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仙

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: 仚
仙 U+4ED9, 仙
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4ED9
← 付
[U+4ED8] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 仚 →
[U+4EDA]

Translingual

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Stroke order
0 strokes

Han character

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仙 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+3, 5 strokes, Cangjie input 人山 (OU), four-corner 22270, composition ⿰亻山)

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 92, character 13
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 374
  • Dae Jaweon: page 196, character 3
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 114, character 3
  • Unihan data for U+4ED9

Chinese

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Chinese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia zh

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 仙
Transcribed ancient scripts
L31826
L31827
L31828
L06560
L06561
L06562
L06563
L06564
L06565
References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (山) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
山 *sreːn
疝 *sreːn, *sraːns
邖 *sreːn
汕 *sreːnʔ, *sraːns
訕 *sraːn, *sraːns
仙 *sen
秈 *sen
苮 *sen
屾 *srin

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sen): semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 山 (OC *sreːn, “mountain”) — a person moving into a mountain to practise becoming immortal.

Originally 僊. The current form is first attested in the clerical script of the Han dynasty.

Etymology 1

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simp. and trad.
 仙
alternative forms
僊
仚
屳
㒨 ancient
僲
僊
仚
屳
㒨 ancient
僲
𠑗 ancient
𠏡
𠇈
 

A relatively late word, perhaps Sino-Tibetan (Schuessler, 2007). Compare Tibetan གཤེན (gshen, “shaman”), as in Tibetan གཤེན་རབ (gshen rab, “Shenrab”), the founder of the Tibetan religion Bon, although this might be a loan from Chinese (ibid.).

Starostin sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s[ă]n (“a kind of demon”), comparing it to Tibetan བསེན་མོ (bsen mo, “female devil”) and Jingpho sawn (“malignant female nat”). Note also, along similar lines, Burmese စုန်း (cun:, “witch”).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • sing1 - vernacular (mainly used in 仙遊);
  • seng1 - literary.
Note:
  • siêng1 - Chaozhou;
  • siang1 - Shantou.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 仙
Mandarin Beijing /ɕian⁵⁵/
Harbin /ɕian⁴⁴/
Tianjin /ɕian²¹/
Jinan /ɕiã²¹³/
Qingdao /siã²¹³/
Zhengzhou /sian²⁴/
Xi'an /ɕiã²¹/
Xining /ɕiã⁴⁴/
Yinchuan /ɕian⁴⁴/
Lanzhou /ɕiɛ̃n³¹/
Ürümqi /ɕian⁴⁴/
Wuhan /ɕiɛn⁵⁵/
Chengdu /ɕian⁵⁵/
Guiyang /ɕian⁵⁵/
Kunming /ɕiɛ̃⁴⁴/
Nanjing /sien³¹/
Hefei /ɕyĩ²¹/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕie¹¹/
Pingyao /ɕie̞¹³/
Hohhot /ɕie³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ɕi⁵³/
Suzhou /siɪ⁵⁵/
Hangzhou /ɕiẽ̞³³/
Wenzhou /ɕi³³/
Hui Shexian /se³¹/
Tunxi /siɛ¹¹/
Xiang Changsha /siẽ³³/
Xiangtan /siẽ³³/
Gan Nanchang /ɕiɛn⁴²/
Hakka Meixian /sien⁴⁴/
Taoyuan /sien²⁴/
Cantonese Guangzhou /sin⁵⁵/
Nanning /ɬin⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /sin⁵⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /sian⁵⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /sieŋ⁴⁴/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /siŋ⁵⁴/
Shantou (Teochew) /siaŋ³³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /tin²³/
Rime
Character 仙
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 仙 (77)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 相然切
Baxter sjen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/siᴇn/
Pan
Wuyun 		/siɛn/
Shao
Rongfen 		/sjæn/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/sian/
Li
Rong 		/siɛn/
Wang
Li 		/sĭɛn/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/si̯ɛn/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		xiān
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		sin1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 仙
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		xiān
Middle
Chinese 		‹ sjen ›
Old
Chinese 		/*[s]a[r]/
English immortal (n.)

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 仙
Reading # 1/1
No. 11060
Phonetic
component 		山
Rime
group 		元
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		仙
Old
Chinese 		/*sen/

Definitions

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仙

  1. (Taoism) xian (an immortal; celestial being)
  2. (in compounds) fairy
    仙境  ―  xiānjìng  ―  fairyland
  3. (figurative) extraordinary person
    詩仙／诗仙  ―  shīxiān  ―  great poet; epithet of Li Bai
  4. (agent affix, chiefly Southern Min, honorific) expert; a title for a person with a specific expertise
    相命仙 [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  siòng-miā-sian [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  fortuneteller
  5. (agent affix, chiefly Southern Min, ironic) person with some specific hobby or addiction
    筊仙 [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  kiáu-sian [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  gambler
  6. a euphemism for the deceased
    仙逝  ―  xiānshì  ―  to pass away
  7. (Southern Min) Classifier for deity, idol, statue, doll. alternative form of 身 (sian)
    Synonym: 尊 (zūn)
    大仙的王爺公，細仙的王爺囝。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
    大仙的王爷公，细仙的王爷囝。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]
    Tōa sian--ê ông-iâ kong, sè sian--ê ông-iâ kiáⁿ. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
    (idiomatic) Idols of Wang Ye's are everywhere. Literally, “The bigger idol is a senior Wang Ye; the smaller idol is a junior Wang Ye.”
  8. (Southern Min) (with negative) whatsoever, any way
    仙講都毋聽／仙讲都毋听 [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  sian kóng to m̄ thiaⁿ [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  won't listen (to you) no matter what you say
  9. a surname
Descendants
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Sino-Xenic (仙):
  • → Japanese: 仙(せん) (sen)
  • → Korean: 선(仙) (seon)
  • → Vietnamese: tiên (仙)

Others:

Compounds

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See also

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Etymology 2

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simp. and trad.
 仙
alternative forms 銑／铣 Min Nan

Borrowed from English cent.

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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仙

  1. (Cantonese, Taiwanese and Philippine Hokkien, Malaysian and Singapore Mandarin) cent (Classifier: 個／个 c)
    五仙硬幣／五仙硬币 [Cantonese]  ―  ng5 sin1 ngaang6 bai6 [Jyutping]  ―  five-cent coin
    佢係私生子，佢老豆死嗰陣一個仙都冇分畀佢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    佢系私生子，佢老豆死嗰阵一个仙都冇分畀佢。 [Cantonese, simp.]
    keoi5 hai6 si1 sang1 zi2, keoi5 lou5 dau6 sei2 go2 zan6 jat1 go3 sin1 dou1 mou5 fan1 bei2 keoi5. [Jyutping]
    He is a son born out of wedlock, so when his dad died, he didn't even inherit one cent.
  2. (Liuzhou Mandarin, Cantonese, Hainanese) copper coin; copper (round and holeless)
Synonyms
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Dialectal synonyms of 分 (“fen; cent”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 分
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 分
Taiwan 分
Malaysia 仙
Singapore 分
Jilu Mandarin Jinan 分
Central Plains Mandarin Xi'an 分
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 分
Wuhan 分
Jianghuai Mandarin Yangzhou 分
Hefei 分
Cantonese Guangzhou 分
Hong Kong 仙, 仙士 dated
Taishan 分, 仙
Singapore (Guangfu) 分
Gan Nanchang 分
Hakka Meixian 分
Jin Taiyuan 分
Northern Min Jian'ou 分
Eastern Min Fuzhou 分
Southern Min Xiamen 占, 分
Quanzhou 占
Zhangzhou 占
Tainan 仙
Penang (Hokkien) 鐳, sen
Singapore (Hokkien) 占
Manila (Hokkien) 仙
Chaozhou 分
Singapore (Teochew) 占
Singapore (Hainanese) 占
Wu Suzhou 分
Wenzhou 分
Xiang Changsha 分
Shuangfeng 分
Dialectal synonyms of 銅元 (“copper coin; copper”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 銅元, 銅子
Northeastern Mandarin Harbin 銅子兒
Jilu Mandarin Jinan 銅板
Jiaoliao Mandarin Yantai (Muping) 銅子兒
Central Plains Mandarin Luoyang 銅子兒, 銅元兒
Wanrong 銅元
Xi'an 銅子兒
Xining 銅元
Xuzhou 銅板
Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 銅元, 銅子
Southwestern Mandarin Wuhan 角子, 銅角子, 角兒 humorous, 角角 humorous
Guiyang 銅元, 銅板
Liuzhou 銅鐳, 鐳, 銅仙, 仙
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 銅板
Yangzhou 銅板
Cantonese Guangzhou 銅仙, 仙
Gan Lichuan 銅角子
Pingxiang 銅板, 銅毫子
Hakka Meixian 鐳仔
Yudu 銅殼子
Jin Taiyuan 銅子兒
Xinzhou 銅子兒
Northern Min Jian'ou 銅片
Eastern Min Fuzhou 銅片, 銅錢
Southern Min Xiamen 銅鐳, 銅柯
Quanzhou 銅鐳, 銅柯
Jinjiang 銅鐳, 銅柯
Zhangzhou 銅鐳
Zhangpu 銅鐳
Haikou 銅鐳, 仙
Southern Pinghua Nanning (Tingzi) 銅仙
Wu Shanghai 銅板
Shanghai (Chongming) 銅板
Suzhou 銅板
Danyang 銅板
Hangzhou 銅板
Jinhua 銅板
Xiang Changsha 銅毫子, 銅角子
Loudi 銅角子

Compounds

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See also

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Etymology 3

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From clipping of English senior.

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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仙 (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang)

  1. senior
  2. (of a senior) to berate a junior
Derived terms
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References

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  • “仙”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
  • 李如龙 [Lǐ Rúlóng]; 刘福铸 [Liú Fúzhù]; 吴华英 [Wú Huáyīng]; 黄国城 [Huáng Guóchéng] (2019), “仙”, in 《莆仙方言调查报告》 [Investigation Report on the Puxian Topolect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), 厦门大学出版社 [Xiamen University Press], →ISBN, page 213.

Japanese

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Kanji

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仙

(Jōyō kanji)

Readings

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  • Go-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
  • Kan-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
  • Nanori: そま (soma)、のり (nori)、ひさ (hisa)

Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
仙
せん
Grade: S
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 仙 (MC sjen, literally “immortal”). Compare modern Mandarin reading xiān and Cantonese reading sin1.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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仙(せん) • (sen) 

  1. a sage or hermit, an enlightened person, usually immortal and ageless
  2. (mythology) short for 仙人 (sennin): a wizard or mage; an immortal living as a hermit in the mountains
  3. by extension, the region or area where a sennin lives
  4. the supernatural techniques for becoming immortal and ageless
  5. a person of exceptional talent

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
仙
せんと
Grade: S
irregular

Borrowed from English cent.[1][2] The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun.

For pronunciation and definitions of 仙 – see the following entry.
【セント】
[noun] [1860] cent (various national currencies, 1⁄100 of a unit)
(This term, 仙, is an alternative spelling (obsolete) of the above term.)

Usage notes

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This word is almost always spelled in katakana as セント.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese 仙 (MC sjen). Recorded as Middle Korean 션 (syen) (Yale: syen) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Pronunciation

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Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

仙 (eumhun 신선 선 (sinseon seon))

  1. hanja form? of 선 (“a sage or hermit, an enlightened person, usually immortal and ageless”)

Compounds

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References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

Vietnamese

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Han character

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仙: Hán Việt readings: tiên[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

  1. chữ Hán form of tiên
    1. (Chinese mythology, Taoism) xian (an immortal; celestial being)
    2. (by extension, Western fantasy) a fine, beautiful creature such as a fairy, a pixie, an undine, an elf, a dryad, a mermaid, etc.

Compounds

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References

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  1. ^ Nguyễn (2014).
  2. ^ Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  3. ^ Trần (2004).
  4. ^ Hồ (1976).
  5. ^ Bonet (1899).
  6. ^ Génibrel (1898).
  7. ^ Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).
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