麒麟

麒麟

Chinese

		male unicorn	female unicorn
trad. (麒麟)		麒	麟
simp. #(麒麟)		麒	麟
alternative forms		騏驎 obsolete 麒麐／麒麟 obsolete

麒麟 (qilin)

Etymology

Qilin was a propitious beast in ancient Chinese mythology, with the shape of a deer, tail of an ox, a single horn and scales all over its body. Old Chinese pronunciation for this word was *g(ɯ)-rin (Zhengzhang), and in pre-Qin times the beast was also referred to as

• 麟 (OC *rin),
• 麐 (OC *m·rin, *m·rins),
• 𪊓, or
• 蔽 (OC *peds),

the last two having been attested in the oracle bone script already. This is much debate as to what animal the qilin beast was; some maintain that the qilin was a beast only found in mythology, even though it may have been based on some animal in pre-historic times, and some argue that the qilin was in reality the river deer, the ox or cow, or the Indian rhinoceros (Wang, 2009).

During the Song–Ming Dynasties, the giraffe was introduced to China, either by envoys from other Asian or African countries, or through Zheng He who commanded multiple expeditionary voyages to Asia and Africa (Zhang, 2007). Besides using the transcription 祖剌法 (zǔlàfǎ) (from Arabic زُرَافَة‎ (zurāfa, “giraffe”)) to name the animal, the Chinese also referred to it as qilin, believing it was the prototype of the mythological beast qilin. Such association may be due to the phonological similarity of the words for “giraffe” in North African languages, to the pronunciation of 麒麟 at the time (i.e. a phono-semantic matching) (Zhang, 2007). Compare:

Somali geri (“giraffe”), Sango kôlo, Amharic ቀጭኔ (ḳäč̣ne), Kazakh керік (kerık), Mursi kirin[1] and Arabic زَرَافَة‎ (zarāfa), زُرَافَة‎ (zurāfa) (whence English giraffe).

The “giraffe” sense of 麒麟 is obsolete in most varieties of modern Chinese, but is preserved in the Sinoxenic loanwords in Japanese (麒(き)麟(りん) (kirin)) and Korean (기린). In modern Vietnamese (kì lân), this word refers to the beast qilin, as well as the western mythological beast unicorn.

Janhunen (2011) tentatively compares 麒麟 (OC *ɡɯ rin) to a Northeast Asian etymon *kalimV, which denotes either "whale" or "mammoth"; however, he cautiously remarks that "[t]he formal and semantic similarity between *kilin < *gilin ~ *gïlin 'unicorn' and *kalimV 'whale' (but also Samoyedic *kalay- 'mammoth') is sufficient to support, though perhaps not confirm, the hypothesis of an etymological connection". He also notes a possible connection between Old Chinese and Mongolian (*)kers ~ (*)keris ~ (*)kiris "rhinoceros" (> Khalkha Mongolian хирс (xirs)).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qílín

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧˊ ㄌㄧㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): kei⁴ leon⁴, kei⁴ leon^4-2
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): khî-lîn
• Min Dong (BUC): gì-lìng
• Min Nan (POJ): kî-lîn / khî-lîn
• Wu (Wiktionary): jji lin (T3)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qílín
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧˊ ㄌㄧㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cílín
    • Wade–Giles: chʻi²-lin²
    • Yale: chí-lín
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chyilin
    • Palladius: цилинь (cilinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi³⁵ lin³⁵/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 淇淋 麒麐／麒麟 麒麟

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: kei⁴ leon⁴, kei⁴ leon^4-2
    • Yale: kèih lèuhn, kèih léun
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kei⁴ loen⁴, kei⁴ loen^4-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: kéi⁴ lên⁴, kéi⁴ lên^4-2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰei̯²¹ lɵn²¹/, /kʰei̯²¹ lɵn²¹⁻³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khî-lîn
    • Hakka Romanization System: ki´ lin´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ki¹ lin¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰi²⁴⁻¹¹ lin²⁴/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gì-lìng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ki⁵³⁻³³ l̃iŋ⁵³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kî-lîn
    • Tâi-lô: kî-lîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiliin
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou): /ki²⁴⁻²² lin²⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ki²⁴⁻¹¹ lin²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ki¹³⁻²² lin¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ki²³⁻³³ lin²³/
  • (Hokkien: Longyan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khî-lîn
    • Tâi-lô: khî-lîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qiliin
    • IPA (Longyan): /kʰi¹¹ lin¹¹/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: jji lin (T3)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /d̥͡ʑi²² lɪɲ⁴⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: /ɡɨ  liɪn/

Rime
Character	麒	麟
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	群 (30)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	之 (19)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	渠之切	力珍切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɡɨ/	/liɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/ɡɨ/	/lin/
Shao Rongfen	/ɡie/	/ljen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/gɨ/	/lin/
Li Rong	/ɡiə/	/liĕn/
Wang Li	/ɡĭə/	/lĭĕn/
Bernard Karlgren	/gi/	/li̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qí	lín
Expected Cantonese Reflex	kei4	lan4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡɯ  rin/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	麒	麟
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	9956	8201
Phonetic component	其	粦
Rime group	之	眞
Rime subdivision	0	1
Corresponding MC rime	其	㷠
Old Chinese	/*ɡɯ/	/*rin/

Noun

麒麟

1. (Chinese mythology) qilin (propitious mythological beast) (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn)

   • 豈惟民哉？麒麟之於走獸，鳳凰之於飛鳥，太山之於丘垤，河海之於行潦，類也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     岂惟民哉？麒麟之于走兽，凤凰之于飞鸟，太山之于丘垤，河海之于行潦，类也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Qǐ wéi mín zāi? Qílín zhī yú zǒushòu, fènghuáng zhī yú fēiniǎo, Tàishān zhī yú qiūdié, hé hǎi zhī yú xíngliáo, lèi yě. [Pinyin]

     Is it only among men that it is so? There is the Qilin among quadrupeds, the Fenghuang (phoenix) among birds, the Tai mountain among mounds and ant-hills, and rivers and seas among rain-pools. Though different in degree, they are the same in kind.

2. (figurative, literary) outstanding person; man of ability
3. (literary or Taiwanese Hokkien) giraffe (ruminant of the genus Giraffa) (Classifier: 隻／只 mn)

Synonyms

• (outstanding person):

edit

Synonyms of 麒麟

大器 (dàqì) (figurative) 大材 (dàcái) (literary) 英才 (yīngcái) 茂士 (màoshì) (literary) 高能 (gāonéng) (literary)

絕才／绝才 (juécái) (literary) 豪傑／豪杰 (háojié) (literary) 賢材／贤材 (xiáncái) (literary) 鸞鳳／鸾凤 (luánfèng) (archaic) 龍虎／龙虎 (lónghǔ) (figurative)

• (giraffe):

Dialectal synonyms of 長頸鹿 (“giraffe”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		長頸鹿
Taxonomic name		長頸鹿
Mandarin	Beijing	長脖兒鹿
	Taiwan	長頸鹿
	Ürümqi	長脖兒鹿
	Liuzhou	長頸鹿
	Singapore	長頸鹿
Cantonese	Hong Kong	長頸鹿
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	長頸鹿
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	長頸鹿
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	長頸鹿
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	長頸鹿
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	長頸鹿
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	長頸鹿
Min Nan	Xiamen	長頸鹿, 長頷鹿
	Taipei (Wanhua)	長頭鹿
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	長頭鹿
	Kaohsiung	麒麟仔
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	長頷頸
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	長鹿仔
	Yilan	長頷鹿
	Yilan (Toucheng)	躼跤鹿仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	麒麟鹿
	Taichung	麒麟
	Taichung (Wuqi)	麒麟鹿
	Tainan	長頷鹿
	Taitung	長頷鹿
	Hsinchu	長頷鹿
	Penghu (Magong)	長頷鹿
	Penang (Hokkien)	麒麟鹿, 長頸鹿
	Singapore (Hokkien)	麒麟鹿, 長跤鹿, 長頸鹿

Derived terms

天上麒麟 麒麟文化 麒麟果 (qílínguǒ) 麒麟楦 (qílínxuàn) 麒麟殿 麒麟童 麒麟送子

麒麟鞭 麒麟鹿 拋麒麟／抛麒麟 瞪著麒麟說是馬／瞪着麒麟说是马 麒麟兒／麒麟儿 (qílín'ér) 麒麟閣／麒麟阁 麒麟陣／麒麟阵

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (麒麟):

• → Japanese: 麒(き)麟(りん) (kirin)
• → Korean: 기린(麒麟) (girin)
• → Vietnamese: kì lân (麒麟)

Others:

• → Thai: กิเลน (gì-leen)
• → Zhuang: geizlaenz, gizlinz

Proper noun

麒麟

1. (～區) Qilin District (district in Qujing, Yunnan province, China)
2. (～鎮) Qilin (a town in Zongyang, Tongling, Anhui, China)

References

1. David Turton, Mozes Yigezu, Oilsarali Olibui, Mursi-English-Amharic Dictionary, 2009

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Japanese

FWOTD – 27 December 2021

Kanji in this term
麒	麟
き Jinmeiyō	りん Jinmeiyō
kan’on	on’yomi

Alternative spellings
騏驎 (general use) キリン (giraffe, beer)

• 
  麒麟 (kirin): a statue of a qilin, also known as the Chinese unicorn.
• 
  麒麟 (kirin): a giraffe.

Etymology

From Old Japanese, in turn from Middle Chinese 麒麟 (MC ɡɨ liɪn). First cited in Japanese to the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]

The giraffe sense was probably based on a superficial resemblance between certain depictions of the mythical beast and the patterning and body shape of the real animal: a tailed, hoofed, and horned quadruped with a vaguely leopard-like spot pattern. First cited in Japanese to a text from 1798.[1]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) きりん [kìríń] (Heiban – [0])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [kʲiɾʲĩɴ]

Noun

麒(き)麟(りん) • (kirin) 

1. [from 720] 麒麟, 騏驎: (mythology, Chinese mythology) a qilin
   • 2010 May 23, Aoyama, Gosho, “ＦＩＬＥ(ファイル).５(ご)　青(せい)龍(りゅう) [FILE 5: Azure Dragon]”, in 名(めい)探(たん)偵(てい)コナン [Legendary Detective Conan], volume 68 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN:

     それは動(どう)物(ぶつ)のキリン！問(もん)題(だい)の麒(き)麟(りん)は…全(ぜん)身(しん)が黄(き)色(いろ)い鱗(うろこ)で覆(おお)われていて、姿(すがた)は鹿(しか)、牛(うし)の尾(お)と馬(うま)の蹄(ひづめ)を持(も)ち、龍(りゅう)に似(に)た頭(あたま)から１(いっ)本(ぽん)角(つの)が生(は)えてる…中(ちゅう)国(ごく)の伝(でん)説(せつ)上(じょう)の神(しん)獣(じゅう)だよ！

     Sore wa dōbutsu no kirin! Mondai no kirin wa… Zenshin ga kiiroi uroko de ōwarete ite, sugata wa shika, ushi no o to uma no hizume o mochi, ryū ni nita atama kara ippon tsuno ga haete ru… Chūgoku no densetsu jō no shinjū da yo!

     That’s giraffe(kirin) the animal! The qilin(kirin) we’re talking about… has a deer-like body covered in golden scales, with a cow’s tail and a horse’s hooves, and with a single horn growing from its dragonish head… It’s a mythical beast from Chinese legends!

2. [date unknown] 麒麟, 騏驎: (shogi) the kirin, a piece in chūshōgi and larger shogi variants
3. [from 1798] 麒麟, 騏驎, キリン: a giraffe (mammal)

   Synonym: ジラフ (jirafu)

   • 2010 May 23, Aoyama, Gosho, “ＦＩＬＥ(ファイル).５(ご)　青(せい)龍(りゅう) [FILE 5: Azure Dragon]”, in 名(めい)探(たん)偵(てい)コナン [Legendary Detective Conan], volume 68 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN:

     それは動(どう)物(ぶつ)のキリン！問(もん)題(だい)の麒(き)麟(りん)は…全(ぜん)身(しん)が黄(き)色(いろ)い鱗(うろこ)で覆(おお)われていて、姿(すがた)は鹿(しか)、牛(うし)の尾(お)と馬(うま)の蹄(ひづめ)を持(も)ち、龍(りゅう)に似(に)た頭(あたま)から１(いっ)本(ぽん)角(つの)が生(は)えてる…中(ちゅう)国(ごく)の伝(でん)説(せつ)上(じょう)の神(しん)獣(じゅう)だよ！

     Sore wa dōbutsu no kirin! Mondai no kirin wa… Zenshin ga kiiroi uroko de ōwarete ite, sugata wa shika, ushi no o to uma no hizume o mochi, ryū ni nita atama kara ippon tsuno ga haete ru… Chūgoku no densetsu jō no shinjū da yo!

     That’s giraffe(kirin) the animal! The qilin(kirin) we’re talking about… has a deer-like body covered in golden scales, with a cow’s tail and a horse’s hooves, and with a single horn growing from its dragonish head… It’s a mythical beast from Chinese legends!

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as キリン.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 麒(き)麟(りん)角(かく) (kirinkaku)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)閣(かく) (KirinKaku)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)菊(ぎく) (kiringiku)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)竭(けつ) (kirinketsu)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)座(ざ) (Kirin-za, “Camelopardalis”)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)菜(さい) (kirinsai)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)児(じ) (kirinji, “rising star”)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)草(そう) (kirinsō)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)欄(らん) (kirinran)
• 麒(き)麟(りん)羚(れい)羊(よう) (kirin reiyō, “gerenuk”)

See also

• 麒麟 (mythology) on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Qilin on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• キリン (giraffe) on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Giraffe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

1. “麒麟・騏驎”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
4. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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Korean

Hanja in this term
麒	麟

Noun

麒麟 • (girin or McCune-Reischauer: kirin or Yale: kilin) (hangeul 기린)

1. Hanja form^? of 기린 (“giraffe; qilin”).

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Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
麒	麟

Noun

麒麟

1. chữ Hán form of kì lân (“qilin”).