武

武	U+6B66, 武 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6B66

← 步
[U+6B65]

CJK Unified Ideographs

歧 →
[U+6B67]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

武 (Kangxi radical 77, 止+4, 8 strokes, cangjie input 一心卜中一 (MPYLM), four-corner 1314₀, composition ⿻一⿹弋止)

Derived characters

倵, 𫪗, 𪣥, 娬, 𢯞, 陚, 斌, 𭨹, 𣓸, 𭮗, 𪸵, 珷, 𬑘, 𮀃, 碔, 𫀐, 賦(赋), 䟼, 錻, 𬷜, 𤭎, 𭭫, 虣, 𢎔, 鵡(鹉), 𫈓, 𮦔, 䝾, 𫛁

Descendants

む (Hiragana character derived from Man'yōgana)

References

KangXi: page 575, character 9
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 16273
Dae Jaweon: page 965, character 8
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1439, character 5
Unihan data for U+6B66

Chinese

simp. and trad.		武

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
賦	*mpas
陚	*mpas
武	*maʔ
鵡	*maʔ
珷	*maʔ
碔	*maʔ
娬	*maʔ

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 戈 (“blade”) + 止 (“foot; to walk; to stop”) – army going on an expedition. In the character 武, the 戈 component is written above the 止 component.

The graphical origin of 武 as “to stop violence” — the ultimate state of just warfare — is traditionally attributed to King Zhuang of Chu [597 BCE]:

楚子曰：「非爾所知也。夫文，止戈為武。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

楚子曰：“非尔所知也。夫文，止戈为武。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

Chǔ Zǐ yuē: “Fēi ěr suǒ zhī yě. Fú wén, zhǐ gē wéi wǔ.” [Pinyin]

Said Lord "Chǔ" (楚): “Not exactly as what you might have believed. The term itself, means: stopping ("止") the blades ("戈") thus martiality ("武").”

Linguistically, this was likely a misinterpretation, as 止 always means “to walk” (趾) when used as a radical, compare 步, 歷 and 歧.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-mak (“war, army, soldier”). Cognate with Tibetan དམག (dmag, “army”), Burmese မက် (mak) (as in ရဲမက် (rai:mak, “soldier”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007; Sagart, 2017d).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wǔ (wu³)
(Zhuyin): ㄨˇ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou, Jyutping): mou⁵
(Taishan, Wiktionary): mu⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): vú / vû
(Meixian, Guangdong): vu¹
Min Bei (KCR): ǔ
Min Dong (BUC): ū
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): bú
(Teochew, Peng'im): bhu²
Wu (Wiktionary): vu (T3)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: wǔ
  - Zhuyin: ㄨˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: wǔ
  - Wade–Giles: wu³
  - Yale: wǔ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wuu
  - Palladius: у (u)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /u²¹⁴/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: mou⁵
  - Yale: móuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: mou⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: mou⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou̯¹³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: mu⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ᵐbu²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: vú / vû
  - Hakka Romanization System: vu` / vu´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: vu³ / vu¹
  - Sinological IPA: /vu³¹/, /vu²⁴/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: vu¹
  - Sinological IPA: /ʋu⁴⁴/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ǔ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /u²¹/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: ū
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /u³³/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bú
  - Tâi-lô: bú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: buo
  - IPA (Xiamen): /bu⁵³/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /bu⁵⁵⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /bu⁵³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /bu⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /bu⁴¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: bhu²
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: bú
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /bu⁵²/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: vu (T3)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /v̥v̩ʷ²³/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 武
Mandarin	Beijing	/u²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/u²¹³/
	Tianjin	/u¹³/
	Jinan	/u⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/vu⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/u⁵³/
	Xi'an	/vu⁵³/
	Xining	/v̩⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/vu⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/vu⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/vu⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/u⁴²/
	Chengdu	/u⁵³/
	Guiyang	/u⁴²/
	Kunming	/u⁵³/
	Nanjing	/u²¹²/
	Hefei	/u²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/vu⁵³/
	Pingyao	/u⁵³/
	Hohhot	/vu⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/vu²³/
	Suzhou	/vu³¹/
	Hangzhou	/ʔu⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/vu³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/u³⁵/
Hui	Tunxi	/u³¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/u⁴¹/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/u⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/u²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/vu⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/vu³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/mou²³/
	Nanning	/mu²⁴/
	Hong Kong	/mou¹³/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/bu⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/u³²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/u²¹/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/bu⁵³/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/vu²¹³/

Middle Chinese: /mɨo^X/

Rime
Character	武
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	虞 (24)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	文甫切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mɨo^X/
Pan Wuyun	/mio^X/
Shao Rongfen	/mio^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/muə̆^X/
Li Rong	/mio^X/
Wang Li	/mĭu^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/mi̯u^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	wǔ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mou⁵

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*m(r)aʔ/
(Zhengzhang): /*maʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	武
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	wǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ mju^X ›
Old Chinese	/*m(r)aʔ/
English	military
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	武
Reading #	1/1
No.	13184
Phonetic component	武
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	武
Old Chinese	/*maʔ/

Definitions

武

military (related to warfare, fighting)
動武／动武 ― dòngwǔ ― to use force (to fight, start a war, etc.)
martial arts; wushu
武術／武术 ― wǔshù ― martial arts
比武 ― bǐwǔ ― to compete in a martial arts contest
valiant; brave; courageous
勇武 ― yǒngwǔ ― valiant; courageous
soldier; warrior
玄武 ― Xuánwǔ ― Black Turtle (lit. "Black Warrior") (one of the Four Symbols among the constellations in Chinese astronomy)
- 夫死生同域，不可脅陵，勇武一人，為三軍雄。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  夫死生同域，不可胁陵，勇武一人，为三军雄。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Huainanzi, 2^nd century BCE
  Fú sǐshēng tóng yù, bùkě xiélíng, yǒngwǔ yīrén, wéi sānjūn xióng. [Pinyin]
  One for whom death and life are the same territory, who cannot be threatened, such a single brave warrior is the hero of the Three Armies.
footstep; footprint
Classifier for half steps.
(obsolete) to inherit
a surname
武則天／武则天 ― Wǔ Zétiān ― Wu Zetian (the only legitimate female sovereign in the history of China)

Compounds

Derived terms from 武

一元大武
下武
不文不武
乃文乃武
乃武乃文
仁武 (Rénwǔ)
修文偃武
修武 (Xiūwǔ)
偃武修文
允文允武
光武 (Guāngwǔ)
全武行 (quánwǔháng)
勇武 (yǒngwǔ)
化武 (huàwǔ)
右武
周武王
大武 (Dàwǔ)
太武山
太空武器
威武 (wēiwǔ)
威武不屈
孔武有力 (kǒngwǔyǒulì)
寒武系
尚武 (shàngwǔ)
常武
才兼文武
捷武
文修武偃
文德武功
文恬武嬉
文武 (wénwǔ)
文武之道
文武全才
文武百官 (wénwǔbǎiguān)
文治武功
晁公武
朱洪武
材武
核子武器 (hézǐ wǔqì)
核武器 (héwǔqì)
步武 (bùwǔ)
步武堂皇
武丁
武不善作
武丑
武事 (wǔshì)
武人 (wǔrén)
武仙座 (Wǔxiānzuò)
武偃文修
武力 (wǔlì)
武功 (wǔgōng)
武功片
武器 (wǔqì)
武城弦歌
武士 (wǔshì)
武士刀 (wǔshìdāo)
武士道 (wǔshìdào)
武大郎
武夫 (wǔfū)
武夷山 (Wǔyíshān)
武媚
武安 (Wǔ'ān)
武官 (wǔguān)
武家坡
武工
武庚
武弁
武德 (wǔdé)
武成王
武打 (wǔdǎ)
武把子
武旦 (wǔdàn)
武昌 (Wǔchāng)
武昌剩竹
武昌市
武曲星
武松
武林 (wǔlín)
武清 (Wǔqīng)
武火 (wǔhuǒ)
武生
武科
武穴 (Wǔxué)

武英殿
武行
武警 (wǔjǐng)
武象
武道 (wǔdào)
武陟 (Wǔzhì)
武陵 (Wǔlíng)
武陵源
比武 (bǐwǔ)
泰武 (Tàiwǔ)
洪武 (Hóngwǔ)
演武 (yǎnwǔ)
演武修文
玄武 (Xuánwǔ)
玄武岩 (xuánwǔyán)
玄武湖
生物武器 (shēngwù wǔqì)
用武 (yòngwǔ)
用武之地
百武彗星
真武大帝 (Zhēnwǔ Dàdì)
真武山 (Zhēnwǔshān)
祖武
神武
能文善武
英武 (yīngwǔ)
赳赳武夫 (jiūjiūwǔfū)
踵武
重武器
雄武
魏道武帝
梁武帝
武后
殷武
偃武興文／偃武兴文
光武中興／光武中兴
克繩祖武／克绳祖武
努納武特／努纳武特 (Nǔnàwǔtè)
動武／动武 (dòngwǔ)
勝之不武／胜之不武 (shèngzhībùwǔ)
化學武器／化学武器 (huàxué wǔqì)
圓桌武士／圆桌武士
大武壠族／大武垅族 (Dàwǔlóngzú)
奮武揚威／奋武扬威
宮本武藏／宫本武藏
寒武紀／寒武纪 (Hánwǔ Jì)
常規武器／常规武器
廣武／广武
廣武嘆／广武叹
弄文輕武／弄文轻武
我武維揚／我武维扬
揚威耀武／扬威耀武
攜手接武／携手接武
整軍經武／整军经武
文修武備／文修武备
文東武西／文东武西
文武兼備／文武兼备
文武兼濟／文武兼济
文武兼資／文武兼资
文武場／文武场
文武挑兒／文武挑儿
文武雙全／文武双全 (wénwǔshuāngquán)
文經武略／文经武略
文經武緯／文经武纬
文韜武略／文韬武略
文韜武韜／文韬武韬
新廣武／新广武 (Xīnguǎngwǔ)
晉武帝／晋武帝
棄文就武／弃文就武
棄武修文／弃武修文
棄武競文／弃武竞文
楊乃武／杨乃武
止戈為武／止戈为武 (zhǐgēwéiwǔ)
武俠／武侠 (wǔxiá)
武俠小說／武侠小说
武備／武备
武則天／武则天
武勝關／武胜关 (Wǔshèngguān)
武南鐵路／武南铁路 (Wǔnántiělù)
武員／武员
武場／武场 (wǔchǎng)
武壇／武坛

武威縣／武威县
武學／武学
武將／武将 (wǔjiàng)
武工隊／武工队
武師／武师
武庫／武库
武廟／武庙 (wǔmiào)
武戲／武戏
武斷／武断 (wǔduàn)
武昌起義／武昌起义 (Wǔchāng Qǐyì)
武會／武会
武林舊事／武林旧事
武漢／武汉 (Wǔhàn)
武漢三鎮／武汉三镇
武當山／武当山 (Wǔdāng Shān)
武當派／武当派
武聖／武圣 (Wǔshèng)
武職／武职 (wǔzhí)
武舉／武举 (wǔjǔ)
武藝／武艺 (wǔyì)
武術／武术 (wǔshù)
武術指導／武术指导
武衛／武卫
武裝／武装 (wǔzhuāng)
武裝中立／武装中立
武裝力量／武装力量 (wǔzhuāng lìliàng)
武裝警察／武装警察 (wǔzhuāngjǐngchá)
武裝部隊／武装部队 (wǔzhuāng bùduì)
武訓／武训
武進士／武进士
武鬥／武斗 (wǔdòu)
比武招親／比武招亲
洪武正韻／洪武正韵
湯武／汤武 (Tāng-Wǔ)
湯武革命／汤武革命
滿朝文武／满朝文武
演武廳／演武厅
漢光武帝／汉光武帝
漢武帝／汉武帝 (Hàn Wǔ Dì)
漢武故事／汉武故事
玄武門／玄武门
窮兵極武／穷兵极武
窮兵黷武／穷兵黩武 (qióngbīngdúwǔ)
竇武／窦武
細菌武器／细菌武器
經文緯武／经文纬武
經武／经武
經武緯文／经武纬文
緯武經文／纬武经文
練武／练武 (liànwǔ)
繩其祖武／绳其祖武
繩厥祖武／绳厥祖武
繼武／继武
習武／习武 (xíwǔ)
耀武揚威／耀武扬威 (yàowǔ yángwēi)
聖武／圣武
興文匽武／兴文匽武
舉武揚威／举武扬威
蘇武／苏武
蘇武牧羊／苏武牧羊
覿武／觌武
謀臣武將／谋臣武将 (móuchén wǔjiàng)
講武／讲武
貝奧武夫／贝奥武夫 (Bèi'àowǔfū)
趙武／赵武
趙武靈王／赵武灵王
較武論文／较武论文
輕武器／轻武器
重文輕武／重文轻武
鐵甲武士／铁甲武士
限武協定／限武协定
限武談判／限武谈判
陳武帝／陈武帝
靈武／灵武 (Língwǔ)
靈武縣／灵武县
非核武區／非核武区
韜戈偃武／韬戈偃武
顧炎武／顾炎武
飆武／飙武
鬥武／斗武
黷武／黩武 (dúwǔ)
黷武窮兵／黩武穷兵

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (武):

→ Japanese: 武(ぶ) (bu)
→ Korean: 무(武) (mu)
→ Vietnamese: võ (武), vũ (武)

Japanese

Kanji

武

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Go-on: む (mu, Jōyō)
Kan-on: ぶ (bu, Jōyō)
Kun: たけ (take); たけし (takeshi, 武し)
Nanori: う (u); お (o); たけし (takeshi); たける (takeru); たけん (taken); ん (n)

Compounds

武威(ぶい) (bui)
武(ぶ)運(うん) (buun)
武官(ぶかん) (bukan)
武器(ぶき) (buki)
武技(ぶぎ) (bugi)
武具(ぶぐ) (bugu)
武勲(ぶくん) (bukun)
武家(ぶけ) (buke)
武芸(ぶげい) (bugei)
武士(ぶし) (bushi)
武士(ぶし)道(どう) (bushidō)
武者(むしゃ) (musha)
武(ぶ)術(じゅつ) (bujutsu)
武将(ぶしょう) (bushō)
武人(ぶじん) (bujin)
武神(ぶじん) (bujin)
武装(ぶそう) (busō)
武道(ぶどう) (budō)
武勇(ぶゆう) (buyū)
武(ぶ)力(りょく) (buryoku)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
武
む Grade: 5
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 武 (mju^X, “military”).

The goon reading of mu, so likely the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Kan’on

IPA^(key): [mɯ̟ᵝ]

Affix

武(む) • (mu)

military, martial

Usage notes

Only found in compounds. Not as common as the bu reading.

Derived terms

武者(むしゃ) (musha): a warrior

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
武
ぶ Grade: 5
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 武 (mju^X, “military”).

The kan'on reading of bu, so likely a re-borrowing at a later stage of Middle Chinese, or from a dialectal variation in Middle Chinese.

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Kan’on

(Tokyo) ぶ [búꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
IPA^(key): [bɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

武(ぶ) • (bu)

courage, ferocity, valor
military power, force of arms
the act of carrying out military force: a battle, a war
the way of carrying out military force: strategy, tactics, martial arts
a military person: an officer, a soldier
(obsolete) a unit of length, equivalent to half of a 歩 (bu, six 尺 (shaku), roughly six feet or 1.8 meters), roughly equivalent to one yard or 90 centimeters

Synonyms

(courage): 武勇(ぶゆう) (buyū), 勇敢(ゆうかん) (yūkan)
(battle): 戦(いくさ) (ikusa)
(war): 戦争(せんそう) (sensō)
(strategy): 戦略(せんりゃく) (senryaku)
(tactics): 戦術(せんじゅつ) (senjutsu), 兵法(へいほう) (heihō)
(martial arts): 武(ぶ)術(じゅつ) (bujutsu)
(officer): 武官(ぶかん) (bukan)
(soldier): 武人(ぶじん) (bujin)

Derived terms

武威(ぶい) (bui): military power, military authority, military influence over something
武(ぶ)運(うん) (buun): military fortune, luck in battle
武衛(ぶえい) (buei): a bodyguard to an imperial prince; a shogun, a generalissimo
武恩(ぶおん) (buon): a favor received from a shogun or samurai family
武火(ぶか) (buka): a fierce fire, a raging fire
武(ぶ)学(がく) (bugaku): military studies
武官(ぶかん) (bukan): a military officer
武漢(ぶかん) (Bukan): Wuhan, China
武鑑(ぶかん) (bukan): in the Edo period, a registry listing all the samurai families by name, 家紋 (kamon, “family crest”), income, castles or other residences, and the names of any followers
武器(ぶき) (buki): a weapon
武技(ぶぎ) (bugi): martial technique: martial arts
武家(ぶけ) (buke): a samurai family; the samurai class
武芸(ぶげい) (bugei): military arts, military accomplishments
武具(ぶぐ) (bugu): military gear: more specifically, weapons and armor
武勲(ぶくん) (bukun): distinguished military service
武庫(ぶこ) (buko): an armory, a storage facility for military gear
武功(ぶこう) (bukō): military feats or exploits
武江(ぶこう) (Bukō): alternate name for 江戸 (Edo)
武(ぶ)骨(こつ) (bukotsu): clumsy, rude, oafish; useless, stupid; inconvenient; stiff and angular (of personality)
武左(ぶざ) (buza): boorish, hickish
武士(ぶし) (bushi): a warrior, a samurai
武事(ぶじ) (buji): military matters
武(ぶ)術(じゅつ) (bujutsu): martial arts
武昌(ぶしょう) (Bushō): Wuchang, China
武神(ぶしん) (bushin): a god of war
武臣(ぶしん) (bushin): a military minister, a minister of military affairs
武人(ぶじん) (bujin): a warrior, a soldier

Etymology 3

Ateji used in various names.

Proper noun

武(たけし) • (Takeshi)

a male given name

武(たける) • (Takeru)

a male given name

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Hanja

武 (eumhun 굳셀 무 (gutsel mu))

Hanja form^? of 무 (“military nobility; soldier, warrior; weaponry, weapons”).
Hanja form^? of 무 (“courage, honor”).
Hanja form^? of 무 (“martial arts, wushu; to demonstrate military force: strategy, tactics, martial arts”).

Compounds

무력 (武力, muryeok, “military force, armed might”)
무기 (武器, mugi, “weapon”)

Vietnamese

Han character

武: Hán Nôm readings: vũ, võ

A surname.

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN