世

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世 U+4E16, 世
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E16
← 丕
[U+4E15] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 丗 →
[U+4E17]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
5 strokes
Stroke order

Han character[edit]

世 (Kangxi radical 1, 一+4, 5 strokes, cangjie input 心廿 (PT), four-corner 44717, composition ⿻廿𠃊)

Derived characters[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Chinese Wikisource has digitized text of the Kangxi Dictionary entry for 世:
[[wikisource:zh:康熙字典/一部/四畫#世|一部/四畫]]

Wikisource


  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 77, character 11
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 31
  • Dae Jaweon: page 155, character 2
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 14, character 6
  • Unihan data for U+4E16

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
 世
alternative forms
 
丗 ancient
卋
㔺
𠀍
𠦔
丗 ancient
卋
㔺
𠀍
𠦔
𬆑

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 世
Western Zhou Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Bronze inscriptions

b02948

b02949

b02950

b02951

b02952

b02953

b02954

b02955

b02956

b02957

b02958

b02959

b02960

b02961

b02962

b02963

b02964

b02965

b02966

b02967

b02968

b02969

b02970

b02971

b02972

Small seal script

s01647

Transcribed ancient scripts

L35781

L35782

L35783

L35784

L35785

L35786

L35787

L35788

L35789

L35790

L35791

L35792

L35793

L19868

L19869

L19870

L19871

L19872

L19873

L19874

L19875

L19876

L19877

L19878

L19879

L19880

L19881

L19882

L19883

L19884

L19885

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 (世) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
貰 *ɦljebs, *hljebs
跇 *l̥ʰebs, *lebs
迣 *ʔljebs
世 *hljebs
泄 *lebs, *sled
枻 *lebs
詍 *lebs
靾 *lebs
袣 *lebs
抴 *lebs, *led
呭 *lebs
勩 *lebs, *libs
屜 *l̥ʰeːbs
鰈 *l̥ʰaːb, *l'eːb
渫 *zreːb, *sled
煠 *zreːb, *l̥ʰeb, *leb
喋 *rlaːb, *ʔl'eːb, *l'eːb
鞢 *rlaːb, *sleːb
殜 *l'eb, *leb, *lab
葉 *hljeb, *leb
弽 *hljeb, *hleːb
韘 *hljeb, *sleːb
枼 *leb
楪 *leb
揲 *leb, *l'eːb, *ɦljed
鍱 *leb
偞 *leb, *hleːb
蝶 *l̥ʰeːb, *l'eːb
牒 *l'eːb
蹀 *l'eːb
諜 *l'eːb
堞 *l'eːb
牃 *l'eːb
褋 *l'eːb
惵 *l'eːb
碟 *l'eːb
屧 *sleːb
屟 *sleːb
紲 *sled
齛 *sled
疶 *sled
緤 *sled
媟 *sled

Etymology[edit]

世 (OC *hljebs) is derived from iterative devoicing of 葉 (OC *leb, “leaf”) + *-s suffix, meaning successive foliages of a tree > generations. Compare Tibetan ལོ་མ (lo ma, “leaf”), Western Tibetan ལོབ་མ (lob ma, “leaf”) and Tibetan ལོ (lo, “year”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Note:
  • Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taiwan:
    • sì - vernacular;
    • sè - literary.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 世
Mandarin Beijing /ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
Harbin /ʂʐ̩⁵³/
Tianjin /ʂʐ̩⁵³/
Jinan /ʂʐ̩²¹/
Qingdao /ʃz̩⁴²/
Zhengzhou /ʂʐ̩³¹²/
Xi'an /ʂʐ̩⁴⁴/
Xining /ʂʐ̩²¹³/
Yinchuan /ʂʐ̩¹³/
Lanzhou /ʂʐ̩¹³/
Ürümqi /ʂʐ̩²¹³/
Wuhan /sz̩³⁵/
Chengdu /sz̩¹³/
Guiyang /sz̩²¹³/
Kunming /ʂʐ̩²¹²/
Nanjing /ʂʐ̩⁴⁴/
Hefei /ʂʐ̩⁵³/
Jin Taiyuan /sz̩⁴⁵/
Pingyao /ʂʐ̩³⁵/
Hohhot /sz̩⁵⁵/
Wu Shanghai /sz̩³⁵/
Suzhou /sz̩ʷ⁵¹³/
Hangzhou /sz̩⁴⁴⁵/
Wenzhou /sei⁴²/
Hui Shexian /ɕi³²⁴/
Tunxi /ɕie⁴²/
/ɕi¹¹/
Xiang Changsha /ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
Xiangtan /ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
Gan Nanchang /sz̩⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /sz̩⁵³/
Taoyuan /ʃï⁵⁵/
Cantonese Guangzhou /sɐi³⁵/
Nanning /sɐi³³/
Hong Kong /sɐi³³/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /se²¹/
/si²¹/
/sua²¹/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /siɛ²¹²/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /si³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /si²¹³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /ti³⁵/
Rime
Character 世
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 書 (26)
Final (韻) 祭 (35)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 舒制切
Baxter syejH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ɕiᴇiH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ɕiɛiH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ɕjæiH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ɕiajH/
Li
Rong 		/ɕiɛiH/
Wang
Li 		/ɕĭɛiH/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/ɕi̯ɛiH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		shì
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		sai3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 世
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		shì
Middle
Chinese 		‹ syejH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*l̥ap-s/
English generation

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 世
Reading # 1/1
No. 11537
Phonetic
component 		世
Rime
group 		蓋
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		丗
Old
Chinese 		/*hljebs/
Notes 本枼葉初文（文源）

Definitions[edit]

世

  1. generation
    世代  ―  shìdài  ―  generation
    德皇威廉二世  ―  déhuáng Wēilián èr shì  ―  Kaiser Wilhelm II
  2. (literary, or in compounds) for many generations; spanning many generations
    世襲／世袭  ―  shìxí  ―  to inherit; to succeed
    世仇  ―  shìchóu  ―  hereditary enemy
  3. (in terms of address) longstanding friendship between two families; generations of family friendship
    世伯  ―  shìbó  ―  uncle (friend of one's father)
  4. lifetime; all one's life; one's whole life
    一生一世  ―  yīshēngyīshì  ―  all one's life
    下世 [Cantonese]  ―  haa6 sai3 [Jyutping]  ―  next life
  5. era; period; time
    當今之世／当今之世  ―  dāngjīn zhī shì  ―  at present; nowadays
  6. (geology) epoch (geochronologic unit)
    全新世  ―  quánxīnshì  ―  holocene
  7. world; people in the world
    世界  ―  shìjiè  ―  world
    在世  ―  zàishì  ―  alive
  8. (literary, or in compounds) dynasty; regime
  9. (literary, or in compounds) year; age
  10. (literary, or in compounds) worldly; profane; secular
    人情世故  ―  rénqíngshìgù  ―  ways of the world
  11. a surname

Synonyms[edit]

  • (generation): 代 (dài)
  • (for many generations):
  • (lifetime):
  • (era):
  • (world):
  • (dynasty):

Compounds[edit]

References[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

世

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

Etymology 1[edit]

Kanji in this term
世
よ
Grade: 3
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling
代

⟨yo2⟩ → /yo/

From Old Japanese, pronunciation is distinct from 夜 (/⁠yo1⁠/, “night, nighttime”).

Change in meaning of 節 (yo), in the sense of the bamboos and reeds bulging at certain intervals.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

世(よ) • (yo) 

  1. world, society
  2. this world, this life
    Synonym: 俗世間 (zoku seken)
  3. (archaic) generation, age, era
  4. lifetime
    Synonym: 一生 (isshō)
  5. lifespan
    Synonym: 寿命 (jumyō)
  6. time of year, season
    Synonyms: 時節 (jisetsu), 時期 (jiki), 折 (ori)
  7. relationship between a man and a woman
  8. period of a person leading as a patriarch (Can we verify(+) this sense?)
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms

Etymology 2[edit]

Kanji in this term
世
せい
Grade: 3
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 世 (MC syejH). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Counter[edit]

世(せい) • (-sei) 

  1. generation
    ルパン三(さん)世(せい)
    Rupan-sansei
    Lupin the Third

Suffix[edit]

世(せい) • (-sei) 

  1. (geology) epoch

Proper noun[edit]

世(せい) • (Sei) 

  1. a female given name

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Chinese 世 (MC syejH).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 솅〮 (Yale: syéy)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 누리〮 (Yale: nwùlí) 셰〯 (Yale: syěy)
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576 인간 (Yale: inkan) 셰 (Yale: syey)

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [sʰe̞(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [세(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja[edit]

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

世 (eumhun 인간(人間) 세 (in'gan( 人間 ) se))

  1. Hanja form? of 세 (“world”).
  2. Hanja form? of 세 (“lineage; generation”).

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

References[edit]

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

Okinawan[edit]

Kanji[edit]

世

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

Etymology[edit]

Kanji in this term
世
ゆー
Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Cognate with mainland Japanese 世 (yo).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

世(ゆー) (yū) 

  1. age, era, period, time; rule
  2. world, society

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • “ゆー【世】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

世: Hán Việt readings: thế
世: Nôm readings: thế, thá, thé, thể

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

References[edit]

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