王

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

1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №5

• Appendix:Chinese radical/玉
• 仼, 㕵, 彺, 忹, 抂, 汪, 狂, 旺, 枉, 蚟, 軖, 迋, 尪, 尫, 㒬, 尩, 䶭, 頊(顼), 鳿
• 兲, 丟, 弄, 主, 全, 呈, 㞷, 皇, 䍿, 望, 聖, 朢, 匡, 囯, 閏(闰), 噩, 㝙, 寚, 㴏, 鬥

• 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

• Unihan data for U+2F929

Pictogram (象形) of a ritual axe made perhaps of jade, 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 appearance 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 天 (tiān) (a man with a horizontal stroke above his head to indicate the sky).

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

Uncertain. There are many proposed etymologies:

• Sagart and Baxter (2009) compare it to Tibetan གོང་མ (gong ma, “superior one”).
• Schuessler (2007) compares it to Tibetan དབང (dbang, “strength, power”) and Burmese အန် (an, “strength, power”), which derive from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-baŋ (“strength, power”). However, reconstructing the Old Chinese as *waŋ, he notes the mismatch between Old Chinese *w- vs. Tibetan *b- (unless *dw- can become db-; for possible *b- ~ * w- variation, see 花). He also compares it to Proto-Northern Naga *waŋ (“chief”).
• Schuessler (2007) alternatively proposes a connection to Old Khmer vāṅ, vaṅ (modern Khmer វាំង (veăng), “royal palace”), which he considers to be cognate with Khmer ហ្លួង (hluŏng, “king”). This is perhaps supported by a bronze inscription where 王 refers to a place, not the Zhou king (Shaughnessy, 1991). The semantic shift from "palace" to "king" parallels Egyptian pr-ꜥꜣ (“pharaoh”, literally “palace”), from pr (“house”) + ꜥꜣ (“great, big”). The connection to the Old Khmer word would thus relate it to Proto-Mon-Khmer *waŋ ~ *waaŋ (“enclosure; to go round”), which is part of a larger Austroasiatic word family, including 營 (OC *ɢʷeŋ) and 環 (OC *ɡʷraːn). Bodman (1980) connects 王 with 皇 (OC *ɡʷaːŋ, “sovereign”), which Schuessler (2007) connects to this word family.
• Speculations exist about its connection to 尪 (OC *qʷaːŋ, “lame, crippled”) and 狂 (OC *ɡʷaŋ, “mad”), based on theories about the connection between ancient Chinese kingship and shamanism (Keightley, 1995).

王

1. king; monarch

   國王／国王  ―  guówáng  ―  king (of a nation)

   周成王  ―  Zhōu Chéng Wáng  ―  King Cheng of Zhou

   這位男孩被擁立為王。 [MSC, trad.]
   这位男孩被拥立为王。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè wèi nánhái bèi yōnglì wéi wáng. [Pinyin]

   The boy was proclaimed king.

2. duke; prince

   王侯  ―  wánghóu  ―  nobles; aristocrats (literally, “princes and marquises”)

   親王／亲王  ―  qīnwáng  ―  prince

   秦王李世民  ―  Qín Wáng Lǐ Shìmín  ―  Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin

3. best or strongest of its kind

   拳王  ―  quánwáng  ―  boxing champion

   百獸之王是獅子還是老虎？ [MSC, trad.]
   百兽之王是狮子还是老虎？ [MSC, simp.]

   Bǎishòu zhī wáng shì shīzǐ háishì lǎohǔ? [Pinyin]

   Is the lion or the tiger the king of beasts?

4. chief; head; ringleader

   擒賊先擒王／擒贼先擒王  ―  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)

   任意競賽圖都有一個王。 [MSC, trad.]
   任意竞赛图都有一个王。 [MSC, simp.]

   Rènyì jìngsàitú dōu yǒu yī ge wáng. [Pinyin]

   In every tournament there exists a king.

7. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) grand; great
8. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese, of feudal monarchs) to see the emperor
9. a surname, Wang, Wong, Ong, or Heng

   王勃  ―  Wáng Bó  ―  Wang Bo (Tang dynasty poet)

   王延政  ―  Wáng Yánzhèng  ―  Wang Yanzheng (Emperor of Min)

Others:

• → Classical Mongolian: ᠸᠠᠩ (wang) (via Mandarin)
  • Mongolian:

    Mongolian script: ᠸᠠᠩ (wang)

    Cyrillic script: ван (van)

  • → Buryat: ван (van)
• → English: Wang (via Mandarin), Wong (via Cantonese), Ong (via Hokkien), Heng (via Teochew)
• → Iu Mien: hungh
• → Manchu: ᠸᠠᠩ (wang) (via Mandarin)
• → Middle Mongol: (via Early Mandarin)

  Uigurjin script: ᠣᠩ (ʾwnk /⁠oŋ⁠/)

• → Old Uyghur: 𐽰𐽳𐽺𐽷 (oŋ) (via Early Mandarin), 𐽳𐽰𐽺𐽷 (wʾnk /⁠waŋ⁠/) (via Early Mandarin)
  • → Old Uyghur: 𐽰𐽳𐽶𐽺𐽷 (öŋ)
• → Tagalog: Ong (via Hokkien), Wong (via Cantonese), Wang (via Mandarin)
• → Thai: อ๋อง (ɔ̌ng) (via Hokkien)
• → Zhuang: vuengz

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

王

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to reign; to rule, to be a king

   • 不以王天下為己處顯。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     不以王天下为己处显。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Bù yǐ wàng tiānxià wèi jǐ chù xiǎn. [Pinyin]

     He would not desire to rule over the whole world as his own private distinction.

   • 又彊令吳廣之次所旁叢祠中，夜篝火，狐鳴呼曰「大楚興，陳勝王」。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     又强令吴广之次所旁丛祠中，夜篝火，狐鸣呼曰「大楚兴，陈胜王」。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Yòu qiáng lìng Wú Guǎng zhī cì suǒ páng cóng cí zhōng, yè gōuhuǒ, hú míng hū yuē “Dà Chǔ xīng, Chén Shèng wàng”. [Pinyin]

     (Chen Sheng) also let Wu Guang go to the temple in the woods near the place they stationed. At night, they made a bonfire and shouted like foxes, “Great Chu prospers, Chen Sheng rules!”

2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 旺 (wàng, “flourishing; prosperous”)

   • 神雖王，不善也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     神虽王，不善也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Shén suī wàng, bù shàn yě. [Pinyin]

     Though its spirit would (there) enjoy a royal abundance, it does not think (such confinement) good.

• “王”, 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–
• “王”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: おう (ō, Jōyō)^{←わう (wau, historical)}
• Kan-on: おう (ō, Jōyō)^{←わう (wau, historical)}
• Kun: おおきみ (ōkimi, 王)^{←おほきみ (ofokimi, 王, historical)}、きみ (kimi, 王)

/wau/ → /wɔː/ → */woː/ → /oː/

From Middle Chinese 王 (MC hjwang).

• (Tokyo) おー [óꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [o̞ː]

王(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

   越(えつ)王(おう)勾(こう)践(せん) ― Etsuō Kōsen ― King Goujian of Yue

2. an East Asian queen regnant

   親(しん)魏倭(ぎわ)王(おう) ― Shingi Waō ― the pro-Wei Queen of Wa

   徴(ちょう)(女(じょ))王(おう) ― Chō (Jo)ō ― the Trưng Queen

   善(ぜん)徳(とく)(女(じょ))王(おう) ― Zentoku (Jo)ō ― Queen 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 公 (kō, “dukes”, an alternative used by certain dynasties)

   武(ぶ)成(せい)王(おう) ― Busei ō ― Prince Wucheng

   興(こう)道(どう)王(おう) ― Kōdō Ō ― Prince Hưng Đạo

4. a Japanese prince's son (such princes include 親王 (shinnō) or 王 (ō) themselves)

• 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.

• 女王(じょおう) (joō, female equivalent)
• 親(しん)王(のう) (shinnō, brother or son)
• 大(だい)王(おう) (daiō)
• 皇(こう)帝(てい) (kōtei, “emperor”)
• 帝(みかど) (mikado), 天(てん)皇(のう) (tennō, “Emperor of Japan”)
• 王(おう)家(か) (ōka)
• 大(たい)公(こう) (taikō, “grand duke; European ruling prince”)

王(おう) • (ō) ^{←わう (wau)?}

1. king

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

王(コニキシ) or 王(コキシ) • (konikishi or kokishi) 

1. (archaic) an ancient Korean king

   百済(くだらの)王(こにきし) ― Kudara no Konikishi ― King of Baekje

From Middle Chinese 王 (MC hjwang).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [wa̠ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [왕]

Wikisource

王 (eumhun 임금 왕 (imgeum wang))

1. hanja form^? of 왕 (“king; monarch”)

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

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• On (unclassified): をー (wō)
• Kun: ちみ (chimi, 王)

From Middle Chinese 王 (MC hjwang).

• IPA^(key): /(ʷ)oː/

王(をー) (wō) 

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

• 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.

• 皇(こー)帝(てぃー) (kōtī, “emperor”)

王(をー) (wō) 

1. king

• 王(をー)子(じ) (wōji)
• 王(をー)妃(ふぃ) (wōfi)
• 国(くく)王(をー) (kukuwō)

From Baekje 鞬吉支 (*k(j)ə-n kici).

王 (*ko₂niki₁si) (kana こにきし)

1. an ancient Korean king

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

王: Hán Việt readings: vương (雨(vũ)方(phương)切(thiết))^{[1][2][3][4][5]}, vượng^[5]
王: 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. chữ Nôm form of vướng (“to be entangled in; to be involved in”)
4. chữ Hán form of vượng (“to reign”)