川

川 (Kangxi radical 47, 巛+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 中中中 (LLL), four-corner 2200₀, composition ⿲丿丨丨)

• 𠆯, 𠯀, 圳, 汌, 𦘶, 杊, 𤆑, 㸪, 玔, 甽, 𥃹, 𥐣, 紃(𬘓), 𧈶, 𡔠, 訓(训), 𮙰, 䡅, 𫶨, 𪩢, 釧(钏), 馴(驯), 𩵙, 𩾧, 𦤸, 順(顺), 𡵅, 𡿫, 𪯠, 𣅕, 氚, 𫇨, 𤽃, 𥫨, 𥄊, 𥬂, 𪡢, 𩭁, 𨤅

• つ (Hiragana character derived from Man'yōgana)
• ツ (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 323, character 23
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8673
• Dae Jaweon: page 624, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 32, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5DDD

Pictogram (象形) – compare 水 (OC *qʰʷljilʔ), , and 𡿧.

The Middle and Old Chinese reconstruction of this word is phonologically problematic (STEDT):

• Karlgren (1957) notes that the Middle Chinese form is irregular based on evidence from Shijing rimes.
• Based on velar contacts in the same phonetic series, e.g. 巛, 甽 and 訓, Baxter (1992) and Schuessler (2007) reconstruct the word with a velar initial (Handel, 1998; Sagart, 1999), which undergoes irregular palatalization in the development to Middle Chinese (Baxter, 1992).
• Based on other characters in the same phonetic series, e.g. 順 and 馴, Sagart (1999), and later, Baxter and Sagart (2014), reconstructs 川 with a lateral initial and suggests that only a *t- prefix would account for the Middle Chinese initial /t͡ɕʰ/.

Schuessler (2007) relates this word to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kl(j)u(ŋ/k) (“river; valley”), whence 江 (OC *kroːŋ, “river”), 谷 (OC *kloːɡ, “valley”), Tibetan ཀླུང (klung, “river”), Burmese ချောင်း (hkyaung:, “stream”). STEDT notes that this does not account for the *-n coda.

STEDT instead compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s (“water; fluid; liquid; river; soak; spit”), whence 涕 (OC *tʰiːlʔ, “tears”), Proto-Kuki-Chin *tuj (“water; fluid; liquid”), Chepang तीः (“water; rain; river”); this depends on a reconstruction with a dental initial and requires positing an *‑n suffix not present in Tibeto-Burman languages.

川

1. river; stream; brook

   川流不息  ―  chuānliúbùxī  ―  to flow continuously

   • 子在川上，曰：「逝者如斯夫！不舍晝夜。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     子在川上，曰：「逝者如斯夫！不舍昼夜。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Zǐ zài chuān shàng, yuē: “Shì zhě rúsī fū! Bù shè zhòuyè.” [Pinyin]

     The Master standing by a stream, said, "It passes on just like this, not ceasing day or night!"

2. short for 四川 (Sìchuān, “Sichuan Province, China”)

   川菜  ―  chuāncài  ―  Sichuan cuisine

3. plain

   平川  ―  píngchuān  ―  plain

4. road
5. (Taiwanese Mandarin) to boil briefly
6. alternative form of 穿 (chuān)
7. (Internet slang) short for 川普 (Chuānpǔ, “Donald Trump”)

   挺川  ―  tǐngchuān  ―  to support Donald Trump

   川粉  ―  chuānfěn  ―  Trumpster

8. a surname

• 河 (hé), 江 (jiāng), 溪 (xī)
• (to boil briefly): 汆 (cuān), 焯 (chāo), 灼 (coek3), 涮 (shuàn)

• “川”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[3], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 周存 [Zhōu, Cún], editor (2023), “川”, in 长汀话词典 CHANGTINGHUA CIDIAN [Dictionary of Changting Dialect] (overall work in Hakka and Mandarin), Guangzhou: 世界图书出版有限公司 [World Book Publishing Co., Ltd.], →ISBN, page 87.

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

1. river

• Go-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
• Kun: かわ (kawa, 川, Jōyō)^{←かは (kafa, 川, historical)}
• Nanori: か (ka)、こ (ko)、さわ (sawa)

From Old Japanese 川 (kapa),^[1] from Proto-Japonic *kapa.^[2]

First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[3]

• (Tokyo) かわ [kàwáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[4]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠β̞a̠]

• (Kagoshima) IPA^(key): [ko̞ː]

川(かわ) • (kawa) ^{←かは (kafa)?}

1. river, stream, brook

• 河(か)川(せん) (kasen)

From Middle Chinese 川 (MC tsyhwen).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰʌ̹n]
• Phonetic hangul: [천]

Wikisource

川 (eumhun 내 천 (nae cheon))

1. hanja form^? of 천 (“river; stream”) [affix]

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [5]

川: Hán Nôm readings: xuyên

1. chữ Hán form of xuyên (“river”)