兼

兼

兼 U+517C, 兼 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-517C ← 养 [U+517B] CJK Unified Ideographs 兽 → [U+517D]

Translingual

Traditional	兼
Simplified	兼
Japanese	兼
Korean	兼

Han character

兼 (Kangxi radical 12, 八+8, 10 strokes, cangjie input 廿X金 (TXC), four-corner 8023₇, composition ⿱䒑⿻⿻コ卄八(GHTJV) or ⿳八一⿻⿻コ卄八(K))

Derived characters

• 傔 嗛 嫌 尲 嵰 㡘 慊 搛 槏 溓 熑 㽐 稴 縑(缣) 膁 謙(谦) 豏 賺(赚) 鎌(𰾮) 隒 馦 魐 鰜(鳒) 鹻 鼸 劆 歉 甉 鶼(鹣) 蒹 凲 鬑 廉 亷 𫇗 𡰉 𠪊 𢋯 𠔳

Related characters

• 禾

References

• KangXi: page 128, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1483
• Dae Jaweon: page 288, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 249, character 8
• Unihan data for U+517C

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		兼
alternative forms		𠔥 𬻵 𭵄 𭵈 𭁐 𠔥 𬻵 𭵄 𭵈 𭁐 𭆢 𮏳

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 兼
Spring and Autumn	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Bronze inscriptions b11167 Small seal script s05098 Transcribed ancient scripts L33971 L33972 L33973 L33974 L33975 L13088 L13089 L13090 L13091 L13092 L13093 L13094
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 (兼) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
譧	*r'eːms
賺	*r'eːms
尲	*kreːm
鹻	*kreːmʔ
歉	*kʰreːms, *kʰreːmʔ, *kʰeːmʔ, *kʰeːms
槏	*kʰreːmʔ
鰜	*ɡreːm, *keːm
稴	*ɡreːm, *ɡ·reːm, *ɡ·reːmʔ, *ɡ·reːms, *ɡeːm
豏	*ɡreːmʔ, *ɡreːms
甉	*ɡreːmʔ, *ɡraːm
廉	*ɡ·rem
鎌	*ɡ·rem
鬑	*ɡ·rem, *ɡ·reːm
鐮	*ɡ·rem
簾	*ɡ·rem
薕	*ɡ·rem, *ɡ·reːm
蠊	*ɡ·rem
嬚	*ɡ·remʔ
溓	*ɡ·remʔ, *ɡ·reːm, *ɡ·reːmʔ
嵰	*kʰremʔ
隒	*ŋɡremʔ
熑	*ɡ·reːm
濂	*ɡ·reːm
燫	*ɡ·reːm
兼	*keːm, *keːms
縑	*keːm
鶼	*keːm
蒹	*keːm
搛	*keːm
謙	*kʰeːm
膁	*kʰeːmʔ
嗛	*kʰeːmʔ
慊	*kʰeːmʔ, *kʰeːb
傔	*kʰeːms
馦	*qʰeːm
嫌	*ɡeːm
鼸	*ɡeːmʔ
尷	*kreːm

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : Hand 又 (as in 肀) holding two grain stalks 禾. Compare: 秉 (bǐng), a hand holding one plant.

Etymology

Austroasiatic (Schuessler, 2007); compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *ckiəm ~ ckəm ~ ckam ~ ckaim (“to grasp, to hold”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiān (jian¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gim¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kiâm
• Min Dong (BUC): giĕng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): kiam

  (Teochew, Peng'im): giam¹ / giang¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiān
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jian
    • Wade–Giles: chien¹
    • Yale: jyān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jian
    • Palladius: цзянь (czjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕjɛn⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: gim¹
    • Yale: gīm
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gim¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gim¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kiːm⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kiâm
    • Hakka Romanization System: giam´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: giam¹
    • Sinological IPA: /ki̯am²⁴/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: giĕng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kieŋ⁵⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiam
    • Tâi-lô: kiam
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiafm
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kiam⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kiam³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kiam⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kiam⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiam⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: giam¹ / giang¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kiam / kiang
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kiam³³/, /kiaŋ³³/

Note:

• giam1 - Chaozhou, Shantou, Chenghai, Chaoyang, Jieyang, Pontianak;
• giang1 - Chenghai.

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• Middle Chinese: /kem/, /kem^H/

Rime
Character	兼	兼
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	添 (157)	添 (157)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	IV
Fanqie	古甜切	古念切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kem/	/kemH/
Pan Wuyun	/kem/	/kemH/
Shao Rongfen	/kɛm/	/kɛmH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kɛm/	/kɛmH/
Li Rong	/kem/	/kemH/
Wang Li	/kiem/	/kiemH/
Bernard Karlgren	/kiem/	/kiemH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiān	jiàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gim1	gim3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[k]ˤem/

  (Zhengzhang): /*keːm/, /*keːms/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	兼
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jiān
Middle Chinese	‹ kem ›
Old Chinese	/*[k]ˁem/
English	combine; at the same time
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	兼	兼
Reading #	1/2	2/2
No.	6063	6069
Phonetic component	兼	兼
Rime group	談	談
Rime subdivision	2	2
Corresponding MC rime	兼	兼
Old Chinese	/*keːm/	/*keːms/
Notes		別分紀念切，集韻並

Definitions

兼

1. to do two or more things simultaneously; to hold two or more posts at the same time

   兼管  ―  jiānguǎn  ―  to concurrently be in charge of

   • 魚，我所欲也；熊掌，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍魚而取熊掌者也。生，亦我所欲也；義，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍生而取義者也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     鱼，我所欲也；熊掌，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍鱼而取熊掌者也。生，亦我所欲也；义，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍生而取义者也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Yú, wǒ suǒyù yě; xióngzhǎng, yì wǒ suǒyù yě, èr zhě bùkě dé jiān, shě yú ér qǔ xióngzhǎng zhě yě. Shēng, yì wǒ suǒyù yě; yì, yì wǒ suǒyù yě, èr zhě bùkě dé jiān, shě shēng ér qǔ yì zhě yě. [Pinyin]

     I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear's paws. So, I like life, and I also like justice. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose justice.

2. ^† double

   兼旬  ―  jiānxún  ―  twenty days

   • 子曰：「求也退，故進之；由也兼人，故退之。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     子曰：“求也退，故进之；由也兼人，故退之。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Zǐyuē: “Qiú yě tuì, gù jìn zhī; Yóu yě jiān rén, gù tuì zhī.” [Pinyin]

     The Master said: "(Ran) Qiu holds himself back. It is for this reason that I tried to urge him on. (Zhong) You has the energy of two men. It is for this reason that I tried to hold him back."

3. to amalgamate, to merge

   • 約從離衡，兼韓、魏、燕、楚、齊、趙、宋、衛、中山之眾。 [MSC, trad.]
     约从离衡，兼韩、魏、燕、楚、齐、赵、宋、卫、中山之众。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 賈誼 (Jia Yi),《過秦論》("Discourse on Qin's Faults")

     Yuē cóng lí héng, jiān Hán, Wèi, Yān, Chǔ, Qí, Zhào, Sòng, Wèi, Zhōngshān zhī zhòng. [Pinyin]

     They formed the Vertical Alliance and spurned the Horizontal Alliance, amalgamating the multitudes of Hán, Wèi, Yān, Chǔ, Zhào, Sòng, Wèy, and Zhōngshān.

4. to annex, to absorb

   • 武、獻以下，兼國多矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     武、献以下，兼国多矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

     Wǔ, xiàn yǐxià, jiān guó duō yǐ. [Pinyin]

     From Wu and Xian afterwards, many states have been annexed (by Jin).

   • 萬乘之主有能服術行法，以為亡徵之君風雨者，其兼天下不難矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     万乘之主有能服术行法，以为亡征之君风雨者，其兼天下不难矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Han Feizi, circa 2^nd century BCE, translated based on W. K. Liao's version

     Wànchéng zhī zhǔ yǒunéng fú shù xíngfǎ, yǐ wéi wángzhēng zhī jūn fēngyǔ zhě, qí jiāntiānxià bùnán yǐ. [Pinyin]

     If the sovereign of ten thousand chariots can exercise tact and enforce law and thereby function as gale and rain to rulers having portents of ruin, his annexation of All-under-Heaven will not be difficult.

   • 富者兼地數萬畝，貧者無容足之居。 [MSC, trad.]
     富者兼地数万亩，贫者无容足之居。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 794 CE', 陸贄 (Lu Zhi), 均節賦稅恤百姓六條 (Six Proposals to Reform Taxation and to Help Out the Common People)

     Fùzhě jiāndì shù wàn mǔ, pínzhě wú róngzú zhī jū. [Pinyin]

     The rich enclose several myriad acres of lands; the poor have no spot to dwell and stand their feet.

5. a surname

Compounds

倍道兼行 兼之 (jiānzhī) 兼人 兼任 (jiānrèn) 兼修 (jiānxiū) 兼倍 兼具 (jiānjù) 兼味 兼善 兼善天下 兼差 (jiānchāi) 兼弱攻昧 兼掌 兼旬 (jiānxún) 兼毫 兼用 (jiānyòng) 兼祧 (jiāntiāo) 兼程 (jiānchéng) 兼管 (jiānguǎn) 兼署 兼而有之 兼行 兼通

兼金 名利兼收 威德兼施 悲喜兼集 才兼文武 方面兼圻 智勇兼全 食不兼味 兼容并包 并兼 衣不兼采 併兼／并兼 倍道兼進／倍道兼进 公私兼顧／公私兼顾 (gōngsījiāngù) 兼併／兼并 (jiānbìng) 兼併／兼并 (jiānbìng) 兼備／兼备 (jiānbèi) 兼容並蓄／兼容并蓄 兼愛／兼爱 (jiān'ài) 兼收並蓄／兼收并蓄 (jiānshōubìngxù) 兼權熟計／兼权熟计 兼濟／兼济 兼營／兼营

兼籌並顧／兼筹并顾 兼職／兼职 (jiānzhí) 兼聽／兼听 兼課／兼课 (jiānkè) 兼辦／兼办 兼顧／兼顾 (jiāngù) 剿撫兼施／剿抚兼施 勦撫兼施／剿抚兼施 品學兼優／品学兼优 (pǐnxuéjiānyōu) 德容兼備／德容兼备 德才兼備／德才兼备 (décáijiānbèi) 愁懼兼心／愁惧兼心 才勇兼優／才勇兼优 才學兼優／才学兼优 才德兼備／才德兼备 (cáidéjiānbèi) 文武兼備／文武兼备 文武兼濟／文武兼济 文武兼資／文武兼资 晝夜兼行／昼夜兼行 材能兼備／材能兼备 術德兼修／术德兼修 謀勇兼備／谋勇兼备 軟硬兼施／软硬兼施 (ruǎn-yìng jiānshī)

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Japanese

Shinjitai	兼
Kyūjitai [1]	兼󠄁 兼+󠄁? (Adobe-Japan1)
	兼󠄄 兼+󠄄? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Kanji

兼

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: けん (ken, Jōyō)^{←けん (ken, historical)←けむ (kemu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: けん (ken, Jōyō)^{←けん (ken, historical)←けむ (kemu, ancient)}
• Kun: かねる (kaneru, 兼ねる, Jōyō)

Compounds

• 兼任
• 兼併
• 兼修
• 兼備
• 兼務
• 兼勤
• 兼営
• 兼官
• 兼帯
• 兼摂
• 兼有
• 兼業
• 兼用
• 兼職
• 兼行
• 兼補
• 兼言
• 兼題

 

Etymology

Kanji in this term
兼
けん Grade: S
on’yomi

/kem/ → /kemʉ/ → /keɴ/

From Middle Chinese 兼 (MC kem, kem^H).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
• (Tokyo) け​ん [kéꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
• IPA^(key): [kẽ̞ɴ]

Conjunction

兼(けん) • (-ken-) 

1. -cum-, concurrently, and; in addition

   書(しょ)斎(さい)兼(けん)応(おう)接(せつ)間(ま)

   shosai-ken-ōsetsuma

   study-cum-drawing room

   首(しゅ)相(しょう)兼(けん)外(がい)相(しょう)

   shushō-ken-gaishō

   someone who holds the offices of both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister

Noun

兼(けん) • (ken) 

1. doing two or more things at the same time
2. holding two or more government offices at the same time

Derived terms

• 兼(けん)す (kensu), 兼(けん)ず (kenzu)

Proper noun

兼(けん) • (Ken) 

1. a male given name

References

1. “兼”, in 漢字ぺディア (Kanjipedia)‎ (in Japanese), 日本漢字能力検定協会, 2015—2023
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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Korean

Hanja

兼 (eumhun 겸할 겸 (gyeomhal gyeom))

1. Hanja form^? of 겸 (“unite, connect, combine”).

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Vietnamese

Han character

兼: Hán Nôm readings: kiêm

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