鯤

鯤

See also: 鲲

鯤 U+9BE4, 鯤 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9BE4 ← 鯣 [U+9BE3] CJK Unified Ideographs 鯥 → [U+9BE5]

Translingual

Han character

鯤 (Kangxi radical 195, 魚+8, 19 strokes, cangjie input 弓火日心心 (NFAPP), four-corner 2631₁, composition ⿰魚昆)

See also

• 鲲

References

• KangXi: page 1473, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46247
• Dae Jaweon: page 2005, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4696, character 1
• Unihan data for U+9BE4

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Chinese

FWOTD – 31 October 2021

trad.		鯤
simp.		鲲
alternative forms		鵾／鹍 鰥／鳏 𩽞 𩻋

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
昆	*kuːn
琨	*kuːn
鯤	*kuːn
菎	*kuːn
崐	*kuːn
蜫	*kuːn
惃	*kuːn, *kuːnʔ
錕	*kuːn, *kuːnʔ
猑	*kuːn
騉	*kuːn
緄	*kuːnʔ
輥	*kuːnʔ
棍	*kuːns, *ɡuːnʔ
餛	*ɡuːn
混	*ɡuːnʔ
焜	*ɡuːnʔ
倱	*ɡuːnʔ
掍	*ɡuːnʔ
箟	*kʰrun

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kuːn) : semantic 魚 (“fish”) + phonetic 昆 (OC *kuːn).

Etymology

“fish roe”

Related to 昆 (OC *kuːn, “descendants”) (Ye, 2014). See there for more.

“kun (sea monster)”

Perhaps related to 鵾 (“large bird”) (Liu, 1999).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kūn (kun¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄣ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou, Jyutping): kwan¹, gwan¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): kun¹

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): khûn

  (Meixian, Guangdong): kun¹

• Min Dong (BUC): kŏng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): khun

  (Teochew, Peng'im): kung¹

• Wu (Wiktionary): kun (T1)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kūn
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kun
    • Wade–Giles: kʻun¹
    • Yale: kwūn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kuen
    • Palladius: кунь (kunʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰwən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: kwan¹, gwan¹
    • Yale: kwān, gwān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kwan¹, gwan¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: kuen¹, guen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷʰɐn⁵⁵/, /kʷɐn⁵⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: kun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰun³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khûn
    • Hakka Romanization System: kun´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kun¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰun²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: kun¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰun⁴⁴/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: kŏng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰouŋ⁵⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khun
    • Tâi-lô: khun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qwn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰun³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰun⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: kung¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khung
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰuŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: kun (T1)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɯə̯ɲ⁵³/

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• Middle Chinese: /kuən/

Rime
Character	鯤
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	魂 (55)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古渾切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuən/
Pan Wuyun	/kuon/
Shao Rongfen	/kuən/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kwən/
Li Rong	/kuən/
Wang Li	/kuən/
Bernard Karlgren	/kuən/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gūn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gwan1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*kuːn/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	鯤
Reading #	1/1
No.	7521
Phonetic component	昆
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	昆
Old Chinese	/*kuːn/

Definitions

鯤

1. (literary) fish roe; fry; spawn

   alt. forms: 卵

   • 且夫山不槎蘗，澤不伐夭，魚禁鯤鮞 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     且夫山不槎蘗，泽不伐夭，鱼禁鲲鲕 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

     Qiěfú shān bù chá bò, zé bù fá yāo, yú jìn kūn ér [Pinyin]

     Moreover, the mountains do not fell the cork trees; the marshes do not cut down the young shoots; the fish protect their roe and fry

2. (Chinese mythology) kun, a large fish that transforms into a roc (鵬／鹏 (péng))

   • 鯤之大，不知其幾千里也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     鲲之大，不知其几千里也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Kūn zhī dà, bùzhī qí jǐ qiān lǐ yě. [Pinyin]

     The size of the kun, I do not know how many thousand li it is.

Compounds

脩鯤／脩鲲 靈鯤／灵鲲 青鯤／青鲲 鮞鯤／鲕鲲 鯤化／鲲化 鯤壑／鲲壑 鯤子／鲲子 鯤島／鲲岛 (Kūndǎo) 鯤弦／鲲弦 鯤池／鲲池

鯤洋／鲲洋 鯤海／鲲海 鯤絃／鲲弦 鯤身／鲲身 鯤雞／鲲鸡 鯤魚／鲲鱼 鯤鮑／鲲鲍 鯤鮞／鲲鲕 鯤鯁／鲲鲠

鯤鯓／鲲鯓 鯤鯨／鲲鲸 鯤鱗／鲲鳞 鯤鳳／鲲凤 鯤鵬／鲲鹏 (kūnpéng) 鯤鵬展翅／鲲鹏展翅 鯤龍／鲲龙 鯨鯤／鲸鲲 鵬鯤／鹏鲲

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (鯤):

• → Japanese: 鯤(こん) (kon)
• → Korean: 곤(鯤) (gon)
• → Vietnamese: côn (鯤)

References

• “鯤”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), B05981

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Japanese

Kanji

鯤

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

1. large mythical fish
2. roe

Readings

• Go-on: こん (kon)
• Kan-on: こん (kon)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
鯤
こん Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 鯤 (MC kuən).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) こ​ん [kóꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
• IPA^(key): [kõ̞ɴ]

Noun

鯤(こん) • (kon) 

1. (Chinese mythology) a mythological giant fish that is several thousand 里 (ri, “leagues”) long and that lives in the northern seas

References

1. 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

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Korean

Hanja

鯤 • (gon) (hangeul 곤, revised gon, McCune–Reischauer kon, Yale kon)

1. (곤이 곤, gon-i-): roe; very young fish
2. (곤어 곤, gon-eo-): mythical fish of an unaccountable length