蔡

蔡	U+8521, 蔡 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8521

← 蔠
[U+8520]

CJK Unified Ideographs

蔢 →
[U+8522]

Translingual

Han character

蔡 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+11, 15 strokes in traditional Chinese, 14 strokes in simplified Chinese, cangjie input 廿月人火 (TBOF), four-corner 4490₁, composition ⿱艹祭)

Derived characters

攃櫒礤䌨𠐐𡂠𡣮𤁱𧭝𨯓𩧇𪒼𢨝𩁞𪇭𫊈𬪝𬯡𮜨

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 1055, character 3
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 31818
Dae Jaweon: page 1517, character 17
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3282, character 10
Unihan data for U+8521

Chinese

trad.		蔡
simp. ^#		蔡
2nd round simp.		𦬁

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 蔡
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States		Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Qin slip script	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
蔡	*sʰlaːds
瘵	*ʔsreːds
祭	ʔsreːds, ʔsleds
際	*ʔsleds
穄	*ʔsleds
鰶	*ʔsleds
傺	*hr'eds
摖	*sʰleːds
擦	*sʰlaːd
攃	sʰlaːd, saːd
礤	*sʰlaːd
察	*sʰreːd
詧	sʰreːd, sʰeːd

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sʰlaːds): semantic 艸 (“vegetation”) + phonetic 祭 (OC *ʔsreːds, *ʔsleds).

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): cài (cai⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄘㄞˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): cai⁴
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): coi³

(Taishan, Wiktionary): toi¹
Gan (Wiktionary): cai³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhai

(Hailu, HRS): cai^ˇ

(Meixian, Guangdong): cai⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): cai³
Northern Min (KCR): chuo̿i
Eastern Min (BUC): chái
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): cua⁴ / cai⁴
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): chhòa / chhài

(Teochew, Peng'im): cua³

(Leizhou, Leizhou Pinyin): cua³ / cai³
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵tshe
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): cai⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: cài
  - Zhuyin: ㄘㄞˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cài
  - Wade–Giles: tsʻai⁴
  - Yale: tsài
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsay
  - Palladius: цай (caj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰaɪ̯⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: cai⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: cai
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰai²¹³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: coi³
  - Yale: choi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsoi³
  - Guangdong Romanization: coi³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɔːi̯³³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: toi¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰᵘɔi³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: cai³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰai²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhai
  - Hakka Romanization System: cai
  - Hagfa Pinyim: cai⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰai̯⁵⁵/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: cai^ˇ
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰai¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: cai⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰaɪ⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: cai³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰai⁴⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chuo̿i
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuɛ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chái
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɑi²¹³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: cua⁴
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: chua̍
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰua⁴²/
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: cai⁴
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: cha̍i
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰai⁴²/

Note:

cua4 - vernacular (including surname);
cai4 - literary.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhòa
  - Tâi-lô: tshuà
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhoax
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /t͡sʰua⁴¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰua¹¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰua²¹/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhài
  - Tâi-lô: tshài
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhaix
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰai²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /t͡sʰai⁴¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰai¹¹/

Note:

chhòa - vernacular (including surname);
chhài - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: cua³
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshuà
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰua²¹³/
(Leizhou)
- Leizhou Pinyin: cua³ / cai³
- Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰua²¹/, /t͡sʰai²¹/

Note:

cua3 - vernacular (inc. surname);
cai3 - literary.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵tshe
  - MiniDict: tshe^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²tshe
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sʰe³⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: cai⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰai̯⁴⁵/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 蔡
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡sʰai⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡sʰai⁵³/
	Tianjin	/t͡sʰai⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡sʰɛ²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡sʰɛ⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡sʰai³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sʰai⁴⁴/
	Xining	/t͡sʰɛ²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/t͡sʰɛ¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡sʰɛ¹³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡sʰai²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡sʰai³⁵/
	Chengdu	/t͡sʰai¹³/
	Guiyang	/t͡sʰai²¹³/
	Kunming	/t͡sʰæ²¹²/
	Nanjing	/t͡sʰae⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡sʰe̞⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sʰai⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡sʰæ³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡sʰɛ⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/t͡sʰe³⁵/
	Suzhou	/t͡sʰɑ⁵¹³/
	Hangzhou	/t͡sʰe̞⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/t͡sʰa⁴²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰɛ³²⁴/
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡sʰa⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sʰai⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/t͡sʰai⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰai²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰai⁵³/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/t͡sʰɑi⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰɔi³³/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰɔi³³/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰɔi³³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/t͡sʰai²¹/ /t͡sʰua²¹/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/t͡sʰɑi²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/t͡sʰuɛ³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡sʰua²¹³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/sai³⁵/ /sua³⁵/

Middle Chinese: tshajH

Rime
Character	蔡
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	清 (14)
Final (韻)	泰 (25)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	倉大切
Baxter	tshajH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰɑi^H/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰɑi^H/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰɑi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰaj^H/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰɑi^H/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰɑi^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡sʰɑi^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	cài
Expected Cantonese Reflex	coi³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*s.r̥ˤat-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*sʰlaːds/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	蔡
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	cài
Middle Chinese	‹ tshaj^H ›
Old Chinese	/*s.r̥ˁat-s/
English	(name of a state)
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	蔡
Reading #	1/1
No.	5836
Phonetic component	祭
Rime group	祭
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime
Old Chinese	/*sʰlaːds/

Definitions

蔡

(obsolete) weed
(obsolete) tortoise used for divination
(～國) (historical) Cai (an ancient Chinese state)
- 孔子遷于蔡三歲，吳伐陳。楚救陳，軍于城父。聞孔子在陳蔡之間，楚使人聘孔子。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
  孔子迁于蔡三岁，吴伐陈。楚救陈，军于城父。闻孔子在陈蔡之间，楚使人聘孔子。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]
  From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
  Kǒngzǐ qiān yú Cài sān suì, Wú fá Chén. Chǔ jiù Chén, jūn yú Chéngfù. Wén Kǒngzǐ zài Chén Cài zhījiān, Chǔ shǐ rén pìn Kǒngzǐ. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
a surname
蔡英文 ― Cài Yīngwén ― Tsai Ing-wen (President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), 2016–2024)

蔡倫／蔡伦 ― Cài Lún ― Cai Lun (inventor of paper)

Compounds

新蔡 (Xīncài)
管蔡
蓍蔡
蔡中郎
蔡侯紙 / 蔡侯纸
蔡叔
蔡司
蔡家營 / 蔡家营 (Càijiāyíng)
蔡李佛 (càilǐfó)
蔡河 (Càihé)
蔡澤看相 / 蔡泽看相
蔡濠 (Càiháo)
蔡甸 (Càidiàn)
蔡邕倒屣
蔡順分椹 / 蔡顺分椹
陳蔡之厄 / 陈蔡之厄
饒蔡 / 饶蔡 (Ráocài)

Descendants

→ English: Cai, Tsai, Ts'ai, Choi, Choy, Tsoi, Chua
→ Tagalog: Chua (via Hokkien)

Japanese

Kanji

蔡

(Hyōgai kanji)

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

Readings

Go-on: さい (sai)
Kan-on: さい (sai)
On: さつ (satsu)
Kun: くさむら (kusamura, 蔡)、あくた (akuta, 蔡)

References

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

Korean

Hanja

蔡 (eum 채 (chae))
蔡 (eum 살 (sal))

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

Vietnamese

Han character

蔡: Hán Nôm readings: Thái

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