南

南 U+5357, 南 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5357 ← 卖 [U+5356] CJK Unified Ideographs 単 → [U+5358]

Stroke order

南 (Kangxi radical 24, 十+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十月廿十 (JBTJ), four-corner 4022₇, composition ⿵𲓜𢆉)

• 㑲, 㓓, 喃, 𡎜, 婻, 𪩂, 㣮, 揇, 湳, 暔, 腩, 楠, 煵, 遖, 䊖, 䋻(䌾), 蝻, 諵, 𨂾, 𨡯, 𨩇, 𠄼, 献, 𢆥, 𦣰, 萳, 罱, 䈒

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 157, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
• Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 65, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5357

simp. and trad.		南
2nd round simp.		𲓜

Pictogram (象形): a hanging percussion instrument (bell), originally identical to the left side of 㱿. Later phonetically borrowed to represent 南 (OC *nuːm, “south”).

Sagart (1988) instead proposes that it is a pictogram (象形) of the front of a house. Archaeological evidence confirms that in antiquity, at least in some regions, houses were built to face south.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-nam (“sky, sun”) (STEDT; Schuessler (2007); Benedict (1972)); the south is traditionally associated with the sun & light, compare 陽 (OC *laŋ, “light, sun-lit south-side of a hill”).

If so, cognate with Tibetan གནམ (gnam, “sky”), ནམ (nam, “night”), Tshangla ngam (“sun, noon, day, sky”), Chepang न्‍याम् (nyam, “sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather”).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates this word to Old Chinese *nɨm (revised to *nˤ[ə]m in 2014) "belly, front of the body", further "south" to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nam (“rib(s)”), as one term for one body-part often shifts its meaning to another body-part nearby.

If so, 南 is cognate with 妊 (OC *njɯms, “to carry inside one's belly → to be pregnant”), 任 (OC *njɯm, *njɯms, “to carry a burden, especially in front of the body”), also 腩 (OC *nuːmʔ, “belly (of an ox)”), Southern Pumi nõ⁵⁵, Burmese နံရိုး (nam-rui:, “side of the body, rib”), and thus is a semantic counterpart to 北 (OC *pɯːɡ, “north”), which is related to 背 (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs, “back of the body”).

南

1. south; southern

compass points: 方位 (fāngwèi):  ^[edit]

西北 (xīběi)	北	東北 / 东北 (dōngběi)
西 (xī)		東 / 东 (dōng)
西南 (xīnán)	南	東南 / 东南 (dōngnán)

Others:

• → Japanese: 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind (mahjong tile)”)

南

1. only used in 南無／南无 (nāmó)

• “南”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: なん (nan, Jōyō)^{←なん (nan, historical)←なむ (namu, ancient)}、な (na, Jōyō ^†)
• Kan-on: だん (dan)^{←だん (dan, historical)←だむ (damu, ancient)}
• Kun: みなみ (minami, 南, Jōyō)
• Nanori: あけ (ake)、なみ (nami)、は (ha)、みな (mina)、みまみ (mimami)、よし (yoshi)

Kanji in this term
南
みなみ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

⟨mi₁nami₁⟩ → */mʲinamʲɨ/ → /minami/

From Old Japanese.

• (Tokyo) みなみ [mìnámí] (Heiban – [0])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

• (Kyoto) みなみ [míꜜnàmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

• (Kagoshima) みなみ [mìnáꜜmì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [mʲi̥na̠mʲi̥]

南(みなみ) • (minami) 

1. the south (cardinal point)
   • c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo^[3]

     和可夜之奈比乃可波利爾波(わがやしなひのかはりには)、於保末之末須(おほまします)、美奈美(みなみ)乃末知奈流(のまちなる)奴(やつこ)乎宇氣與止(をうけよと)... [Man'yōgana]

     我(わ)が養(やしな)ひの代(かは)りには、おほ坐(ま)します、南(みなみ)の街(まち)なる奴(やつこ)を受(う)けよと... [Modern spelling]

     waga yashinai no kawari ni wa, ōmashimasu, minami no machi naru yatsuko o ukeyo to...

     (please add an English translation of this example)

   Antonym: 北 (kita)

2. a southerly, south wind

   Synonym: 南風 (minamikaze, hae)

   Antonym: 北 (kita)

compass points: 方角 (hōgaku):  ^[edit]

北西 (hokusei) 西北 (seihoku)	北 (kita)	北東 (hokutō) 東北 (tōhoku)
西 (nishi)		東 (higashi)
西南 (seinan) 南西 (nansei)	南 (minami)	東南 (tōnan) 南東 (nantō)

南(みなみ) or 南(ミナミ) • (Minami) 

1. (historical) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo (as it was located south of Edo Castle)
2. the name of a ward in various cities throughout Japan, especially a former ward in the city of Osaka which is now part of Chūō Ward
3. a male given name
4. a female given name
5. a surname

南(みなみ)する • (minami suru) suru (stem 南(みなみ)し (minami shi), past 南(みなみ)した (minami shita))

1. (archaic) to go south
   • 1789, Seikashū (haikai by Takai Kitō)

     紅楓(もみぢ)深(ふか)し、みなみし西(にし)す、水(みづ)の隅(すみ)

     momiji fukashi, minami shi nishi su, mizu no sumi

     (please add an English translation of this example)

Kanji in this term
南
みんなみ Grade: 2
irregular

/minami/ → /minːami/

Appears in The Pillow Book, completed in 1002.

Alteration of minami.^[1]

• (Tokyo) みんなみ [mìńnámí] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲĩnːa̠mʲi]

南(みんなみ) • (minnami) 

1. (archaic) the south

南(みんなみ) • (Minnami) 

1. (historical, archaic) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo

Kanji in this term
南
なん Grade: 2
goon

/namʉ/ → /naɴ/

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nom).

南(なん) • (nan) 

1. the south

   Synonym: 南方 (nanpō)

2. short for 南鐐 (nanryō): beautiful silver; a type of silver coin in the Edo period

• 南(なん)南(なん)西(せい) (nan-nansei)
• 南(なん)南(なん)東(とう) (nan-nantō)

南(なん) • (nan) 

1. south, southern
2. Used in Sanskrit transliterations

南(なん) • (Nan) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Kanji in this term
南
なん Grade: 2
irregular

From Mandarin 南 (nán).

南(ナン) • (nan) 

1. (mahjong) south wind (mahjong tile)

   Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)

2. (mahjong) a 役 (yaku, “winning hand”) with a triplet or quad of south wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 翻 (han, “doubles”)

   Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)

• 風(かぜ)牌(ハイ) (kazehai, “wind tiles”): 東(トン) (ton, “east wind”), 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind”), 西(シャー) (shā, “west wind”), 北(ペー) (pē, “north wind”)

Kanji in this term
南
みなん Grade: 2
irregular

Shift from standard Japanese minami, dropping the final vowel and keeping the nasal.

• /minami/ → /minaɴ/

• IPA^(key): [mʲinã̠ɴ]

南(みなん) • (minan) 

1. (dialect, Kagoshima) south (cardinal point)

• “南”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nom).

Historical readings
Dongguk Jeongun reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	남 (Yale: nàm)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[3]	앏 (Yale: àlp)	남 (Yale: nàm)
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576	남녁 (Yale: namnyek) 앏 (Yale: alp)	남 (Yale: nam)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠m]
• Phonetic hangul: [남]

南 (eumhun 남녘 남 (namnyeok nam))

1. hanja form^? of 남 (“south; southern”)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [나]

南 (eumhun 나무 나 (namu na))

1. hanja form^? of 나 (“Only used in 나무 (南無, namu)”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

Kanji in this term
南
ふぇー Grade: 2
kun'yomi

• 南風

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

• On (unclassified): なん (nan, Jōyō)
• Kun: ふぇー (fē, 南)

• 南(なん)瓜(くゎー) (nankwā)
• 南蛮(なんばん) (nanban)

Cognate to Yonaguni 南 (hai, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

• (Shuri-Naha) ふぇー [fèé] (Heiban - [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɸeː]

南(ふぇー) (fē) 

1. the south (cardinal point)
2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

• 南(ふぇー)風(かじ) (fēkaji)

• “ふぇー【南・南風】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

南 (mi₁nami₁) (kana みなみ)

1. the south (cardinal point)
   • Shosoin document, text here

     和可夜之奈比乃、可波利爾波、於保末之末須、美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎、宇気与止

     wa ga yasinapi₁ no₂, kapari ni pa, opo masimasu mi₁nami₁ no₂ mati naru nu wo, uke₂ yo₂ to₂

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 18, poem 4106:

     ...南吹雪消益而射水河流水沫能余留弊奈美...

     ...mi₁nami₁ puki₁ yuki₁ke₂ *masarite Imi₁du-gapa nagaru mi₁nawa no₂ yo₂ru pe₁ nami₁...

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Also used in the Man'yōshū (759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨na⟩ and 借訓 (shakkun) kana for ⟨namu⟩.

• Japanese: 南 (minami)

南 (nam)

1. Nôm form of nam (“south”).

• Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[5] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]

南: Hán Việt readings: nam^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}
南: Nôm readings: nam^[3][5][6][7], năm^[1][2], nằm^[1][2], nồm^[1][2], nom^[1], nơm^[1], nàm^[7]

南 • (nam)

1. chữ Hán form of nam (“south, southern”)
   • Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經), 12th century, folio 7a

     奴(No)𱍸(ấy)孛(Bụt)侯(hầu)󰝡(đem)大(đại)󰕛(chúng)多(đi)正(chính)南(nam)体(thấy)𠬛(một)棟(đống)昌(xương)枯(khô)

     At that time, the Buddha led the people on a walk to the south. Suddenly, they saw a pile of dried bones.

compass points:  ^[edit]

tây bắc (西北)	bắc (北)	đông bắc (東北)
tây (西)		đông (東)
tây nam (西南)	nam (南)	đông nam (東南)

南 • (nam)

1. chữ Nôm form of năm (“five”)
   • Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經), 12th century, folio 7a

     孛(Bụt)某(mới)礼(lấy)南(năm)体(thể)旦(đến)坦(đất)謝(tạ)礼(lạy)昌(xương)枯(khô)𧘇(ấy)

     The Buddha then brought his five limbs to the ground and bowed to the dry bones.

南 • (năm)

1. chữ Nôm form of năm (“year”)
   • Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經), 12th century, folio 16b

     碎(Tuổi)媄(mẹ)𠬛(một)林(trăm)南(năm)𠬛(một)𦍛(dường)漚(âu)昆(con)糁(tám)迈(mươi)

     One-hundred-year-old mothers still worry about their eighty-year-old children just the same.

南 • (nằm)

1. chữ Nôm form of nằm (“to lie (be in a horizontal position on a surface)”)

南 • (nơm)

1. chữ Nôm form of nơm (“(fishing) bell-shaped trapping basket made of bamboo for capturing fish”)

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: はい (hai, 南)

Cognate to Okinawan 南 (fē, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

• IPA^(key): [hai]

南(はい) (hai) 

1. the south (cardinal point)
2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

• “はい【南・南風】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

南

1. Sawndip form of namz