膝

膝	U+819D, 膝 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-819D

← 膜
[U+819C]

CJK Unified Ideographs

膞 →
[U+819E]

Translingual

Han character

膝 (Kangxi radical 130, 肉+11, 15 strokes, cangjie input 月木人水 (BDOE), four-corner 7423₂, composition ⿰⺼桼)

Coordinate terms

肘

References

KangXi: page 993, character 4

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 29837

Dae Jaweon: page 1445, character 2

Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2106, character 11

Unihan data for U+819D

Chinese

trad.		膝
simp. ^#		膝
2nd round simp.		⿰月夕
alternative forms		厀䣛𦡩𦜔

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
漆	*sʰiɡ
桼	*sʰiɡ
膝	*siɡ
厀	*siɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *siɡ) : semantic ⺼ (“meat, body”) + phonetic 桼 (OC *sʰiɡ) – the knee.

Originally 厀, a phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *siɡ) : phonetic 桼 (OC *sʰiɡ) + semantic 卩 (“kneeling person”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xī, qī (xi¹, qi¹)
(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧ, ㄑㄧ
Cantonese (Jyutping): sat¹
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhit
(Meixian, Guangdong): qid⁵
Jin (Wiktionary): qieh⁴
Min Dong (BUC): chék
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): sit / chhek / chhiak
(Teochew, Peng'im): cag⁴
Wu (Wiktionary): xiq (T4)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xī
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: si
  - Wade–Giles: hsi¹
  - Yale: syī
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shi
  - Palladius: си (si)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi⁵⁵/
- (variant in Beijing dialect)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qī
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ci
  - Wade–Giles: chʻi¹
  - Yale: chī
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chi
  - Palladius: ци (ci)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: sat¹
  - Yale: sāt
  - Cantonese Pinyin: sat⁷
  - Guangdong Romanization: sed¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐt̚⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhit
  - Hakka Romanization System: qid`
  - Hagfa Pinyim: qid⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡ɕʰit̚²/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: qid⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡ɕʰit̚¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: qieh⁴
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡ɕʰiəʔ²/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chék
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɛiʔ²⁴/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sit
  - Tâi-lô: sit
  - Phofsit Daibuun: sid
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɕit̚⁵/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /ɕit̚³²/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhek
  - Tâi-lô: tshik
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zheg
  - IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡ɕʰiɪk̚³²/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiak
  - Tâi-lô: tshiak
  - Phofsit Daibuun: chiag
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡ɕʰiak̚⁵/

Note:

Quanzhou and Taiwan:
- sit - literary;
- chhek/chhiak - vernacular.

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: cag⁴
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshak
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰak̚²/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: xiq (T4)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɪʔ⁵⁵/

Middle Chinese: /siɪt̚/

Rime
Character	膝
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	眞 (48)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	息七切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siɪt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/sit̚/
Shao Rongfen	/sjet̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sit̚/
Li Rong	/siĕt̚/
Wang Li	/sĭĕt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/si̯ĕt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sat¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*s-tsik/
(Zhengzhang): /*siɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	膝
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xī
Middle Chinese	‹ sit ›
Old Chinese	/*s-tsik/
English	knee
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	膝
Reading #	1/1
No.	9928
Phonetic component	桼
Rime group	質
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	悉
Old Chinese	/*siɡ/
Notes	同厀

Definitions

膝

(anatomy) knee
膝蓋／膝盖 ― xīgài ― knee

Compounds

交臂屈膝
促膝
兜膝
卑躬屈膝 (bēigōng-qūxī)
容膝
屈膝 (qūxī)
拊膝
接膝
敝膝
胳膝
膝下 (xīxià)
膝反射
膝席
膝行 (xīxíng)
膝行肘步

膝袒
蔽膝 (bìxī)
裂裳裹膝
低頭屈膝／低头屈膝
低顏下膝／低颜下膝
促膝談心／促膝谈心
促膝長談／促膝长谈
兩手過膝／两手过膝
加膝墜淵／加膝坠渊
垂手過膝／垂手过膝
奴顏婢膝／奴颜婢膝 (núyánbìxī)
婢膝奴顏／婢膝奴颜
對膝／对膝
承歡膝下／承欢膝下 (chénghuān xīxià)

拍膝嗟歎／拍膝嗟叹
盤膝／盘膝
盤膝而坐／盘膝而坐
磕膝蓋／磕膝盖
竹夾膝／竹夹膝
膝下猶虛／膝下犹虚
膝癢搔背／膝痒搔背
膝蓋／膝盖 (xīgài)
膝蓋骨／膝盖骨 (xīgàigǔ)
膝褲／膝裤
膝頭／膝头 (xītóu)
護膝／护膝 (hùxī)
鶴膝／鹤膝
鶴膝風／鹤膝风

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 膝蓋 (“knee”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		膝
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		膝蓋
Mandarin	Beijing	波稜蓋兒, 胳稜瓣兒, 磕膝蓋兒
	Taiwan	膝蓋
	Tianjin	波稜蓋兒, 磕膝蓋兒, 脖拉蓋兒, 脖力蓋兒
	Langfang	波了蓋兒
	Tangshan	波稜蓋兒
	Cangzhou	波拉蓋兒
	Baoding	圪拉瓣兒
	Shijiazhuang	膝蓋兒, 磕膝蓋兒
	Daming	胳拉伴兒
	Ulanhot	波浪蓋兒
	Tongliao	波浪蓋兒
	Chifeng	簸籮蓋
	Bayanhot	波羅蓋
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	波浪蓋兒
	Harbin	簸稜蓋兒, 簸勒蓋兒
	Shenyang	波拉蓋兒
	Yantai (Muping)	波稜蓋
	Qingdao	波羅蓋兒
	Jinan	波勒蓋, 波拉蓋, 胳拉瓣兒
	Luoyang	不老蓋兒, 圪老拜兒
	Wanrong	圪膝蓋, 膝子蓋
	Zhengzhou	不牢蓋兒, 膝蓋
	Xi'an	磕膝蓋
	Yinchuan	波里蓋, 膝蓋
	Lanzhou	波膝蓋子, 玻璃蓋子
	Xining	波膝蓋
	Ürümqi	波膝蓋兒
	Wuhan	磕膝頭, 磕膝, 拱子
	Huanggang	色頭兒
	Chengdu	磕膝頭兒, 膝蓋
	Guiyang	磕膝頭
	Kunming	磕膝頭
	Guilin	膝蓋
	Liuzhou	波羅蓋, 腳膝蓋
	Xuzhou	胳老拜子, 膝蓋
	Yangzhou	磕膝頭子, 波羅蓋子 dated
	Nanjing	磕膝頭, 磕膝頭兒, 胳蓋兒
	Hefei	胳腦頭子, 胳腦頭, 磕膝頭
	Nantong	膝頭盤兒
	Changle (Qinjiang)	波羅蓋
	Singapore	膝蓋
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	磕膝蓋, 普膝蓋子
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	磕膝蓋, 磕膝蓋子, 洼膝羅子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	膝頭哥, 膝頭
	Hong Kong	膝頭哥, 膝頭
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	膝頭哥
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	膝頭蓋
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	膝頭
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	膝頭
	Macau	膝頭
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	膝頭哥
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	膝頭哥
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	膝頭牯
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	膝頭
	Foshan	膝頭哥
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	膝頭哥
	Foshan (Shunde)	膝頭哥
	Foshan (Sanshui)	膝頭哥
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	膝頭哥
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	膝頭哥
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	膝頭哥
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	膝頭
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	膝頭哥
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	膝頭哥
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	膝頭哥
	Taishan	膝頭哥, 膝頭
	Kaiping (Chikan)	膝頭哥
	Enping (Niujiang)	膝頭哥
	Heshan (Yayao)	膝頭蓋
	Dongguan	膝頭, 波羅蓋, 膝蓋
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	波羅蓋
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	膝頭
	Qingyuan	膝頭哥
	Fogang	膝頭哥
	Yingde (Hanguang)	膝頭牯
	Yangshan	膝頭牯
	Lianshan (Butian)	膝頭牯
	Lianzhou (Qingshui Sihui)	膝頭蓋
	Shaoguan	膝頭哥
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	膝頭哥
	Renhua	膝頭哥
	Lechang	膝頭哥
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	膝頭哥
	Sihui	膝頭哥
	Guangning	膝頭哥
	Deqing	膝頭牯, 膝頭哥
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	膝頭牯
	Yunfu	膝頭牯
	Xinxing	膝頭哥
	Luoding	膝頭哥
	Yunan (Pingtai)	膝頭牯
	Yangjiang	膝頭
	Xinyi	膝頭牯
	Lianjiang	膝頭
	Nanning	膝頭哥, 膝頭
	Wuzhou	膝頭
	Yulin	膝頭
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	膝蓋
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	膝頭哥
	Singapore (Guangfu)	膝頭哥
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	膝頭哥
Gan	Nanchang	膝頭, 膝頭蓋子, 磕膝, 磕膝頭子, 和尚
	Lichuan	膝頭公
	Pingxiang	膝頭牯
Hakka	Meixian	膝頭, 膝頭項
	Xingning	膝頭
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	膝頭
	Huizhou (Shuikou Bendihua)	膝頭
	Huizhou (Hengli Bendihua)	膝頭
	Huidong (Pingshan Bendihua)	膝頭
	Huidong (Daling)	膝頭
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	膝頭蓋
	Longmen (Pingling Bendihua)	膝頭
	Longmen (Luxi Bendihua)	膝頭, 膝頭牯
	Boluo (Bendihua)	膝頭
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	膝頭
	Zengcheng (Zhengguo)	膝頭牯
	Zhongshan (Wuguishan)	膝頭, 波羅蓋
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	波羅蓋
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	膝頭
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	膝頭
	Wuhua (Changbu)	膝頭
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	膝頭
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	膝頭
	Zijin (Guzhu Bendihua)	膝頭
	Longchuan (Tuocheng Bendihua)	膝頭
	Longchuan (Sidu Bendihua)	膝頭
	Heping (Linzhai Bendihua)	腳頭
	Lianping (Zhongxin Bendihua)	膝頭
	Lianping (Longjie Bendihua)	膝頭骨
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	膝頭牯
	Xinfeng (Matou Bendihua)	膝頭牯
	Xinfeng (Daxi Bendihua)	膝頭牯
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	腳頭牯
	Conghua (Lütian)	膝頭
	Jiexi	膝頭
	Changting	膝頭
	Wuping	膝頭
	Wuping (Pingyu)	膝頭
	Liancheng	膝頭卵
	Ninghua	膝頭拐, 膝頭腦
	Yudu	膝頭
	Ruijin	膝頭蓋子
	Shicheng	膝頭
	Shangyou (Shexi)	膝頭腦
	Taoyuan	膝頭
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	膝頭, 腳膝頭
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	膝頭, 腳膝頭
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	膝頭, 腳膝頭
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	膝頭, 腳膝頭
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	膝頭, 腳膝頭
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	膝頭, 腳膝頭
	Hong Kong	膝頭
	Luchuan	膝頭
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	膝頭, 膝蓋
	Sabah (Longchuan)	膝頭
	Senai (Huiyang)	膝頭
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	膝頭
	Singkawang	膝頭
Huizhou	Jixi	腳膝頭
	Shexian	腳膝頭
	Tunxi	腳膝頭
	Xiuning	腳膝頭
	Yixian	腳膝頭
	Qimen	腳膝頭
	Wuyuan	腳膝頭
Jin	Taiyuan	圪膝蓋, 圪地跪
	Pingyao	胳膝跪子
	Xinzhou	圪替跪, 圪膝蓋, 圪膝
	Taibus (Baochang)	圪膝蓋
	Linhe	波羅蓋, 波羅蓋子
	Jining	圪膝蓋
	Hohhot	圪膝蓋, 圪膝蓋兒, 圪膝
	Baotou	圪膝蓋
	Dongsheng	圪膝蓋
	Zhangjiakou	胳膝蓋兒
	Handan	胳老伴兒
Min Bei	Jian'ou	跤腹頭
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	跤腹頭
	Songxi	跤腹頭
	Zhenghe	跤腹頭
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	跤神頭, 跤腹頭
	Jianyang	跤腹頭
	Wuyishan	跤脊頭
	Pucheng (Shibei)	跤腹頭
Min Dong	Fuzhou	跤腹頭
	Fuqing	跤肚頭, 跤腹頭
	Gutian	跤腹頭
	Ningde	跤骨頭
	Zhouning	跤肚頭
	Fuding	跤腹頭
	Matsu	跤骨頭
Min Nan	Xiamen	跤頭趺
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	跤頭趺
	Quanzhou	跤頭趺
	Jinjiang	跤頭趺
	Yongchun	跤頭趺, 跤頭腕
	Dehua	跤頭趺
	Zhangzhou	跤頭趺, 跤尪仔
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	跤腕仔, 燈火仔
	Dongshan	跤頭趺
	Taipei	跤頭趺
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	跤頭腕
	Kaohsiung	跤頭趺, 跤頭腕
	Yilan	跤頭趺, 跤頭翁仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	跤腕, 跤頭趺, 跤趺
	Taichung	跤頭趺
	Taichung (Wuqi)	跤頭趺
	Tainan	跤頭趺, 跤頭腕
	Taitung	跤甕
	Hsinchu	跤頭趺
	Kinmen	跤頭趺
	Penghu (Magong)	跤頭趺, 跤頭腕
	Penang (Hokkien)	跤頭趺
	Singapore (Hokkien)	跤頭趺
	Manila (Hokkien)	跤頭趺
	Longyan	跤頭趺
	Zhangping	跤趺腕
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	跤趺
	Datian	跤趺頭
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	膝頭
	Chaozhou	跤頭趺
	Shantou	跤頭, 跤頭趺
	Shantou (Chenghai)	跤頭
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	跤頭
	Jieyang	跤頭趺
	Haifeng	跤頭趺
	Bangkok (Teochew)	跤頭趺
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	跤頭趺
	Leizhou	跤頭趺, 跤趺
	Wenchang	跤趺
	Haikou	跤趺臍, 跤趺
	Qionghai	跤趺
Puxian Min	Putian	跤肚頭
Puxian Min	Xianyou	跤肚頭
Min Zhong	Yong'an	跤頭節, 跤筒節, 跤際頭節, 跤仔頭
	Sanyuan	跤脊頭
	Shaxian	跤子頭
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	跤瀝頭
Zhongshan Min	Sanxiang	跤頭趺, 跤即頭
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	膝頭, 膝頭蓋, 膝頭尖
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	屈頭眼
Shehua	Fu'an	腳腹頭
	Fuding	腳腹頭
	Luoyuan	腳腹頭
	Sanming	腳腹頭
	Hua'an	腳腹頭
	Cangnan	腳腹頭
	Fengshun	腳腹頭
Wu	Shanghai	腳饅頭, 膝饅頭, 膝蓋
	Shanghai (Chongming)	膝饅頭
	Suzhou	腳饅頭, 膝饅頭
	Wuxi	膝饅頭
	Danyang	膝盤頭, 膝頭盤, 膝蓋, 膝蓋頭
	Hangzhou	腳髁頭, 膝髁頭, 腳膝髁頭
	Ningbo	腳髁頭
	Wenzhou	腳胐頭
	Jinhua	腳膝䯊
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	膝蓋, 腳膝髁頭
Xiang	Changsha	膝頭骨, 磕膝骨
	Xiangtan	膝頭牯, 膝蓋
	Loudi	膝頭牯
	Shuangfeng	膝頭骨
	Quanzhou	磕膝頭

Japanese

Kanji

膝

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

Go-on: しち (shichi)
Kan-on: しつ (shitsu)
Kun: ひざ (hiza, 膝, Jōyō)

Compounds

膝蓋(しつがい) (shitsugai): patella, kneecap
膝枕(ひざまくら) (hizamakura)

Kanji in this term
膝
ひざ Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *pinsa.

Pronunciation

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) ひざ [hìzá] (Heiban – [0])[1]
IPA^(key): [çiza̠]
Audio (file)

Noun

膝(ひざ) • (hiza)

knee
膝(ひざ)を抱(かか)える
hiza o kakaeru
to hug one's knees

References

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

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 膝 (MC siɪt̚).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	시ᇙ〮 (Yale: sílq)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527	무룹 (Yale: mwùlwùp)	슬〮 (Yale: súl)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰɯɭ]
Phonetic hangul: [슬]

Hanja

Wikisource膝 (eumhun 무릎 슬 (mureup seul))

Hanja form^? of 슬 (“knee”). [affix]

Compounds

슬하 (膝下, seulha)
슬골 (膝骨, seulgol)
슬개골 (膝蓋骨, seulgaegol)

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

膝: Hán Nôm readings: tất

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