note:
    • sai - literary;
    • si1 - vernacular (for 西瓜).
      • Wu
        • (Shanghai):
          • Wugniu: 1shi
          • MiniDict: shi
          • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): 1xi
          • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕi⁵³/
      • Xiang
        • (Changsha)
          • Wiktionary: xi1
          • Sinological IPA (key): /ɕi³³/

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 西
Mandarin Beijing /ɕi⁵⁵/
Harbin /ɕi⁴⁴/
Tianjin /ɕi²¹/
Jinan /ɕi²¹³/
Qingdao /si²¹³/
Zhengzhou /si²⁴/
Xi'an /ɕi²¹/
Xining /ɕji⁴⁴/
Yinchuan /ɕi⁴⁴/
Lanzhou /ɕi³¹/
Ürümqi /ɕi⁴⁴/
Wuhan /ɕi⁵⁵/
Chengdu /ɕi⁵⁵/
Guiyang /ɕi⁵⁵/
Kunming /ɕi⁴⁴/
Nanjing /si³¹/
Hefei /sz̩²¹/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕi¹¹/
Pingyao /ɕi¹³/
/sei¹³/ ~瓜
Hohhot /ɕi³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ɕi⁵³/
Suzhou /si⁵⁵/
Hangzhou /ɕi³³/
Wenzhou /sei³³/
Hui Shexian /si³¹/
Tunxi /se¹¹/
Xiang Changsha /si³³/
Xiangtan /si³³/
Gan Nanchang /ɕi⁴²/
Hakka Meixian /si⁴⁴/
Taoyuan /si²⁴/
Cantonese Guangzhou /sɐi⁵³/
Nanning /ɬɐi⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /sɐi⁵⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /se⁵⁵/
/sai⁵⁵/ 東~
/si⁵⁵/ ~瓜
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /sɛ⁴⁴/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /sai⁵⁴/
/si⁵⁴/
Shantou (Teochew) /si³³/
/sai³³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /si²³/
/tai²³/

Rime
Character 西
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (16)
Final () (39)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () IV
Fanqie
Baxter sej
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/sei/
Pan
Wuyun
/sei/
Shao
Rongfen
/sɛi/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/sɛj/
Li
Rong
/sei/
Wang
Li
/siei/
Bernard
Karlgren
/siei/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
sai1
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 西
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
Middle
Chinese
‹ sej ›
Old
Chinese
/*s-nˁər/
English west

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 西
Reading # 1/1
No. 13236
Phonetic
component
西
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
1
Corresponding
MC rime
西
Old
Chinese
/*sɯːl/

Definitions

西

  1. west; western
  2. (Cantonese, minced oath) Euphemistic form of 𲈹 (hai1).
    西 [Cantonese]   sai1 jan4 [Jyutping]   cunt; jerk
    西 [Cantonese]   sai1 haak3 [Jyutping]   bad customer
    西西 [Cantonese]   sai1 hau2 sai1 min6 [Jyutping]   bitch-face
Coordinate terms
西北 (xīběi) 東北东北 (dōngběi)
西 () (dōng)
西南 (xīnán) 東南东南 (dōngnán)

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (西):
  • Japanese: 西(さい) (sai); 西(せい) (sei)
  • Korean: 서(西) (seo)
  • Vietnamese: tây (西)

Others:

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.
西
alternative forms

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From English side?”)

Pronunciation

Definitions

西 (Cantonese)

  1. spin (noun)
    腳趾尾西脚趾尾西 [Cantonese]   goek3 zi2 mei5-1 laai1 sai1 [Jyutping]   to do a sidespin with one's little toe
  2. to spin; to cause to spin
  3. carrying spin
  4. to deviate from a path due to some force
  5. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
    轉彎嗰陣西 [Cantonese, trad.]
    转弯嗰阵西 [Cantonese, simp.]
    gaa3 ce1 zyun3 waan1 go2 zan6-2 hou2 sai1. [Jyutping]
    There was strong centrifugal force when the vehicle turned.
  6. to hit (clarification of this definition is needed)
    一嘢西 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]
    jat1 je5 sai1 lok6 keoi5 dou6 [Jyutping]
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Compounds

  • 拉西 (laai1 sai1) (Cantonese)
  • 落西 (Cantonese)

Japanese

Kanji

西

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

  1. west
  2. Europe, European
  3. kanji used to transliterate foreign languages
  4. Short for 西班牙 (Supein): Spain, Spanish
  5. autumn

Readings

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
西
にし
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Originally a compound of 去に (ini, going away, the (れん)(よう)(けい) (ren'yōkei, stem or continuative form) of the verb () (inu, to go away)) + (shi, wind; (by extension) direction, as seen in other ancient-derived words as (arashi, storm, literally wild + wind), 旋風 (tsumuji, whirlwind), (higashi, east, from older pi muka si, literally “sun + facing + wind/direction”)).[1]

First cited in the Kojiki of 712, with the phonetic spelling 爾斯 (nisi).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

西(にし) • (nishi) 

  1. [from 770] west (one of the four cardinal directions)
    Antonym: (higashi)
  2. the West
  3. [from 712] the west wind, wind blowing from the west
    Antonym: (higashi)
  4. (theater) in kabuki:
    1. [from 1688] the left side of the stage in the Edo-style
    2. [from 1688] the right side of the stage in Kyoto and Osaka styles
  5. [date uncertain] (sumo) lower-ranked wrestlers listed on the left side of a banzuke
    Antonym: (higashi)
  6. [from 1885] the West; (later, more specifically) the capitalist states of the West (originally western Europe, as opposed to Eastern Bloc countries)
    Synonym: 西側 (nishigawa)
    Antonym: (higashi)
Coordinate terms
西(せい)(ほく) (seihoku) (西(せい)(ほく) (seihoku))
(ほく)西(せい) (hokusei) ((ほく)西(せい) (hokusei))
(きた) (kita) ((きた) (kita)) (とう)(ほく) (tōhoku) ((とう)(ほく) (tōhoku))
(ほく)(とう) (hokutō) ((ほく)(とう) (hokutō))
西(にし) (nishi) (西(にし) (nishi)) (ひがし) (higashi) ((ひがし) (higashi))
西(せい)(なん) (seinan) (西(せい)(なん) (seinan))
(なん)西(せい) (nansei) ((なん)西(せい) (nansei))
(みなみ) (minami) ((みなみ) (minami)) (とう)(なん) (tōnan) ((とう)(なん) (tōnan))
(なん)(とう) (nantō) ((なん)(とう) (nantō))
Derived terms
Idioms
  • 西(にし)()(さむらい)二四(にし)六九(むく)(さむらい) (nishi muku samurai, westward-facing samurai → mnemonic for months with less than 31 days, with standing for 十一)
Proverbs

Proper noun

西(にし) • (Nishi) 

  1. (Buddhism) Synonym of 西方浄土 (Saihō Jōdo): the western paradise of Amitabha Buddha
  2. (Buddhism) Short for 西本願寺 (Nishi Hongan-ji): a Buddhist temple in Kyoto
    Synonym: お西 (o-Nishi)
  3. (historical) a red-light district in Edo-period Shinjuku (as it was located west of Edo Castle)
  4. a place name, especially the name of various wards in major cities throughout Japan
  5. a surname

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
西
しゃー
Grade: 2
irregular

Possibly a corruption of Mandarin 西 (, west).

Noun

西(シャー) • (shā) 

  1. (mahjong) west wind (mahjong tile)
    Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
  2. (mahjong) a (yaku, winning hand) with a triplet or quad of west wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 (han, doubles)
    Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)
See also

References

  1. 西”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten) (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 西 (MC sej).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 (Yale: syèy)
Middle Korean
TextEumhun
Gloss (hun)Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 (Yale: syè-s-nyèk) (Yale: syè)

Pronunciation

Hanja

Wikisource 西 (eumhun 서녘 (seonyeok seo))

  1. Hanja form? of (west; western).

Compounds

References

  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典.

Okinawan

Kanji

西

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Noun

西(いり) (iri) 

  1. the West

Compounds

Vietnamese

Han character

西: Hán Việt readings: tây,
西: Nôm readings: tây

  1. west
  2. West (the Western world)

Compounds

References

  • Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
  • Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
  • Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
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