煤

煤 U+7164, 煤 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7164 ← 煣 [U+7163] CJK Unified Ideographs 煥 → [U+7165]

Translingual

Han character

煤 (Kangxi radical 86, 火+9, 13 strokes, cangjie input 火廿一木 (FTMD), four-corner 9489₄, composition ⿰火某)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 677, character 29
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19220
• Dae Jaweon: page 1088, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2214, character 2
• Unihan data for U+7164

Chinese

trad.		煤
simp. #		煤
2nd round simp.		𭳿

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
某	*mɯʔ
謀	*mɯ
媒	*mɯː
煤	*mɯː
腜	*mɯː
禖	*mɯː

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *mɯː) : semantic 火 (“fire”) + phonetic 某 (OC *mɯʔ).

Etymology

Sino-Tibetan. Schuessler (2007) proposes two possibilities:

• Cognate with Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔ-mu² (“soot; acrid (smoke)”). If related, a merger of Minimal Old Chinese *ə with *o must have occurred.
• Cognate with Mizo mang (maŋᴿ), man (manᴸ, “sooty”), Mizo mang (maŋᴴ, “partially burnt wood”).

文 (OC *mɯn) may be a derivation with -n nominal suffix. 黑 (OC *hmlɯːɡ, “black”) may be an allofam. Unrelated to 晦 (OC *hmɯːs, “dark”) according to Schuessler (2007).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): méi (mei²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄟˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): mei²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): мый (mɨy, I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mui⁴
• Gan (Wiktionary): mi⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): mòi

  (Hailu, HRS): moi

  (Meixian, Guangdong): moi²

• Jin (Wiktionary): mei¹ / mei²
• Northern Min (KCR): mô
• Eastern Min (BUC): muòi
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): bue²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): mûi / môe / bôe

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bhuê⁵

  (Leizhou, Leizhou Pinyin): bhue⁵ / bhui⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶me
• Xiang

  (Changsha, Wiktionary): mei²

  (Hengyang, Wiktionary): mei²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: méi
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: méi
    • Wade–Giles: mei²
    • Yale: méi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mei
    • Palladius: мэй (mɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /meɪ̯³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: mei²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: mei
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: мый (mɨy, I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: mui⁴
    • Yale: mùih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mui⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: mui⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /muːi̯²¹/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: mi⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mòi
    • Hakka Romanization System: moi^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: moi²
    • Sinological IPA: /moi̯¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: moi
    • Sinological IPA: /moi⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: moi²
    • Sinological IPA: /moɪ¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: mei¹ / mei²
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /mei¹¹/, /mei⁵³/

Note: mei2 - found in 無煙煤.

• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: mô
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mo³³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: muòi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mui⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: bue²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /puei¹³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: mûi
    • Tâi-lô: muî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: muii
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Taipei, Xiamen): /muĩ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /muĩ²³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: môe
    • Tâi-lô: muê
    • Phofsit Daibuun: moee
    • IPA (Taipei): /muẽ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /muẽ²³/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bôe
    • Tâi-lô: buê
    • Phofsit Daibuun: boee
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bue²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bue¹³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bhuê⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: buê
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /bue⁵⁵/
  • (Leizhou)
    • Leizhou Pinyin: bhue⁵ / bhui⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /buɛ²²/, /bui²²/

Note:

• bhue5 - vernacular;
• bhui5 - literary.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶me
    • MiniDict: me^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³me
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /me²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: mei²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /me̞i̯¹³/
  • (Hengyang)
    • Wiktionary: mei²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei̯¹¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: mwoj

Rime
Character	煤
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	灰 (42)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	莫杯切
Baxter	mwoj
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/muʌi/
Pan Wuyun	/muoi/
Shao Rongfen	/muɒi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/mwəj/
Li Rong	/muᴀi/
Wang Li	/muɒi/
Bernhard Karlgren	/muɑ̆i/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	méi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mui4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*mˤə/

  (Zhengzhang): /*mɯː/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	煤
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	méi
Middle Chinese	‹ mwoj ›
Old Chinese	/*mˁə/
English	soot; coal
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	煤
Reading #	1/1
No.	9278
Phonetic component	某
Rime group	之
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	枚
Old Chinese	/*mɯː/
Notes	見呂氏春秋

Definitions

煤

1. coal (Classifier: 塊／块 m c; 嚿 c)
2. ^† dust of smoke; soot

   • 向者煤室入甑中，棄食不祥，回攫而飯之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     向者煤室入甑中，弃食不祥，回攫而饭之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

     Xiàngzhě méi shì rù zèng zhōng, qì shí bùxiáng, Huí jué ér fàn zhī. [Pinyin]

     Just now some dust and soot fell into the steamer. Ill fortune befalls those who throw away food; so I grabbed those grains and ate them.

3. ^† ink

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 煤 (“coal”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		煤, 烏金
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		煤, 煤炭
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	煤
	Taiwan	煤
	Chengde	煤
	Chifeng	煤
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	煤
	Heihe	煤
	Qiqihar	煤, 炭 mined
	Harbin	煤
	Wuchang (Yingchengzi)	煤
	Jiamusi	煤
	Baicheng	煤
	Changchun	煤
	Tonghua	煤, 炭 mined
	Shenyang	煤, 煤炭 mined, 炭 mined
	Jinzhou	煤, 煤炭 mined, 砟子 mined
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	煤
	Tangshan	煤
	Cangzhou	煤
	Xianxian (Xiaoying)	煤
	Baoding	煤
	Shijiazhuang	煤, 炭 fuel
	Lijin	煤
	Jinan	煤, 炭
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	煤
	Dandong	煤
	Yantai	煤
	Qingdao	煤
	Zhucheng	煤, 炭 mined
Central Plains Mandarin	Lingbao	煤
	Jining	煤, 煤炭, 炭 fuel
	Wanrong	炭
	Linfen	煤, 炭 mined
	Shangqiu	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Yuanyang	煤, 炭 mined
	Zhengzhou	煤, 炭 mined
	Xinyang	煤, 炭 mined
	Ankang	煤, 煤炭
	Ankang (Xianhe, Hanbin)	煤, 煤炭
	Baihe	煤, 炭 mined
	Baihe (Maoping)	煤炭
	Xi'an	煤, 炭 mined, 煤炭 mined
	Dingbian	炭
	Baoji	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Tianshui	煤, 石炭 mined
	Xining	煤, 石煤 mined
	Xuzhou	煤, 炭 mined
	Fuyang	煤
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	煤, 煤炭
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	煤, 炭 mined
	Lanzhou	煤, 炭 mined
	Dunhuang	煤, 砟子 fuel
	Hami	煤
	Ürümqi	煤
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Nanchong	煤, 煤炭 mined, 炭 mined
	Dazhou	煤炭 mined, 薪炭 mined, 煤 fuel, 炭 fuel
	Hanyuan	炭, 煤 fuel
	Xichang	煤, 炭 mined
	Zigong	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Chongqing	煤炭 mined, 煤 fuel, 炭 fuel
	Wuhan	煤, 炭 mined
	Yichang	煤
	Xiangyang	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Tianmen	煤, 煤炭 mined, 炭 mined
	Guiyang	煤, 烏金 mined, 鋼炭 mined, 炭 mined
	Bijie	煤炭, 煤 fuel
	Liping	煤
	Zhaotong	炭
	Dali	煤炭 mined, 煤 fuel
	Kunming	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Mengzi	煤 mined, 炭 fuel
	Guilin	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Pingle	煤
	Liuzhou	煤
	Luzhai	煤
	Nanning (Xiakuojie)	煤
	Nanning (Fujian)	煤
	Nanning (Wuming)	煤
	Binyang (Nanjie)	煤
	Hechi (Yizhou)	煤
	Luocheng (Dongmen)	煤, 煤炭
	Tianlin (Langping)	煤
	Jishou	煤
	Changde	煤, 炭 mined
	Yongzhou	煤炭
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	煤
	Shiquan	煤炭
	Ziyang	煤炭
	Hanzhong	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Dagudi (Maliba)	煤
	Reshuitang (Longling)	煤
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	煤
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	煤
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	煤
	Yangzhou	煤, 煤炭 mined, 炭 mined
	Lianyungang	煤, 炭 mined
	Lianshui	煤
	Nantong	煤, 炭 mined
	Anqing	煤
	Wuhu	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Hefei	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Hong'an	煤, 煤炭, 炭
Cantonese	Guangzhou	煤
	Hong Kong	煤
	Taishan (Guanghai)	煤
	Yangjiang	煤
	Wuzhou	煤
	Baise	煤
	Qinzhou	煤
	Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	煤
	Beihai	煤
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	煤炭
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	煤
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	煤炭
	Lingchuan (Yangjia)	煤
	Pingle (Majia)	煤
	Pingle (Shuishan)	煤
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	煤
	Móng Cái	煤炭
	Mandalay (Taishan)	煤
Gan	Nanchang	煤炭
	Pengze	煤
Hakka	Meixian	煤, 石炭
	Bobai (Lingping)	煤
	Guilin (Xiaojiang, Lingui)	煤
	Lipu (Shuangduitun)	煤
	Pingle (Tong'an)	煤
	Yangshuo (Jinbao)	煤
Huizhou	Shexian	煤
Jin	Taiyuan	煤 soot, 炭 piece
	Pingyao	炭
	Yangyuan	煤, 炭 mined
	Datong	炭
	Datong (Xicetian, Yunzhou)	炭
	Xinzhou	炭
	Lüliang (Lishi)	煤, 炭 mined
	Changzhi	煤, 炭 mined, 炭圪拉得 mined
	Linhe	炭
	Jining	炭
	Liangcheng	煤
	Hohhot	煤, 炭 mined
	Erenhot	煤 mined, 炭
	Pingshan	煤, 炭 mined
	Zhangjiakou	煤, 煤炭 mined
	Handan	煤, 炭 mined
	Linzhou	煤, 炭 mined
	Suide	炭, 石炭 mined
Jiuxing Yumin	Jiande	煤
	Jinhua	煤
	Lanxi	煤
	Tunxi	煤
Northern Min	Jian'ou	煤, 煤炭
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	煤
	Fuqing	煤
	Gutian	煤
	Pingnan	煤
	Fu'an	煤
	Shouning	煤
Southern Min	Xiamen	塗炭, 煤
	Jinjiang	塗炭
	Guilin (Biyange)	煤
	Chaozhou	塗炭, 煤
	Shantou	煤
	Jieyang	塗炭, 煤
	Pontianak (Teochew)	煤
Puxian Min	Putian	煤, 煤炭
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	煤
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	煤
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	煤, 煤炭
	Xianyou	煤
	Xianyou (Fengting)	煤
	Xianyou (Youyang)	煤
Central Min	Nanping (Wangtai, Yanping)	煤
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Sanxiang)	煤
Southern Pinghua	Binyang	煤
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dongbianzhou)	煤
	Lingchuan (Sanjie)	煤
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	煤
	Yuanling (Shaojiwan)	煤
	Luxi (Liangjiatan)	煤
	Chengbu (Xuntou)	煤
Wu	Shanghai (Songjiang)	煤
	Suzhou	煤
	Wenzhou	煤
	Yiwu	煤
Xiang	Changsha	煤炭, 煤
	Shuangfeng	煤炭
	Hengyang	炭, 煤
	Hengshan	煤炭
	Hengshan (Baiguo)	煤炭

Compounds

• 乏煤
• 二煤
• 倒煤
• 原煤 (yuánméi)
• 天然煤氣 / 天然煤气 (tiānrán méiqì)
• 搖煤 / 摇煤
• 木煤氣 / 木煤气
• 松煤
• 氣煤 / 气煤
• 水煤氣 / 水煤气 (shuǐméiqì)
• 泥煤 (níméi)
• 洗煤
• 淨化燃煤 / 净化燃煤
• 火煤子
• 火紙煤兒 / 火纸煤儿
• 焦煤 (jiāoméi)
• 無煙焦煤 / 无烟焦煤
• 無煙煤 / 无烟煤 (wúyānméi)
• 煤井
• 煤化
• 煤坑
• 煤塵 / 煤尘
• 煤層 / 煤层 (méicéng)
• 煤山
• 煤搭
• 煤末
• 煤核
• 煤毒
• 煤氣 / 煤气 (méiqì)
• 煤氣燈 / 煤气灯 (méiqìdēng)
• 煤氣爐 / 煤气炉 (méiqìlú)
• 煤氣表 / 煤气表
• 煤水車 / 煤水车
• 煤油 (méiyóu)
• 煤油燈 / 煤油灯 (méiyóudēng)
• 煤渣 (méizhā)
• 煤炭 (méitàn)
• 煤焦油 (méijiāoyóu)
• 煤煙 / 煤烟
• 煙煤 / 烟煤 (yānméi)
• 煤球 (méiqiú)
• 煤田 (méitián)
• 煤砟子
• 煤磚 / 煤砖 (méizhuān)
• 煤礦 / 煤矿 (méikuàng)
• 煤精 (méijīng)
• 煤都
• 煤黑子
• 煤黑油
• 燈煤 / 灯煤
• 燭煤 / 烛煤
• 生煤
• 瘦煤
• 白煤 (báiméi)
• 省煤器
• 硬煤
• 紅煤 / 红煤
• 紙煤子 / 纸煤子
• 紙煤管子 / 纸煤管子
• 肥煤
• 蛛煤
• 褐煤 (hèméi)
• 麝煤
• 黑煤

 

Descendants

• → Guiqiong: mɛi (“coal”)

References

• “煤”, 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–

Japanese

Kanji

煤

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: まい (mai)、め (me)
• Kan-on: ばい (bai)
• Kun: すす (susu, 煤)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
煤
すす Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese, first attested in the Kojiki (712 CE).

Possibly related to 炭 (sumi, “cinder; charcoal”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すす [súꜜsù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) すす [sùsúꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [sɨsɨ]

Noun

煤(すす) • (susu) 

1. soot (fine particles of amorphous carbon and tar)
2. sooted dirt or dust accumulated in ceilings, walls, etc.
3. Short for 煤色 (susuiro): a shade of black as in the color of soot

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 煤(すす)ける (susukeru)
• 煤(すす)ぶ (susubu)
  • 煤(すす)ばむ (susubamu)
  • 煤(すす)びる (susubiru)
  • 煤(すす)ぶる (susuburu)
  • 煤(すす)ぼる (susuboru)
  • 煤(すす)ぼける (susubokeru)
• 煤市(すすいち) (Susuichi)
• 煤(すす)色(いろ) (susuiro)
• 煤(すす)男(おとこ) (susuotoko)
• 煤(すす)賀(が) (Susuga)
• 煤(すす)ヶ谷(や) (Susugaya)
• 煤川(すすがわ) (Susugawa)
• 煤(すす)籠(ご)もり (susugomori)
• 煤(すす)田(た) (Susuta)
• 煤(すす)田(だ) (Susuda)
• 煤竹(すすだけ) (susudake)
• 煤(すす)取(と)り (susutori)
• 煤(すす)掃(は)き (susuhaki)
• 煤(すす)払(はら)い (susuharai)
• 煤(すす)病(びょう) (susubyō)
• 煤(すす)埃(ぼこり) (susubokori)
• 煤孫(すすまご) (Susumago)
• 煤本(すすもと) (Susumoto)
• 煤(すす)谷(や) (Susuya)
• 煤(すす)湯(ゆ) (susuyu)
• 煮(に)煤(すす) (nisusu)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
煤
ばい Jinmeiyō
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 煤 (MC mwoj). Compare modern Min Nan reading bôe.

Affix

煤(ばい) • (bai) 

1. soot
2. coal

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 煤煙(ばいえん) (baien)
• 煤(ばい)気(き) (baiki)
• 煤塵(ばいじん) (baijin)
• 煤炭(ばいたん) (baitan)
• 煙煤(えんばい) (enbai)
• 麝煤(じゃばい) (jabai)

Further reading

• 炭 entry at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese), regarding a possible connection between 煤 (susu, “soot”) and 炭 (sumi, “cinder; charcoal”)

Korean

Hanja

煤 (eumhun 그을음 매 (geueureum mae))

1. hanja form^? of 매 (“soot”)

Okinawan

Kanji

煤

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

Readings

• Kun: しーし (shīshi, 煤)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
煤
しーし Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Cognate with Japanese 煤 (susu).

Pronunciation

• (Shuri-Naha) しーし [shìíshí] (Heiban - [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɕiːɕi]

Noun

煤(しーし) (shīshi) 

1. soot (fine particles of amorphous carbon and tar)

Old Japanese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

煤 (susu) (kana すす)

1. soot (fine particles of amorphous carbon and tar)
   • 711–712, Kojiki, Kuni-yuzuri:

     ...登陀流天之新巢之凝烟_{訓凝姻云州須}之八拳垂摩弖燒擧_{麻弖二字以音}

     ...in Takama-nö-para the soot (凝姻 is read as susu) hangs down eight hands long (the two characters 摩弖 are pronounced made).

Derived terms

• 煤す (susu, “to be stained with soot”)

Descendants

• Japanese: 煤 (susu)

Vietnamese

Han character

煤: Hán Nôm readings: môi, muồi, mai

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Yonaguni

Kanji

煤

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ちち (chichi, 煤)

Etymology

Cognate with Japanese 煤 (susu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕit͡ɕi]

Noun

煤(ちち) (chichi) 

1. soot (fine particles of amorphous carbon and tar)