See also: , , , and
U+53E3, 口
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-53E3

[U+53E2]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+53E4]
U+2F1D, ⼝
KANGXI RADICAL MOUTH

[U+2F1C]
Kangxi Radicals
[U+2F1E]

Translingual

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Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character

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(Kangxi radical 30, +0, 3 strokes, cangjie input (R), four-corner 60000, composition )

  1. Kangxi radical #30, .
  2. Shuowen Jiezi radical №22

Usage notes

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This character () is used within characters. If a square is used as an enclosure around another character, then the character (U+56D7) is used instead.

This radical is sometimes added to characters to indicate that a certain character is onomatopoeic, e.g. (dōng) and (), or is phonetic, e.g. 咖啡 (kāfēi) and 喇嘛 (lǎma).

This radical is also added to measurement units to indicate imperial system units instead of Chinese traditional units e.g. (chǐ, feet) vs (Chinese feet).

Derived characters

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Further reading

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 171, character 1
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3227
  • Dae Jaweon: page 379, character 17
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 566, character 14
  • Unihan data for U+53E3

Chinese

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simp. and trad.
alternative forms 𠙵
𠮚
 
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • (Cantonese)

Glyph origin

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

Pictogram (象形) – resembles an open mouth.

In the oracle bone script, radical is used for characters having abstract meanings. Such a character can have a figurative meaning derived from the phonetic part, e.g. (OC *ɢʷɯʔ, *ɢʷɯs, “right”) = (OC *ɢʷɯs, “right hand”) + and 𪪺 (“strong; powerful”) = (OC *kʷɯŋ, “bow”) + , or be an unrelated borrowing, e.g. (OC *brɯʔ, *pɯʔ, “no”) = (OC *pɯ, *pɯʔ, *pɯ', “calyx”) + .

See also , , , , , 廿, , and .

Similar but unrelated to the bottom part of and in their original form. Similar but unrelated to , the original version of and some ancient variants of on oracle bones.

Etymology 1

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From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku(w) (mouth). Cognate with Garo ku·sik (mouth), Tangut 𗋈 (*ŋwu², mouth).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • Sixian:
    • khiéu - literary;
    • héu - vernacular.
  • Meixian:
    • kêu3 - literary;
    • hêu3 - vernacular.
Note:
  • kāu - vernacular;
  • kēu - literary.
Note:
  • kháu - vernacular;
  • káu - vernacular (limited, e.g. 啞口);
  • khó͘/khió - literary.
Note: 3kheu (Hangzhounese) - older speakers only.

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location
Mandarin Beijing /kʰou²¹⁴/
Harbin /kʰou²¹³/
Tianjin /kʰou¹³/
Jinan /kʰou⁵⁵/
Qingdao /kʰou⁵⁵/
Zhengzhou /kʰou⁵³/
Xi'an /kʰou⁵³/
Xining /kʰɯ⁵³/
Yinchuan /kʰəu⁵³/
Lanzhou /kʰou⁴⁴²/
Ürümqi /kʰɤu⁵¹/
Wuhan /kʰəu⁴²/
Chengdu /kʰəu⁵³/
Guiyang /kʰəu⁴²/
Kunming /kʰəu⁵³/
Nanjing /kʰəɯ²¹²/
Hefei /kʰɯ²⁴/
Jin Taiyuan /kʰəu⁵³/
Pingyao /kʰəu¹³/
Hohhot /kʰəu⁵³/
Wu Shanghai /kʰɤ³⁵/
Suzhou /kʰɤ⁵¹/
Hangzhou /kʰø⁵³/
Wenzhou /kʰau³⁵/
Hui Shexian /kʰiu³⁵/
Tunxi /t͡ɕʰiu³¹/
Xiang Changsha /kʰəu⁴¹/
Xiangtan /kʰəɯ⁴²/
Gan Nanchang /kʰiɛu²¹³/
Hakka Meixian /kʰeu³¹/
Taoyuan /kʰeu³¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /hɐu³⁵/
Nanning /hɐu³⁵/
Hong Kong /hɐu³⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /kʰɔ⁵³/
/kʰau⁵³/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /kʰau³²/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /kʰe²¹/
Shantou (Teochew) /kʰau⁵³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /xɔu²¹³/
/xau²¹³/

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (29)
Final () (137)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () I
Fanqie
Baxter khuwX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/kʰəuX/
Pan
Wuyun
/kʰəuX/
Shao
Rongfen
/kʰəuX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/kʰəwX/
Li
Rong
/kʰuX/
Wang
Li
/kʰəuX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/kʰə̯uX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
kǒu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
hau2
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
kǒu
Middle
Chinese
‹ khuwX ›
Old
Chinese
/*kʰˁ(r)oʔ/
English mouth

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
Reading # 1/1
No. 7490
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*kʰoːʔ/

Definitions

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  1. (anatomy) mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: c)
    See also: , 口腔
      ―  Shù shù nǐ de kǒu.  ―  Rinse your mouth out.
    出自聽來令人奇怪 [MSC, trad.]
    出自听来令人奇怪 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhè huà chūzì nǐ de kǒu, tīnglái lìngrén qíguài. [Pinyin]
    This sounds strange in your mouth.
  2. entrance; opening; mouth (of an object)
      ―  kǒu  ―  entrance
      ―  chūkǒu  ―  exit
      ―  ménkǒu  ―  doorway
  3. gateway; mountain pass
    張家张家  ―  Zhāngjiākǒu  ―  Zhangjiakou
      ―  Kǒuběi  ―  the area beyond the Great Wall
      ―  kǒu  ―  St. George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa)
  4. hole; cut
      ―  kǒuzi  ―  hole
      ―  shāngkǒu  ―  wound
  5. blade; edge of a knife
      ―  dāokǒu  ―  edge of a knife
  6. port
    電腦电脑  ―  diànnǎo duānkǒu  ―  computer port
    C  ―  sēikǒu  ―  USB-C port
  7. perimeter
      ―  rénkǒu  ―  population
      ―  kǒu  ―  hukou
  8. government organ; department
  9. Classifier for family members, populations, livestock.all nouns using this classifier
      ―  sān kǒu zhī jiā  ―  a family of three
  10. Classifier for bites or mouthfuls.
    可以 [MSC, trad.]
    可以 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ kěyǐ chī yī kǒu ma? [Pinyin]
    Can I have a bite?
  11. Classifier for things with an opening: wells, pots, jars, guns, etc.
  12. Classifier for utensils with a blade: knives, swords, etc.
  13. (neologism, slang) to fellate
  14. a surname

Synonyms

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Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic ():
  • Japanese: () (ku); (こう) ()
  • Korean: 구(口) (gu)
  • Vietnamese: khẩu ()

Etymology 2

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For pronunciation and definitions of – see (“name; given name; etc.”).
(This character is an ancient form of ).

See also

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References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Compounds

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
くち
Grade: 1
kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
くち
[noun] : mouth
[noun] : opening
[noun] This term needs a translation to English.
[noun] This term needs a translation to English.
[noun] : taste (in food), preference
(This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
くつ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
くつ
[noun] : prefixal bound form of くち (kuchi, mouth)
(This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term

Grade: 1
goon

From Middle Chinese (MC khuwX). The 呉音 (goon), so likely the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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() (ku

  1. (Buddhism) the mouth
  2. (Buddhism) (by extension) one's speech, one's words
  3. the mouthpiece of a flute

Counter

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() (-ku

  1. used to count people
  2. used to count per-person portions
  3. used to count open-mouthed containers
  4. used to count bladed weapons or tools

Etymology 4

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Kanji in this term
こう
Grade: 1
kan'on

From Middle Chinese (MC khuwX). The 漢音 (kan'on), so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

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Counter

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(こう) (-kō

  1. used to count people
  2. used to count bladed weapons or tools

Korean

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese (MC khuwX).

Pronunciation

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  • (in 口文, 口錢, and 口硬):
  • (mouth; entrance; hole; etc.):
    • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ku(ː)]
    • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)]
      • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

(eumhun (ip gu))

  1. hanja form? of (mouth)
  2. hanja form? of (entrance; opening)
  3. hanja form? of (hole)

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. [2]

Kunigami

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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(くちー) (khuchī

  1. mouth
  2. language
  3. dialect
  4. speech

Miyako

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Pronunciation

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  • (Tarama) IPA(key): [ɸɨtˢɨ], [ɸs̩.tˢɨ]
  • (Ōgami) IPA(key): [ɸkɨ], [ɸks̩ ~ ɸkɯ]
  • (Ikema) IPA(key): [ɸu̥tˢɨ]
  • (Uruka) IPA(key): [ɸu̥tˢz̩]
  • (Minna) IPA(key): [ɸutˢʉ]

Noun

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(ふつ) (futs

  1. mouth
  2. language
  3. dialect
  4. speech

References

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Okinawan

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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(くち) (kuchi

  1. mouth
  2. language
  3. dialect
  4. speech

Compounds

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References

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  • ぐち【口】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Vietnamese

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Han character

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: Hán Việt readings: khẩu[1][2]
: Nôm readings: khẩu[1][2]

  1. chữ Hán form of khẩu (mouth; opening).

Compounds

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References

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Yaeyama

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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(ふつぃ) (futsï

  1. mouth
  2. language
  3. dialect
  4. speech

Yonaguni

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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(ってぃ) (tti

  1. mouth
  2. language
  3. dialect
  4. speech