川

See also: 州, 巛, and 𫶧

川	U+5DDD, 川 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5DDD

← 巜
[U+5DDC]

CJK Unified Ideographs

州 →
[U+5DDE]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

See images of
Radical 47 川

川 (Kangxi radical 47, 巛+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 中中中 (LLL), four-corner 2200₀, composition ⿲丿丨丨)

Derived characters

𠆯, 𠯀, 圳, 汌, 𦘶, 杊, 𤆑, 㸪, 玔, 甽, 𥃹, 𥐣, 紃(𬘓), 𧈶, 𡔠, 訓(训), 𮙰, 䡅, 𫶨, 𪩢, 釧(钏), 馴(驯), 𩵙, 𩾧, 𦤸, 順(顺), 𡵅, 𡿫, 𪯠, 𣅕, 氚, 𫇨, 𤽃, 𥫨, 𥄊, 𥬂, 𪡢, 𩭁, 𨤅

Descendants

つ (Hiragana character derived from Man'yōgana)
ツ (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 323, character 23
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8673
Dae Jaweon: page 624, character 7
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 32, character 2
Unihan data for U+5DDD

Chinese

simp. and trad.		川
alternative forms		巛

Wikipedia has articles on:

川 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
川 (Cantonese)

Glyph origin

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

Characters in the same phonetic series (川) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
川	*kʰjon
釧	*kʰjons
巛	*kʰuːn
巡	*sɢljun
馴	*sɢljun
紃	sɢljun, ɢljun
甽	kljuns, kʷeːnʔ
順	*ɢljuns
訓	*qʰuns

Pictogram (象形) – compare 水 (OC *qʰʷljilʔ).

Etymology

The Middle and Old Chinese reconstruction of this word is phonologically problematic (STEDT):

Karlgren (1957) notes that the Middle Chinese form is irregular based on evidence from Shijing rimes.
Based on velar contacts in the same phonetic series, e.g. 巛, 甽 and 訓, Baxter (1992) and Schuessler (2007) reconstruct the word with a velar initial (Handel, 1998; Sagart, 1999), which undergoes irregular palatalization in the development to Middle Chinese (Baxter, 1992).
Based on other characters in the same phonetic series, e.g. 順 and 馴, Sagart (1999), and later, Baxter and Sagart (2014), reconstructs 川 with a lateral initial and suggests that only a *t- prefix would account for the Middle Chinese initial /t͡ɕʰ/.

Schuessler (2007) relates this word to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kl(j)u(ŋ/k) (“river; valley”), whence 江 (OC *kroːŋ, “river”), 谷 (OC *kloːɡ, “valley”), Tibetan ཀླུང (klung, “river”), Burmese ချောင်း (hkyaung:, “stream”). STEDT notes that this does not account for the *-n coda.

STEDT instead compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s (“water; fluid; liquid; river; soak; spit”), whence 涕 (OC *tʰiːlʔ, “tears”), Proto-Kuki-Chin *tuj (“water; fluid; liquid”), Chepang तीः (“water; rain; river”); this depends on a reconstruction with a dental initial and requires positing an *‑n suffix not present in Tibeto-Burman languages.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): chuān (chuan¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄨㄢ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): cuan¹

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): чүан (čüan, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cyun¹

(Taishan, Wiktionary): cun¹
Gan (Wiktionary): con¹
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhôn

(Meixian, Guangdong): con¹
Jin (Wiktionary): cuan¹
Northern Min (KCR): chṳ́ing
Eastern Min (BUC): chuŏng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): chhoan / chhng / chhuiⁿ

(Teochew, Peng'im): cuang¹ / cuêng¹ / ceng¹
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹tshoe
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): qyenn¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chuān
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄨㄢ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chuan
  - Wade–Giles: chʻuan¹
  - Yale: chwān
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chuan
  - Palladius: чуань (čuanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: cuan¹
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: cuan
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuan⁵⁵/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: чүан (čüan, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰyæ̃²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: cyun¹
  - Yale: chyūn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsyn¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: qun¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: cun¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰun³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: con¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɵn⁴²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhôn
  - Hakka Romanization System: con´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: con¹
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰon²⁴/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: con¹
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɔn⁴⁴/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: cuan¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰuæ̃¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chṳ́ing
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰyiŋ⁵⁴/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chuŏng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuoŋ⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhoan
  - Tâi-lô: tshuan
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhoafn
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰuan⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰuan³³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Hsinchu, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Magong)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhng
  - Tâi-lô: tshng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhngf
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Lukang): /t͡sʰŋ̍³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Kinmen): /t͡sʰŋ̍⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Yilan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhuiⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: tshuinn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhvuy
  - IPA (Zhangzhou, Yilan): /t͡sʰuĩ⁴⁴/

Note:

chhoan - literary;
chhng/chhuiⁿ - vernacular (only used in 尻川).

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: cuang¹ / cuêng¹ / ceng¹
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshuang / tshueng / tshṳng
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuaŋ³³/, /t͡sʰueŋ³³/, /t͡sʰɯŋ³³/

Note:

cuang1/cuêng1 - literary (cuêng1 - Chaozhou);
ceng1 - vernacular (only used in 尻川).

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹tshoe
  - MiniDict: tshoe^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹tshoe
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sʰø⁵³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: qyenn¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰy̯ẽ³³/

Middle Chinese: tsyhwen

Rime
Character	川
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	昌 (24)
Final (韻)	仙 (78)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	昌緣切
Baxter	tsyhwen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ɕʰiuᴇn/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡ɕʰʷiɛn/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ɕʰjuæn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/cʰwian/
Li Rong	/t͡ɕʰiuɛn/
Wang Li	/t͡ɕʰĭwɛn/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡ɕʰi̯wɛn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chuān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cyun¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*t.l̥u[n]/

(Zhengzhang): /*kʰjon/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	川
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chuān
Middle Chinese	‹ tsyhwen ›
Old Chinese	/*t.l̥u[n]/ (MC -jwen is irregular)
English	stream, river
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	川
Reading #	1/1
No.	1628
Phonetic component	川
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	穿
Old Chinese	/*kʰjon/

Definitions

川

river; stream; brook
川流不息 ― chuānliúbùxī ― to flow continuously
- 子在川上，曰：「逝者如斯夫！不舍晝夜。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  子在川上，曰：「逝者如斯夫！不舍昼夜。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Zǐ zài chuān shàng, yuē: “Shì zhě rúsī fū! Bù shè zhòuyè.” [Pinyin]
  The Master standing by a stream, said, "It passes on just like this, not ceasing day or night!"
Short for 四川 (Sìchuān, “Sichuan Province, China”).
川菜 ― chuāncài ― Sichuan cuisine
plain
平川 ― píngchuān ― plain
road
Synonym of 汆 (cuān, “to boil food for a short time in boiled water”)
Alternative form of 穿 (chuān)
(Internet slang) Short for 川普 (Chuānpǔ, “Donald Trump”).
挺川 ― tǐngchuān ― to support Donald Trump

川粉 ― chuānfěn ― Trumpster
a surname

Compounds

References

“川”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[3], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

川

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

river

Readings

Go-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
Kan-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
Kun: かわ (kawa, 川, Jōyō)^{←かは (kafa, 川, historical)}
Nanori: か (ka); こ (ko); さわ (sawa)

Compounds

川(かわ)上(かみ) (kawakami, “upstream”)
川(かわ)下(しも) (kawashimo, “downstream”)
川(かわ)岸(ぎし) (kawagishi, “river bank”)
川(かわ)口(ぐち) (kawaguchi, “mouth of river”)
川(かわ)崎(さき) (Kawasaki, “Kawasaki”)
川(かわ)瀬(せ) (kawase, “rapids”)
川(かわ)蝉(せみ) (kawasemi, “kingfisher”)
川(かわ)端(ばた) (kawabata, “riverbank”)
川(かわ)縁(ぶち) (kawabuchi), 川(かわ)縁(べり) (kawaberi, “riverside”)
川(かわ)獺(うそ) (kawauso, “otter”)
川(かわ)嫁(よめ) (kawayome, “river nymph”)
川(かわ)原(ら) (kawara, “riparian plain, flats alongside a river”)
川(せん)柳(りゅう) (senryū, “comic haiku”)
小(お)川(がわ) (ogawa, “brook”)
河(か)川(せん) (kasen, “rivers”)
山(さん)川(せん) (sansen, “mountains and rivers”)
滝(たき)川(がわ) (takigawa, “rapids”)
谷(たに)川(がわ) (tanigawa, “mountain stream”)
堀(ほり)川(かわ) (horikawa, “canal”)
淀(よど)川(がわ) (Yodogawa, “Yodogawa River”)
川(かわ)下(くだ)り (kawakudari, “going downstream”)
川(かわ)沿(ぞ)い (kawazoi, “along the river”)
ドン川(がわ) (Don-gawa, “Don River”)
天(あま)の川(がわ) (Ama no gawa, “Milky Way”)
江(え)戸(ど)川(がわ) (Edogawa, “Edo River”)
角(かど)川(かわ) (Kadokawa, “surname”)
河(か)川(せん)敷(しき) (kasenshiki, “riverbed”)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
川
かわ Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
河

From Old Japanese 川 (kapa),^[1] from Proto-Japonic *kapa.^[2]

First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[3]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) かわ [kàwáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[4]
IPA^(key): [ka̠β̞a̠]

(Kagoshima) IPA^(key): [ko̞ː]

Noun

川(かわ) • (kawa) ^{←かは (kafa)^?}

river, stream, brook

Synonyms

河(か)川(せん) (kasen)

References

^ Frellesvig, Bjarke, Stephen Wright Horn, et al. (eds.) (2023) “Old Japanese kapa”, in Oxford-NINJAL Corpus of Old Japanese‎^[1]
^ Stewart A. Curry. (2004) Small linguistics: phonological history and lexical loans in Nakijin dialect Okinawan. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/11526
^ “川・河”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 川 (MC tsyhwen).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	ᄎᆑᆫ (Yale: chywèn)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527^[4]	내〯 (Yale: nǎy)	쳔 (Yale: chyèn)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰʌ̹n]
Phonetic hangul: [천]

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

川

Wikisource

川 (eumhun 내 천 (nae cheon))

hanja form^? of 천 (“river; stream”) [affix]

Compounds

산천 (山川, sancheon)
인천 (仁川, Incheon)
천렵 (川獵, cheollyeop)
하천 (河川, hacheon)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [5]

Vietnamese

Han character

川: Hán Nôm readings: xuyên

chữ Hán form of xuyên (“river”).

Compounds

[1] Frellesvig, Bjarke, Stephen Wright Horn, et al. (eds.) (2023) “Old Japanese kapa”, in Oxford-NINJAL Corpus of Old Japanese‎^[1]

[2] Stewart A. Curry. (2004) Small linguistics: phonological history and lexical loans in Nakijin dialect Okinawan. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/11526

[3] “川・河”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000

[SMK2-4] Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō

[1]