社

社	U+793E, 社 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-793E

← 礽
[U+793D]

CJK Unified Ideographs

礿 →
[U+793F]

社	U+FA4C, 社 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-FA4C

← 碑
[U+FA4B]

CJK Compatibility Ideographs

祉 →
[U+FA4D]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

社 (Kangxi radical 113, 示+3, 7 strokes, cangjie input 戈火土 (IFG), four-corner 3421₀, composition ⿰礻土)

Derived characters

𠶈䀅

References

KangXi: page 839, character 26
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 24631
Dae Jaweon: page 1257, character 2
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2386, character 7
Unihan data for U+793E
Unihan data for U+FA4C

Chinese

simp. and trad.		社
alternative forms		䄕

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
社	*ɦljaːʔ
肚	ʔl'aːʔ, l'aːʔ
土	l̥ʰaːʔ, l'aːʔ
吐	l̥ʰaːʔ, l̥ʰaːs
芏	*l̥ʰaːʔ
杜	*l'aːʔ
靯	*l'aːʔ
荰	*l'aːʔ

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 示 (“god; deity”) + 土 (“soil”)

Etymology

Probably related to 土 (OC *l̥ʰaːʔ, “earth, soil”); Takashima (2004) considers them an etymological doublet.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): shè (she⁴)
(Zhuyin): ㄕㄜˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): se⁵
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): sa
(Meixian, Guangdong): sa¹
Min Bei (KCR): ià
Min Dong (BUC): siâ
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): siā / siǎ
(Teochew, Peng'im): sia⁶
Wu (Wiktionary): zo (T3)
Xiang (Wiktionary): she⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: shè
  - Zhuyin: ㄕㄜˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: shè
  - Wade–Giles: shê⁴
  - Yale: shè
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheh
  - Palladius: шэ (šɛ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɤ⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: se⁵
  - Yale: séh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: se⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: sé⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɛː¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sa
  - Hakka Romanization System: sa
  - Hagfa Pinyim: sa⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /sa⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: sa¹
  - Sinological IPA: /sa⁴⁴/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ià
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ia⁴²/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: siâ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siɑ²⁴²/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siā
  - Tâi-lô: siā
  - Phofsit Daibuun: sia
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /ɕia²²/
  - IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /ɕia³³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siǎ
  - Tâi-lô: siǎ
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɕia²²/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: sia⁶
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siă
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sia³⁵/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: zo (T3)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /z̥o²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: she⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /ʂɤ̞⁴⁵/
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /sɤ̞⁴⁵/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 社
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʂɤ⁵¹/
	Harbin	/ʂɤ⁵³/
	Tianjin	/ʂɤ⁵³/ /sɤ⁵³/
	Jinan	/ʂə²¹/
	Qingdao	/ʃə⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ʂʐ̩ɛ³¹²/
	Xi'an	/ʂɤ⁴⁴/
	Xining	/ʂɛ²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/ʂə¹³/
	Lanzhou	/ʂə¹³/
	Ürümqi	/ʂɤ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/sɤ³⁵/
	Chengdu	/se¹³/
	Guiyang	/t͡se²¹³/
	Kunming	/ʂə²¹²/
	Nanjing	/ʂae⁴⁴/ /ʂe⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/ʂe⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/sɤ⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/ʂʐ̩e̞³⁵/
	Hohhot	/sɤ⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/zo²³/
	Suzhou	/zo³¹/
	Hangzhou	/zz̩ʷei¹³/
	Wenzhou	/zei³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/ɕie³⁵/ /ɕia³⁵/
Hui	Tunxi	/ɕia²⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʂə⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/ʂe⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/sɑ²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/sa⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/ʃɑ⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/sɛ²³/
	Nanning	/sɛ²⁴/
	Hong Kong	/sɛ¹³/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/sia²²/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/sia²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/ia⁴²/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/sia³⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/te³³/ /se³⁵/ 俗

Middle Chinese: /d͡ʑia^X/

Rime
Character	社
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)
Final (韻)	麻 (100)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	常者切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑia^X/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑia^X/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑia^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑia^X/
Li Rong	/ʑia^X/
Wang Li	/ʑĭa^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʑi̯a^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shè
Expected Cantonese Reflex	se⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*m-tʰAʔ/
(Zhengzhang): /*ɦljaːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	社
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shè
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyæ^X ›
Old Chinese	/*m-tʰAʔ/
English	sacrifice to the spirit of the soil
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	社
Reading #	1/1
No.	12497
Phonetic component	土
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	社
Old Chinese	/*ɦljaːʔ/

Definitions

社

(historical) god of the soil
- 共工氏之霸九州也，其子曰后土，能平九州，故祀以為社。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  共工氏之霸九州也，其子曰后土，能平九州，故祀以为社。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE
  Gònggōng shì zhī bà Jiǔzhōu yě, qí zǐ yuē hòutǔ, néng píng Jiǔzhōu, gù sì yǐwéi shè. [Pinyin]
  Hou-tu, a son of the line of Gong-gong, that swayed the nine provinces, who was able to reduce them all to order, and was sacrificed to as the spirit of the ground.
(historical) altar for offering sacrifices to the god of the soil
- 昭子曰：「日有食之，天子不舉，伐鼓於社，諸侯用幣於社，伐鼓於朝，禮也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  昭子曰：“日有食之，天子不举，伐鼓于社，诸侯用币于社，伐鼓于朝，礼也。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Zhāozǐ yuē: “Rì yǒu shí zhī, tiānzǐ bùjǔ, fágǔ yú shè, zhūhóu yòng bì yú shè, fágǔ yú cháo, lǐ yě.” [Pinyin]
  Zhaozi said, "On the occurrence of an eclipse, the son of Heaven does not have his table fully spread, and causes the drum to be beaten at the alter of the land, while the princes of States present offerings of silk at that altar, and cause the drum to be beaten in their courts. This is the rule".
(historical) festival for offering sacrifices to the god of the soil
春社 ― chūnshè ― (please add an English translation of this example)
(historical) to offer sacrifices to the god of the soil
- 越翼日戊午，乃社于新邑。牛一，羊一，豕一。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE
  Yuè yìrì wùwǔ, nǎi shè yú xīnyì. Niú yī, yáng yī, shǐ yī. [Pinyin]
  and on the morrow, Wu-wu, at the altar to the spirit of the land in the new city, he sacrificed a bull, a ram, and a boar.
(historical) an ancient grass-root administrative unit
organized body; society; association
結社／结社 ― jiéshè ― to form an association
報社／报社 ― bàoshè ― newspaper publisher; newspaper office
agency (used for certain agencies that provide services)
旅行社 ― lǚxíngshè ― travel agency
a surname: She

Compounds

Derived terms from 社

一社 (yīshè)
中社 (Zhōngshè)
二社 (Èrshè)
人民公社 (rénmín gōngshè)
住宅旅社
公社 (gōngshè)
功在社稷
博社 (Bóshè)
合作社 (hézuòshè)
吟社
城狐社鼠
塔斯社 (Tǎsīshè)
大社 (Dàshè)
婚友社
宗社 (zōngshè)
屋社
崇她社
巴黎公社 (Bālí Gōngshè)
新社 (Xīnshè)
旅社 (lǚshè)
旅行社 (lǚxíngshè)
春社 (chūnshè)
棋社
榆社 (Yúshè)
民社
法新社 (Fǎxīnshè)
玄社
甓社湖
甓社珠
番社
社交 (shèjiāo)
社交舞
社公 (shègōng)
社家
社工 (shègōng)
社教
社日 (shèrì)
社火 (shèhuǒ)
社稷 (shèjì)
社稷之器
社稷之臣 (shèjì zhī chén)
社群 (shèqún)
社鬼
社鼓
社鼠 (shèshǔ)
社鼠城狐
福利社
秋社 (qiūshè)
稷蜂社鼠
股友社
茅社
茶社 (cháshè)
路透社 (Lùtòushè)
通信社 (tōngxìnshè)
郊社
酒社
金社 (Jīnshè)
里社
下流社會／下流社会
中介社團／中介社团
傳統社會／传统社会
僑社／侨社
出社會／出社会

原始社會／原始社会 (yuánshǐ shèhuì)
圓社／圆社
團社／团社
報社／报社 (bàoshè)
大同社會／大同社会
大眾社會／大众社会
封建社會／封建社会 (fēngjiàn shèhuì)
封閉社會／封闭社会
小康社會／小康社会 (xiǎokāng shèhuì)
工商社會／工商社会
工業社會／工业社会
幾社／几社
徵信社／征信社
扶輪社／扶轮社 (fúlúnshè)
新社區／新社区
新華社／新华社 (Xīnhuáshè)
書社／书社 (shūshè)
書香社會／书香社会 (shūxiāng shèhuì)
曹社之謀／曹社之谋
會社／会社 (huìshè)
服務社／服务社 (fúwùshè)
株式會社／株式会社 (zhūshì huìshè)
白蓮社／白莲社
示範社區／示范社区
社倉／社仓
社區／社区 (shèqū)
社區意識／社区意识
社區服務／社区服务 (shèqū fúwù)
社區發展／社区发展
社區資源／社区资源
社區電臺／社区电台
社區電視／社区电视
社員／社员 (shèyuán)
社團／社团 (shètuán)
社學／社学
社戲／社戏 (shèxì)
社會／社会 (shèhuì)
社會主義／社会主义 (shèhuì zhǔyì)
社會互動／社会互动 (shèhuì hùdòng)
社會保險／社会保险 (shèhuì bǎoxiǎn)
社會價值／社会价值
社會分工／社会分工 (shèhuì fēngōng)
社會制度／社会制度 (shèhuì zhìdù)
社會化／社会化 (shèhuìhuà)
社會問題／社会问题 (shèhuì wèntí)
社會地位／社会地位 (shèhuì dìwèi)
社會壓力／社会压力
社會失調／社会失调
社會契約／社会契约
社會學／社会学 (shèhuìxué)
社會安全／社会安全
社會局／社会局
社會工作／社会工作 (shèhuì gōngzuò)
社會建設／社会建设
社會心理／社会心理
社會性／社会性 (shèhuìxìng)
社會意識／社会意识
社會成本／社会成本
社會控制／社会控制
社會改革／社会改革 (shèhuì gǎigé)
社會政策／社会政策 (shèhuì zhèngcè)
社會救助／社会救助
社會救濟／社会救济

社會教育／社会教育
社會整合／社会整合
社會新聞／社会新闻
社會方言／社会方言 (shèhuì fāngyán)
社會服務／社会服务 (shèhuì fúwù)
社會活動／社会活动
社會現象／社会现象 (shèhuì xiànxiàng)
社會病態／社会病态
社會發展／社会发展
社會福利／社会福利 (shèhuì fúlì)
社會科學／社会科学 (shèhuì kēxué)
社會秩序／社会秩序 (shèhuì zhìxù)
社會立法／社会立法
社會群島／社会群岛 (Shèhuì Qúndǎo)
社會群體／社会群体
社會行為／社会行为 (shèhuì xíngwéi)
社會規範／社会规范 (shèhuì guīfàn)
社會角色／社会角色 (shèhuì juésè)
社會調查／社会调查
社會調適／社会调适
社會變遷／社会变迁
社會賢達／社会贤达
社會運動／社会运动
社會關係／社会关系
社會階級／社会阶级 (shèhuì jiējí)
社會革命／社会革命
社會風氣／社会风气 (shèhuì fēngqì)
社會體系／社会体系
社櫟／社栎
社稷為墟／社稷为墟
社評／社评 (shèpíng)
社論／社论 (shèlùn)
社長／社长 (shèzhǎng)
社頭／社头 (Shètóu)
祕密社會／秘密社会
祕密結社／秘密结社
福利社會／福利社会 (fúlì shèhuì)
結宗會社／结宗会社
結社／结社 (jiéshè)
緋綠社／绯绿社
美聯社／美联社 (Měiliánshè)
葬儀社／葬仪社
蓮社／莲社
詩社／诗社
貴社／贵社 (guìshè)
資訊社／资讯社
賽村社／赛村社
軍聞社／军闻社
農業社會／农业社会
通訊社／通讯社 (tōngxùnshè)
遏雲社／遏云社
部落社會／部落社会
鄉村社區／乡村社区
錦標社／锦标社
錦體社／锦体社
集會結社／集会结社
霧社／雾社
霧社事件／雾社事件 (Wùshè Shìjiàn)
靈安社／灵安社
靖國神社／靖国神社
黑社會／黑社会 (hēishèhuì)
鼠憑社貴／鼠凭社贵

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (社):

→ Japanese: 社(しゃ) (sha)
→ Korean: 사(社) (sa)
→ Vietnamese: xã (社)

Japanese

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

Kanji

社

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 社)

Readings

Go-on: じゃ (ja)
Kan-on: しゃ (sha, Jōyō)
Kun: やしろ (yashiro, 社, Jōyō); こそ (koso, 社)
Nanori: あり (ari); こそ (koso); たか (taka)

Compounds

社(しゃ)員(いん) (shain)
社(しゃ)会(かい) (shakai)
社(しゃ)交(こう) (shakō)
社(しゃ)寺(じ) (shaji)
社(しゃ)稷(しょく) (shashoku)
社(しゃ)団(だん) (shadan)
社(しゃ)長(ちょう) (shachō)
副(ふく)社(しゃ)長(ちょう) (fukushachō)
愛(あい)社(しゃ)精(せい)神(しん) (aishaseishin)
会(かい)社(しゃ) (kaisha)
会(かい)社(しゃ)員(いん) (kaishain)
支(し)社(しゃ) (shisha)
神(じん)社(じゃ) (jinja)
入(にゅう)社(しゃ) (nyūsha)
退(たい)社(しゃ) (taisha)
本(ほん)社(しゃ) (honsha)
末(まっ)社(しゃ) (massha)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
社
しゃ Grade: 2
kan’on

Alternative spelling
社 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 社 (MC d͡ʑia^X).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) しゃ [sháꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])[2] as a noun
IPA^(key): [ɕa̠]

Suffix

社(しゃ) • (-sha)

Short for 会社 (kaisha): company, co.
毎(まい)日新(にちしん)聞(ぶん)社(しゃ) ― Mainichi Shinbun-sha ― The Mainichi Newspapers [Company]
Note: when in parentheses, it is an abbreviation of 社団法人 (shadan hōjin), a type of incorporated association.
(historical, Taiwan under Japanese rule, specifically) aboriginal settlement
Coordinate term: 庄 (shō, “Han settlement”)

Coordinate terms

株(かぶ) (kabu, “incorporated, inc.”)
有(ゆう) (yū, “limited, Ltd.”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
社
やしろ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
社 (kyūjitai)

For pronunciation and definitions of 社 – see the following entry.

【やしろ】

[noun] (Shinto) a shrine

(This term, 社, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

References

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

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 社 (MC d͡ʑia^X).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	썅〯 (Yale: ssyǎ)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576	샤직 (Yale: syacik)	샤 (Yale: sya)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠]
Phonetic hangul: [사]

Hanja

Wikisource社 (eumhun 모일 사 (moil sa))

Hanja form^? of 사 (“company”). [noun]
Hanja form^? of 사 (“social”). [affix]

Compounds

사회 (社會, sahoe)
사직 (社稷, sajik)
사교 (社交, sagyo)
사설 (社說, saseol)
사원 (社員, sawon)
사원 (社員, sawon)
사장 (社長, sajang)
회사 (會社, hoesa)

References

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

Vietnamese

Han character

社: Hán Nôm readings: xã

rural commune (administrative subdivision of Vietnam)

Compounds

市社 (thị xã)

[1] “社”, in 漢字ぺディア (Kanjipedia)‎ (in Japanese), 日本漢字能力検定協会, 2015—2023

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN