秀

秀 U+79C0, 秀 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-79C0 ← 禿 [U+79BF] CJK Unified Ideographs 私 → [U+79C1]

Translingual

Han character

秀 (Kangxi radical 115, 禾+2, 7 strokes, cangjie input 竹木弓竹尸 (HDNHS), four-corner 2022₇, composition ⿱禾乃)

Derived characters

• 𠉑, 唀, 𪣜, 㛢, 𫵿, 𢓵, 𢭆, 𣵛, 𨹳, 𣒴, 𬊔, 琇, 𤯪, 𥏗, 𮀞, 𥙾, 䅎, 𧚘, 綉(绣), 蜏, 誘(诱), 銹(锈), 𮪆, 𱆯
• 透, 𣮁, 䞬, 𠃯, 𮂼, 𤥹, 頺, 𥢁, 𪁮, 𥣧, 𥤃, 莠, 𨴷, 𣜗, 𦏁

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 849, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 24911
• Dae Jaweon: page 1270, character 16
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2589, character 4
• Unihan data for U+79C0

Chinese

trad.		秀
simp. #		秀
alternative forms		𥝙 𥝠

Barley ear.

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 秀
Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
透	*l̥ʰoːs, *hljuɡ
莠	*luʔ
誘	*luʔ
蜏	*luʔ, *slus, *lus
琇	*luʔ, *slus
秀	*slus
銹	*slus

From an earlier form 𥝙, attested in the stone drum inscriptions (石鼓文 (shígǔwén)) from the Warring States period.

According to Chi (2010), the character is an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 禾 (“rice plant”) + 引 (“to draw out flowers”) — blooming of a rice plant. The Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts (睡簡) recorded this character as ⿱禾引. The bottom component 弓 found in the stone drum inscriptions is likely a reduction of 引.

Xu Kai (徐鍇), the author of 《說文解字繫傳》 (10th century AD) gave the following explanation: Pictogram (象形) : 禾 (“plant”) + 乃, resembling a fruit/an ear hanging off a plant.

Shuowen states that this character was tabooed at that time (2nd century AD) and so did not elaborate on its origin, due to it being the birth name of Emperor Guangwu of Han.

Etymology 1

May be a causative of 褎 (OC *lɯws, “growth of seedlings”). Compare Proto-Vietic *m-loh (“to blossom”) (whence Vietnamese trổ (“to burst, to open, to display”), lổ (“naked”)), and Khmer លាស់ (lŏəh, “to grow, to blossom, to prosper”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiù (xiu⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄡˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sau³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): siu

  (Meixian, Guangdong): xiu⁴

• Eastern Min (BUC): séu
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): siu⁴
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): siù

  (Teochew, Peng'im): siu³

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵shieu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiù
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄡˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siòu
    • Wade–Giles: hsiu⁴
    • Yale: syòu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiow
    • Palladius: сю (sju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: sau³
    • Yale: sau
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sau³
    • Guangdong Romanization: seo³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐu̯³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: siu
    • Hakka Romanization System: xiu
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xiu⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /si̯u⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: xiu⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /siu⁵³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: séu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siɛu²¹³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: siu⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬiu⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siù
    • Tâi-lô: siù
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siux
    • IPA (Xiamen): /siu²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siu⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /siu²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /siu¹¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siu²¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: siu³
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siù
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siu²¹³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵shieu
    • MiniDict: shieu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²xieu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕiɤ³⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: sjuwH

Rime
Character	秀
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	息救切
Baxter	sjuwH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/sɨuH/
Pan Wuyun	/siuH/
Shao Rongfen	/siəuH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/suwH/
Li Rong	/siuH/
Wang Li	/sĭəuH/
Bernard Karlgren	/si̯ə̯uH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiù
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sau3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s-l]u(ʔ)-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*slus/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	秀
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xiù
Middle Chinese	‹ sjuwH ›
Old Chinese	/*[s-l]u(ʔ)-s/
English	to flower
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	秀
Reading #	1/1
No.	13934
Phonetic component	秀
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	秀
Old Chinese	/*slus/

Definitions

秀

1. ^† (of plants, especially of crops) to shoot out into ears; earing; ear

   秀而不實／秀而不实  ―  xiù'érbùshí  ―  to put forth flowers but bear no fruit

   • 實種實褎，實發實秀。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     实种实褎，实发实秀。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

     Shí zhòng shí yòu, shí fā shí xiù. [Pinyin]

     Then he used it as seed, and it sprang up; It grew and came into ear.

2. ^† (of plants) to bear fruit
3. ^† (of plants) to blossom

   • 螻蟈鳴，蚯螾出，王瓜生，苦菜秀。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     蝼蝈鸣，蚯螾出，王瓜生，苦菜秀。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

     Lóuguō míng, qiūyǐn chū, wángguā shēng, kǔcài xiù. [Pinyin]

     The green frogs croak. Earthworms come forth. The royal melons grow. The sow-thistle is in seed.

4. beautiful; elegant; graceful

   秀麗／秀丽  ―  xiùlì  ―  pretty

   秀美  ―  xiùměi  ―  elegant

   眉清目秀  ―  méiqīngmùxiù  ―  with delicate features

5. (especially of a person) outstanding; prominent; extraordinary

   優秀／优秀  ―  yōuxiù  ―  excellent

   俊秀  ―  jùnxiù  ―  elegant; pretty

Compounds

• 一時之秀／一时之秀
• 一枝獨秀／一枝独秀 (yīzhīdúxiù)
• 一穗三秀
• 三秀 (sānxiù)
• 不秀氣／不秀气
• 不郎不秀 (bùlángbùxiù)
• 丟丟秀秀／丢丢秀秀
• 丹脣啟秀／丹唇启秀
• 俊秀 (jùnxiù)
• 優秀／优秀 (yōuxiù)
• 劉秀／刘秀
• 千巖競秀／千岩竞秀
• 南能北秀
• 吐木秀克 (Tǔmùxiùkè)
• 向秀
• 含秀
• 大家閨秀／大家闺秀 (dàjiāguīxiù)
• 天真地秀
• 女秀才
• 娟秀 (juānxiù)
• 尺二秀才
• 山明水秀 (shānmíngshuǐxiù)
• 山清水秀 (shānqīngshuǐxiù)
• 布蘭枯秀／布兰枯秀
• 廩膳秀才／廪膳秀才
• 後來之秀／后来之秀
• 後起之秀／后起之秀 (hòuqǐzhīxiù)
• 才秀人微
• 挺秀
• 擢秀
• 攬秀／揽秀
• 新秀 (xīnxiù)
• 明秀
• 李秀成
• 棠棣競秀／棠棣竞秀
• 水秀山明
• 水秀山青
• 洪秀全
• 清清秀秀
• 清秀 (qīngxiù)
• 獨秀／独秀
• 白衣秀士
• 白鶴秀才／白鹤秀才
• 眉山秀
• 眉清目秀 (méiqīngmùxiù)
• 眉目明秀
• 神清骨秀
• 神秀
• 秀出
• 秀出班行
• 秀場／秀场
• 秀士
• 秀外惠中 (xiùwàihuìzhōng)
• 秀外慧中 (xiùwàihuìzhōng)
• 秀女
• 秀姑巒溪／秀姑峦溪
• 秀媚 (xiùmèi)
• 秀嶼／秀屿 (Xiùyǔ, “Xiuyu”)
• 秀才 (xiùcái)
• 秀才人情
• 秀才造反
• 秀拔
• 秀林 (Xiùlín)
• 秀氣／秀气 (xiùqi)
• 秀水 (Xiùshuǐ)
• 秀灰蝶 (xiùhuīdié)
• 秀發／秀发 (xiùfā)
• 秀眉
• 秀美 (xiùměi)
• 秀而不實／秀而不实
• 秀色 (xiùsè)
• 秀色可餐 (xiùsèkěcān)
• 秀逗
• 秀逸 (xiùyì)
• 秀雅
• 秀頂／秀顶
• 秀髮／秀发 (xiùfà)
• 秀麗／秀丽 (xiùlì)
• 穎秀／颖秀
• 粵秀山／粤秀山
• 美秀
• 肥勻明秀／肥匀明秀
• 苗而不秀
• 裴秀
• 豐臣秀吉／丰臣秀吉
• 賈儒商秀／贾儒商秀
• 軒秀／轩秀
• 鍾靈毓秀／钟灵毓秀 (zhōnglíngyùxiù)
• 閨秀／闺秀 (guīxiù)
• 陸秀夫／陆秀夫
• 隱秀／隐秀
• 靈山秀水／灵山秀水
• 靈秀／灵秀
• 面目清秀
• 韶秀
• 風神秀雅／风神秀雅
• 飽學秀才／饱学秀才
• 髦秀
• 麥秀／麦秀
• 麥秀兩歧／麦秀两歧
• 黍離麥秀／黍离麦秀
• 齒危髮秀／齿危发秀

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (秀):

• → Japanese: 秀(しゅ) (shu)
• → Korean: 수(秀) (su)
• → Vietnamese: tú (秀)

Etymology 2

Phono-semantic matching of English show. Doublet of 騷／骚 (sāo)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiù (xiu⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄡˋ

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sió

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiù
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄡˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siòu
    • Wade–Giles: hsiu⁴
    • Yale: syòu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiow
    • Palladius: сю (sju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sió
    • Tâi-lô: sió
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sioir
    • IPA (Xiamen): /sio⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sio⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /sio⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /sio⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɤ⁴¹/

Definitions

秀

1. to manifest; to show; to display

   秀出  ―  xiùchū  ―  to show

2. show

   脫口秀／脱口秀  ―  tuōkǒuxiù  ―  talk show

   時裝秀／时装秀  ―  shízhuāngxiù  ―  fashion show

Synonyms

• (show): (Cantonese) 騷／骚 (sou1)

Compounds

• 作秀 (zuòxiù)
• 個人秀／个人秀
• 工地秀
• 政治秀
• 牛肉秀
• 秀場／秀场
• 脫口秀／脱口秀 (tuōkǒuxiù)
• 舞臺秀／舞台秀
• 餐廳秀／餐厅秀

 

References

• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “秀”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 267.

Japanese

Kanji

秀

(Jōyō kanji)

1. excellent, outstanding

Readings

Kanji in this term
秀
しゅう Grade: S
on'yomi

• Go-on: しゅ (shu)
• Kan-on: しゅう (shū, Jōyō)^{←しう (siu, historical)}
• Kun: ひいでる (hīderu, 秀でる, Jōyō)

Adjective

秀(しゅう) • (shū) 

1. exemplary, excellent.

Proper noun

秀(しゅう) • (Shū) 

1. a male given name

Descendants

• → English: S rank, S Tier

Korean

Hanja

秀 (eumhun 빼어날 수 (ppaeeonal su))

1. outstanding, remarkable, excellent

Vietnamese

Han character

秀: Hán Nôm readings: tú

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.