央

See also: 中

央	U+592E, 央 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-592E

← 夭
[U+592D]

CJK Unified Ideographs

夯 →
[U+592F]

Translingual

Han character

央 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 中月大 (LBK), four-corner 5003₀, composition ⿻冂大 or ⿻𠀃人)

Derived characters

佒, 坱, 抰, 咉, 岟, 泱, 㹧, 怏, 姎, 柍, 殃, 映, 胦, 炴, 眏, 䄃, 秧, 䘧, 紻, 軮, 詇, 𧲱, 鉠 (𫓭), 鞅, 䬬, 駚 (𩧫), 䱀
㿮, 䒋, 英, 䇦, 雵, 𦁾, 㼜, 盎, 𩢥, 鴦 (鸯)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 249, character 5
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5840
Dae Jaweon: page 508, character 3
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 524, character 6
Unihan data for U+592E

Chinese

trad.		央
simp. ^#		央

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 央
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
鴦	qaːŋ, qaŋ
佒	*qaːŋ
咉	qaːŋ, qaːŋʔ
眏	*qaːŋ
姎	qaːŋ, qaːŋʔ
坱	*qaːŋʔ
映	qaːŋʔ, qraŋs
泱	qaːŋʔ, qaŋ
盎	qaːŋʔ, qaːŋs
駚	qaːŋʔ, qaŋʔ
軮	*qaːŋʔ
醠	qaːŋʔ, qaːŋs
央	*qaŋ
秧	qaŋ, qaŋʔ
殃	*qaŋ
鞅	qaŋ, qaŋʔ, *qaŋs
鉠	qaŋ, qraŋ
雵	*qaŋ
胦	qaŋ, qroːŋ
柍	*qaŋʔ
詇	qaŋʔ, qaŋs, *qraŋs
岟	*qaŋʔ
炴	*qaŋʔ
怏	qaŋʔ, qaŋs
紻	*qaŋʔ
英	*qraŋ
瑛	*qraŋ
霙	*qraŋ
韺	*qraŋ
媖	*qraŋ
渶	*qraŋ
鶧	*qraŋ
楧	*qraŋ
暎	*qraŋs

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 大 (“man”) + 冂 (“pole”) - a man carrying a pole with its middle on his shoulder.

Etymology

於 (OC ʔa) plus terminative suffix *-ŋ, hence literally "to get to be in the middle" (Schuessler, 2007). See 於 (OC ʔa) for further etymology.

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yāng (yang¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄤ
Cantonese (Jyutping): joeng¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yông / ông
Eastern Min (BUC): iŏng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): iong / iang / ng

(Teochew, Peng'im): iang¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yāng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄤ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yang
  - Wade–Giles: yang¹
  - Yale: yāng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iang
  - Palladius: ян (jan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɑŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: joeng¹
  - Yale: yēung
  - Cantonese Pinyin: joeng¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: yêng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jœːŋ⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yông / ông
  - Hakka Romanization System: iong^ˊ / ong^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: yong¹ / ong¹
  - Sinological IPA: /i̯oŋ²⁴/, /oŋ²⁴/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yông / ông
  - Hakka Romanization System: (r)iong^ˊ / ong^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: yong¹ / ong¹
  - Sinological IPA: /(j)i̯oŋ²⁴/, /oŋ²⁴/

Note:

yông - literary;
ông - vernacular (limited, e.g. 中央).

Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: iŏng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /yoŋ⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iong
  - Tâi-lô: iong
  - Phofsit Daibuun: iofng
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /iɔŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /iɔŋ³³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iang
  - Tâi-lô: iang
  - Phofsit Daibuun: iafng
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /iaŋ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ng
  - Tâi-lô: ng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ngf
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /ŋ̍⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ŋ̍³³/

Note:

iong - literary;
iang - literary (all sense in Zhangzhou, “to beg” in Xiamen and mainstream Taiwanese);
ng - vernacular (limited, e.g. 中央).

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: iang¹
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: iang
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /iaŋ³³/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 央
Mandarin	Beijing	/iɑŋ⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/iaŋ⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/iɑŋ²¹/
	Jinan	/iaŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/iaŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/iaŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/iaŋ²¹/
	Xining	/iɔ̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/iɑŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/iɑ̃³¹/
	Ürümqi	/iɑŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/iã̠⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/iaŋ³¹/
	Hefei	/iɑ̃²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/iɒ̃¹¹/
	Pingyao	/iɑŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/iɑ̃³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/iã⁵³/
	Suzhou	/iã⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ʔiɑŋ³³/
	Wenzhou	/j̠i³³/
Hui	Shexian	/ia³¹/
Hui	Tunxi	/iau¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ian³³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/ian³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/iɔŋ⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/ioŋ⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/oŋ²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jœŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/jœŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/jœŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/iɔŋ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/yoŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/iɔŋ⁵⁴/ /ɔŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/iaŋ³³/ /ŋ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/iaŋ²³/ /o²³/

Middle Chinese: 'jang

Rime
Character	央
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	陽 (105)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	於良切
Baxter	'jang
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔɨɐŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔiɐŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔiɑŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔɨaŋ/
Li Rong	/ʔiaŋ/
Wang Li	/ĭaŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʔi̯aŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yāng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	joeng¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*ʔaŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*qaŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	央	央
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yāng	yāng
Middle Chinese	‹ ʔjang ›	‹ ʔjang ›
Old Chinese	/*ʔaŋ/	/*ʔaŋ/
English	end (v.)	center (n.)
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	央
Reading #	1/1
No.	14488
Phonetic component
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime
Old Chinese	/*qaŋ/

Definitions

央

center; middle
to end; to finish
to beg; to plead; to implore
(alt. form 殃) calamity; disaster
a surname

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yīng (ying¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄥ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yīng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ying
  - Wade–Giles: ying¹
  - Yale: yīng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ing
  - Palladius: ин (in)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /iŋ⁵⁵/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 央
Mandarin	Beijing	/iɑŋ⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/iaŋ⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/iɑŋ²¹/
	Jinan	/iaŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/iaŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/iaŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/iaŋ²¹/
	Xining	/iɔ̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/iɑŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/iɑ̃³¹/
	Ürümqi	/iɑŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/iã̠⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/iaŋ³¹/
	Hefei	/iɑ̃²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/iɒ̃¹¹/
	Pingyao	/iɑŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/iɑ̃³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/iã⁵³/
	Suzhou	/iã⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ʔiɑŋ³³/
	Wenzhou	/j̠i³³/
Hui	Shexian	/ia³¹/
Hui	Tunxi	/iau¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ian³³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/ian³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/iɔŋ⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/ioŋ⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/oŋ²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jœŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/jœŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/jœŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/iɔŋ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/yoŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/iɔŋ⁵⁴/ /ɔŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/iaŋ³³/ /ŋ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/iaŋ²³/ /o²³/

Definitions

央

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese)only used in 央央

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

央

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Go-on: おう (ō, Jōyō)、よう (yō)
Kan-on: よう (yō)、えい (ei)
Kun: なかば (nakaba, 央ば)
Nanori: あたる (ataru)、とおる (tōru)、なかば (nakaba)、ひさし (hisashi)、ひろし (hiroshi)、なか (naka)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
央
おう Grade: 3
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 央 (MC 'jang).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [o̞ː]

Affix

央(おう) • (ō) ^{←あう (au)^?}

centre, middle
(US) short for 央州 (“Oregon (a state of the United States)”)

Derived terms

震央(しんおう) (shin'ō)
中央(ちゅうおう) (chūō)

Etymology 2

Various nanori readings.

Proper noun

央(あたる) or 央(おう) or 央(とおる) or 央(なかば) or 央(ひさし) or 央(ひろし) or 央(よう) or 央(なか) • (Ataru or Ō or Tōru or Nakaba or Hisashi or Hiroshi or Yō or Naka)

a male given name

Korean

Hanja

央 • (ang) (hangeul 앙, revised ang, McCune–Reischauer ang)

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

Vietnamese

Han character

央: Hán Nôm readings: ương, trân

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