See also: 𤣩, 𡈼, , , and
U+738B, 王
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-738B

[U+738A]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+738C]
王 U+2F929, 王
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F929
獺
[U+2F928]
CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 㺬
[U+2F92A]

Translingual

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Stroke order
 
Stroke order (Japan)
 
Stroke order
 

Han character

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(Kangxi radical 96, +-1, 4 strokes, cangjie input 一土 (MG), four-corner 10104, composition )

  1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №5

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 727, character 2
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20823
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1137, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1099, character 10
  • Unihan data for U+738B

Chinese

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simp. and trad.
alternative forms 𠙻
 
Wikipedia has articles on:

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Ancient script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
                   



References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Pictogram (象形) of a ritual axe made perhaps of jade, a symbols of the king's power. A ceremonial axe was kept near the throne, and was used for performing rituals in ancient China.

The traditional interpretation (most likely a folk etymology given the original appearence of the character) is that the character metaphorically indicates the king or emperor according to the ancient Chinese thought: three horizontal strokes represent Heaven, Man and Earth, and the vertical stroke is the king or emperor, the one who connects them together. However, compare (tiān) (a man with a horizontal stroke above his head to indicate the sky).

Unrelated to (, a string with three pieces of jade) and (master); partly related to (a war axe and, perhaps, sometimes a variant of 王), to (an axe drawn vertically), to the inner component of (kuāng, square‑shaped bamboo basket), and to the right component of (< 𢓸).

Etymology 1

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Uncertain. There are many proposed etymologies:

Pronunciation

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Note: ông - incl. surname.
Note: hêng5 - surname.
    • (Leizhou)
      • Leizhou Pinyin: huang5 / hiang5
      • Sinological IPA: /huaŋ²²/, /hiaŋ²²/
Note:
  • huang5 - literary;
  • hiang5 - vernacular (incl. surname).

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/2
Initial () (35)
Final () (106)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter hjwang
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ɦʉɐŋ/
Pan
Wuyun
/ɦʷiɐŋ/
Shao
Rongfen
/ɣiuɑŋ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ɦuaŋ/
Li
Rong
/ɣiuaŋ/
Wang
Li
/ɣĭwaŋ/
Bernhard
Karlgren
/iwaŋ/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
wáng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
wong4
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
wáng
Middle
Chinese
‹ hjwang ›
Old
Chinese
/*ɢʷaŋ/
English king

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
Reading # 1/2
No. 12742
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*ɢʷaŋ/

Definitions

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  1. king; monarch
      ―  guówáng  ―  king (of a nation)
      ―  Zhōu Chéng Wáng  ―  King Cheng of Zhou
    男孩擁立 [MSC, trad.]
    男孩拥立 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhè wèi nánhái bèi yōnglì wéi wáng. [Pinyin]
    The boy was proclaimed king.
  2. duke; prince
      ―  wánghóu  ―  nobles; aristocrats (literally, “princes and marquises”)
      ―  qīnwáng  ―  prince
      ―  Qín Wáng Lǐ Shìmín  ―  Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin
  3. best or strongest of its kind
      ―  quánwáng  ―  boxing champion
    百獸獅子還是老虎 [MSC, trad.]
    百兽狮子还是老虎 [MSC, simp.]
    Bǎishòu zhī wáng shì shīzǐ háishì lǎohǔ? [Pinyin]
    Is the lion or the tiger the king of beasts?
  4. chief; head; ringleader
    擒賊先擒擒贼先擒  ―  qínzéixiānqínwáng  ―  to defeat the enemy, first catch their chief
  5. (chess) king
  6. (graph theory) king (a vertex in a directed graph which can reach every other vertex via a path with a length of at most 2)
    任意競賽圖 [MSC, trad.]
    任意竞赛图 [MSC, simp.]
    Rènyì jìngsàitú dōu yǒu yī ge wáng. [Pinyin]
    In every tournament there exists a king.
  7. grand; great
  8. (of feudal monarchs) to see the emperor
  9. a surname: Wang; Wong; Ong; Heng
      ―  Wáng  ―  Wang Bo (Tang dynasty poet)
      ―  Wáng Yánzhèng  ―  Wang Yanzheng (Emperor of Min)
Descendants
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Sino-Xenic ():
  • Japanese: (おう) (ō)
  • Okinawan: (をー) ()
  • Korean: 왕(王) (wang)
  • Vietnamese: vương ()

Others:

Compounds

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Etymology 2

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(OC *ɢʷaŋ) with a denominalizing *-s suffix (Schuessler, 2007; Baxter and Sagart, 2014).

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character
Reading # 2/2
Initial () (35)
Final () (106)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter hjwangH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ɦʉɐŋH/
Pan
Wuyun
/ɦʷiɐŋH/
Shao
Rongfen
/ɣiuɑŋH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ɦuaŋH/
Li
Rong
/ɣiuaŋH/
Wang
Li
/ɣĭwaŋH/
Bernhard
Karlgren
/iwaŋH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
wàng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
wong6
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
wàng
Middle
Chinese
‹ hjwangH ›
Old
Chinese
/*ɢʷaŋ-s/
English be king

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
Reading # 2/2
No. 12746
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*ɢʷaŋs/

Definitions

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  1. to reign; to rule, to be a king
  2. Alternative form of (wàng, flourishing; prosperous)

Compounds

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See also

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Chess pieces in Mandarin · 國際象棋棋子国际象棋棋子 (guójì xiàngqí qízǐ) (layout · text)
           
(wáng),
國王国王 (guówáng)
(hòu),
皇后 (huánghòu)
(),
城堡 (chéngbǎo)
(xiàng),
主教 (zhǔjiào)
(),
騎士骑士 (qíshì)
(bīng)

References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
おう
Grade: 1
on'yomi
 
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja

/wau//wɔː/ → */woː//oː/

From Middle Chinese (MC hjwang).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(おう) (ōわう (wau)?

  1. a king, especially one who is not East Asian or was East Asian in pre-imperial times; in China and Vietnam, generally a king before Qin Shi Huangdi who invented the title 皇帝 (kōtei, huangdi; emperor); in Korea, one of the many kings before the Korean Empire which was modeled after Japan's; in Japan, one of the rulers before Emperor Jinmu
    (えつ)(おう)(こう)(せん)Etsuō KōsenKing Goujian of Yue
  2. an East Asian queen regnant
    (しん)魏倭(ぎわ)(おう)Shingi Waōthe pro-Wei Queen of Wa
    (ちょう)((じょ))(おう)Chō (Jo)ōthe Trưng Queen
    (ぜん)(とく)((じょ))(おう)Zentoku (Jo)ōQueen Seondeok
  3. a nobility title for a Chinese or Vietnamese prince, bestowed on one of the 皇帝 (kōtei, huangdi; emperor)'s adult sons, brothers, or nephews, especially as a coming-of-age title, generally comes with an estate ("principality"); compare 皇子 (ōji, imperial princes, especially pre-adult ones) and (, dukes, an alternative used by certain dynasties)
    ()(せい)(おう)Busei ōPrince Wucheng
    (こう)(どう)(おう)Kōdō ŌPrince Hưng Đạo
  4. a Japanese prince's son (such princes include 親王 (shinnō) or (ō) themselves)
Usage notes
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  • An East Asian queen regnant (except in Korea) has the same title as a king, not specifically a “queen (regnant)” like in European languages. Similarly, an empress regnant has the same title as an emperor.
See also
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Affix

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(おう) (ōわう (wau)?

  1. king
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
こきし
Grade: 1
irregular
Kanji in this term
こにきし
Grade: 1
irregular
Alternative spelling
国主

Ultimately from Baekje 鞬吉支 (*k(j)ənkilci).

Noun

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(コニキシ) or (コキシ) (konikishi or kokishi

  1. (archaic) an ancient Korean king
    百済(くだらの)(こにきし)Kudara no KonikishiKing of Baekje

References

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  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese (MC hjwang).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᅌᅪᇰ (Yale: ngwàng)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 님〯굼〮 (Yale: nǐmkwúm) 와ᇰ (Yale: wàng)
Gwangju Cheonjamun, 1575 긔ᄌᆞ (Yale: kuyco) (Yale: wang)

Pronunciation

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Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

(eumhun 임금 (imgeum wang))

  1. hanja form? of (king; monarch)

Compounds

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References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [3]

Okinawan

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Kanji

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(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Etymology

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Kanji in this term
をー
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese (MC hjwang).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(をー) (

  1. a king
  2. an East Asian queen regnant
  3. an East Asian sovereign prince

Usage notes

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  • An East Asian queen regnant (except in Korea) has the same title as a king, not specifically a “queen (regnant)” like in European languages. Similarly, an empress regnant has the same title as an emperor.

See also

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Affix

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(をー) (

  1. king

Derived terms

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Old Japanese

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Etymology

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From Baekje 鞬吉支 (*k(j)ə-n kici).

Noun

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(*ko2niki1si) (kana こにきし)

  1. an ancient Korean king

Descendants

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  • Japanese: (konikishi, kokishi), in modern Japanese dictionaries

Vietnamese

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Han character

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: Hán Việt readings: vương (()(phương)(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5], vượng[5]
: Nôm readings: vương[1][2][3][4][5][6], vướng[1][7][5]

  1. chữ Hán form of vương (king).
  2. chữ Hán form of Vương (a surname; a male given name).
    王翠翹Vương Thuý Kiều
  3. Nôm form of vướng (to be entangled in; to be involved in).
  4. chữ Hán form of vượng (to reign).

Compounds

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References

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  NODES
Note 12