典

See also: 曲

典	U+5178, 典 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5178

← 具
[U+5177]

CJK Unified Ideographs

兹 →
[U+5179]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order (Japan)

Han character

典 (Kangxi radical 12, 八+6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 廿月金 (TBC), four-corner 5580₁, composition ⿱曲八)

Derived characters

倎, 唺, 㙉, 婰, 㥏, 捵, 淟, 猠, 晪, 椣, 琠, 腆, 睓, 碘, 賟, 䠄, 錪
敟, 覥, 觍, 䓦, 痶, 䐌

Additional Derived Characters

𠗘, 𨹻, 𪯦, 𪸸, 𬒿, 𦖌, 𦥃, 𮎒, 𧌎, 𠢣, 𧨸, 𧹖, 𬧦, 𨡏, 𬭓, 𩣲
𧡝, 𤿶, 𥦟, 𥮏, 𠽝, 𠩷, 𡥳, 𣇺, 𥵶, 𥶚, 𮪖
𲀵, 𰻁

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 128, character 2
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1474
Dae Jaweon: page 286, character 12
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 247, character 1
Unihan data for U+5178

Chinese

simp. and trad.		典
alternative forms		𠔓

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 典
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script

Oracle bone script j10971 j10972 j10973 j10974 j10975 j10976 j10977 j10978 j10979 j10980 j10981 j10982 Bronze inscriptions b06774 b06775 b06776 b06777 b06778 b06779 b06780 b06781 b06782 b06783 Small seal script s03455 s03456 Transcribed ancient scripts L34729 L34730 L34731 L34732 L34733 L34734 L16109 L16110 L16111 L16112 L16113 L16114 L16115 L16116 L16117 L16118 L16119 L16120 L16121
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).

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

	Old Chinese
典	*tɯːnʔ
錪	tɯːnʔ, tʰɯːnʔ
腆	*tʰɯːnʔ
痶	*tʰɯːnʔ
淟	*tʰɯːnʔ
琠	*tʰɯːnʔ
賟	*tʰɯːnʔ
晪	*tʰɯːnʔ

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 冊 (“books”) + 丌 (“table”) – (official) books on a table.

Unrelated to 曲 and 曹.

Etymology

From Proto-Sinitic *dʰiəm.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): diǎn (dian³)

(Zhuyin): ㄉㄧㄢˇ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): dian³
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): din²

(Taishan, Wiktionary): en²
Gan (Wiktionary): dien³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): tién

(Meixian, Guangdong): diên³
Jin (Wiktionary): die²
Northern Min (KCR): dǐng
Eastern Min (BUC): diēng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): deng³ / dieng³
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tián

(Teochew, Peng'im): diang² / diêng²
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵ti
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): dienn³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: diǎn
  - Zhuyin: ㄉㄧㄢˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: diǎn
  - Wade–Giles: tien³
  - Yale: dyǎn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dean
  - Palladius: дянь (djanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti̯ɛn²¹⁴/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: dian³
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: dian
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛn⁵³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: din²
  - Yale: dín
  - Cantonese Pinyin: din²
  - Guangdong Romanization: din²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiːn³⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: en²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /en⁵⁵/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: dien³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛn²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: tién
  - Hakka Romanization System: dien^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: dian³
  - Sinological IPA: /ti̯en³¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: diên³
  - Sinological IPA: /tiɛn³¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: die²
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /tie⁵³/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: dǐng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiŋ²¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: diēng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tieŋ³³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: deng³
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: dêng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɛŋ⁴⁵³/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: deng³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɛŋ³³²/
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: dieng³
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: diâng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiɛŋ⁴⁵³/

Note:

deng3 - literary;
dieng3 - literary variant.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tián
  - Tâi-lô: tián
  - Phofsit Daibuun: diern
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tiɛn⁵³/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tiɛn⁵⁵⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiɛn⁵³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /tiɛn⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiɛn⁴¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: diang² / diêng²
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tiáng / tiéng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiaŋ⁵²/, /tieŋ⁵²/

Note:

diang2 - Shantou;
diêng2 - Chaozhou.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵ti
  - MiniDict: ti^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²ti
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ti³⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: dienn³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti̯ẽ⁴¹/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 典
Mandarin	Beijing	/tian²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/tian²¹³/
	Tianjin	/tian¹³/
	Jinan	/tiã⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/tiã⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/tian⁵³/
	Xi'an	/tiã⁵³/
	Xining	/tiã⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/tian⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/tiɛ̃n⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/tian⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/tiɛn⁴²/
	Chengdu	/tian⁵³/
	Guiyang	/tian⁴²/ 家～ /tian²¹³/ ～當
	Kunming	/tiɛ̃⁵³/
	Nanjing	/tien²¹²/
	Hefei	/tiĩ²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/tie⁵³/
	Pingyao	/tie̞⁵³/
	Hohhot	/tie⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/ti³⁵/
	Suzhou	/tiɪ⁵¹/
	Hangzhou	/tiẽ̞⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/ti³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/te³⁵/
Hui	Tunxi	/tiɛ³¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/tiẽ⁴¹/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/tiẽ⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/tiɛn²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/tien³¹/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/tien³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/tin³⁵/
	Nanning	/tim³⁵/
	Hong Kong	/tin³⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/tian⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/tɛiŋ³²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/tiŋ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/tiaŋ⁵³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ʔdin²¹³/ /ʔdai²¹³/

Middle Chinese: tenX

Rime
Character	典
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	端 (5)
Final (韻)	先 (85)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	多殄切
Baxter	tenX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ten^X/
Pan Wuyun	/ten^X/
Shao Rongfen	/tɛn^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tɛn^X/
Li Rong	/ten^X/
Wang Li	/tien^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/tien^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	diǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	din²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*tˤə[r]ʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*tɯːnʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	典
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	diǎn
Middle Chinese	‹ ten^X ›
Old Chinese	/*tˁə[r]ʔ/
English	statute, norm
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	典
Reading #	1/1
No.	2342
Phonetic component
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime
Old Chinese	/*tɯːnʔ/

Definitions

典

law; canon
documentation
classic; scripture
(Internet slang) Literally "classic, typical", used usually alone to complain that a person's words hit one of the typicals of the similar ridiculous expressions.

Compounds

三典
三墳五典 / 三坟五典
不刊之典
世典
中典
五典
令典
佛典 (fódiǎn)
借典
僻典
內典 / 内典
六典
六房吏典
典借
典儀 / 典仪
典兵
典刑 (diǎnxíng)
典制 (diǎnzhì)
典吏
典型 (diǎnxíng)
典型人物
典型作風 / 典型作风
典型足式
典墳 / 典坟
典奧 / 典奥
典學 / 典学
典守
典常
典座
典押 (diǎnyā)
典據 / 典据
典故 (diǎngù)
典業 / 典业
典沒 / 典没
典獄 / 典狱 (diǎnyù)
典獄長 / 典狱长 (diǎnyùzhǎng)
典當 / 典当 (diǎndàng)
典禮 / 典礼 (diǎnlǐ)
典策
典範 / 典范 (diǎnfàn)
典範長存 / 典范长存
典籍 (diǎnjí)
典藏 (diǎncáng)
典藏本
典要
典試 / 典试
典謨 / 典谟
典謨訓誥 / 典谟训诰
典貼 / 典贴
典質 / 典质
典賣 / 典卖
典身
典身賣命 / 典身卖命
典鋪 / 典铺
典雅 (diǎnyǎ)
典雅堂皇
典章 (diǎnzhāng)
典章制度 (diǎnzhāng zhìdù)
典鬻 (diǎnyù)
典鷫鷞裘 / 典鹔𮭪裘 (diǎn sùshuāng qiú)
典麗矞皇 / 典丽矞皇
出典 (chūdiǎn)
出故典
卹典
古典 (gǔdiǎn)
古典主義 / 古典主义 (gǔdiǎnzhǔyì)
古典小說 / 古典小说
古典文學 / 古典文学
古典舞蹈
古典芭蕾 (gǔdiǎn bālěi)
古典音樂 / 古典音乐 (gǔdiǎn yīnyuè)
國典 / 国典
國語辭典 / 国语辞典
堯典 / 尧典
墳典 / 坟典
墜典 / 坠典
外典
大乘經典 / 大乘经典
大典 (dàdiǎn)
大清會典 / 大清会典
字典 (zìdiǎn)
寶典 / 宝典 (bǎodiǎn)
封典
專科辭典 / 专科辞典
康熙字典 (Kāngxī Zìdiǎn)
廢典 / 废典 (fèidiǎn)
引經據典 / 引经据典 (yǐnjīngjùdiǎn)
恩典 (ēndiǎn)
慶典 / 庆典 (qìngdiǎn)
慧典
憲典 / 宪典
懋典
應典 / 应典
成典
戤典
排房吏典
操典 (cāodiǎn)
攢典 / 攒典
故典
數典忘祖 / 数典忘祖 (shǔdiǎnwàngzǔ)
明正典刑
會典 / 会典 (huìdiǎn)
有典有則 / 有典有则
權典 / 权典
永樂大典 / 永乐大典 (Yǒnglè Dàdiǎn)
法典 (fǎdiǎn)
活字典 (huózìdiǎn)
清典
滅典 / 灭典
瑞典 (Ruìdiǎn)
瑞典王國 / 瑞典王国
畢業典禮 / 毕业典礼 (bìyè diǎnlǐ)
百科辭典 / 百科辞典
盛典 (shèngdiǎn)
破土典禮 / 破土典礼
祀典 (sìdiǎn)
祭典 (jìdiǎn)
經典 / 经典 (jīngdiǎn)
經典之作 / 经典之作
經典稽疑 / 经典稽疑
經典釋文 / 经典释文
續通典 / 续通典
羅馬法典 / 罗马法典
聯綿字典 / 联绵字典
茂典
落成典禮 / 落成典礼
藥典 / 药典 (yàodiǎn)
要典 (yàodiǎn)
解典庫 / 解典库
解典鋪 / 解典铺
言不諳典 / 言不谙典
訓典 / 训典
詞典 / 词典 (cídiǎn)
詞典學 / 词典学 (cídiǎnxué)
詞華典贍 / 词华典赡
贖典 / 赎典
辭典 / 辞典 (cídiǎn)
辭典學 / 辞典学
辭典派 / 辞典派
通典 (Tōngdiǎn)
釋典 / 释典 (shìdiǎn)
重典 (zhòngdiǎn)
閉幕典禮 / 闭幕典礼
隆恩曠典 / 隆恩旷典
雅典 (Yǎdiǎn)
雅典主義 / 雅典主义 (Yǎdiǎnzhǔyì)
雅典娜 (Yǎdiǎnnà)
電子字典 / 电子字典
電腦詞典 / 电脑词典
電腦辭典 / 电脑辞典
首映典禮 / 首映典礼
馬奴法典 / 马奴法典
高文典冊 / 高文典册

References

“典”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

典

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Go-on: てん (ten, Jōyō)、でん (den)
Kan-on: てん (ten, Jōyō)、でん (den)
Kun: ふみ (fumi, 典)、のり (nori, 典)、さかん (sakan)
Nanori: すけ (suke)、つね (tsune)、みち (michi)、の (no)、のり (nori)、ふみ (fumi)、まり (mari)^[1]

Compounds

Pronunciation

Kanji in this term
典
てん Grade: 4
on'yomi

(Tokyo) てん [téꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

典(てん) • (ten)

ceremony
華(か)燭(しょく)の典(てん)
kashoku no ten
wedding ceremony
rule

References

^ “典”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025

Korean

Hanja

典 (eumhun 법 전 (beop jeon))

hanja form^? of 전 (“rule; law”)

Vietnamese

Han character

典: Hán Nôm readings: điển, đến, điếng

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

[1] “典”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025

[1]

Translingual

Han character

Derived characters

References

Further reading

Chinese

Glyph origin

Etymology

Pronunciation

Definitions

Compounds

References

Japanese

Kanji

Readings

Compounds

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Korean

Hanja

Vietnamese

Han character