語

語 U+8A9E, 語 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8A9E ← 誝 [U+8A9D] CJK Unified Ideographs 誟 → [U+8A9F]

Stroke order

語 (Kangxi radical 149, 言+7, 14 strokes, cangjie input 卜口一一口 (YRMMR), four-corner 0166₁, composition ⿰訁吾)

• 𡂂, 𢣸, 𤻭, 𠑕, 𫤋, 𡈰

• 语 (Simplified Chinese)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1163, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 35533
• Dae Jaweon: page 1628, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3974, character 9
• Unihan data for U+8A9E

trad.		語
simp.		语

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ŋaʔ, *ŋas): semantic 言 + phonetic 吾 (OC *ŋraː, *ŋaː).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ŋaq (“to speak”). Compare Tibetan ངག (ngag, “speech”).

According to Schuessler (2007), 言 (OC *ŋan, “to speak; speech; talk”) is 語 (OC *ŋaʔ) with a nominal n-suffix.

語

1. to speak; to say

   • 子不語怪，力，亂，神。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     子不语怪，力，乱，神。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Zǐ bù yǔ guài, lì, luàn, shén. [Pinyin]

     The Master spoke not of oddities, feats of strength, disorders, and spirits.

2. (of an animal) to chirp; to hoot
3. speech; language
4. (linguistics) spoken language (contrary to written language 文)
5. expression; words
6. saying; proverb; set phrase
7. movement or signal which transmits information
8. chirping; tweet

語

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to tell; to inform

   • 子好遊乎？吾語子遊。人知之亦囂囂、人不知亦囂囂。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     子好游乎？吾语子游。人知之亦嚣嚣、人不知亦嚣嚣。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Zǐ hào yóu hū? Wú yù zǐ yóu. Rén zhī zhī yì xiāoxiāo, rén bùzhī yì xiāoxiāo. [Pinyin]

     Are you, Sir, fond of travelling to the different courts? I will tell you about such travelling. If a prince acknowledge you and follow your counsels, be perfectly satisfied. If no one do so, be the same.

• “語”, 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–
• 郭启熹 [Guo, Qixi], editor (2016), “语”, in 龙岩方言词典 LONGYAN FANGYAN CIDIAN [Dictionary of Longyan dialect] (overall work in Min Nan and Mandarin), Xiamen: 鷺江出版社 [Lujiang Publishing House], →ISBN, page 59.

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: ご (go, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: ぎょ (gyo)
• Kun: かたらう (katarau, 語らう, Jōyō)^{←かたらふ (katarafu, 語らふ, historical)}、かたる (kataru, 語る, Jōyō)、ことば (kotoba, 語)、つげる (tsugeru, 語げる)

Kanji in this term
語
ご Grade: 2
goon

From Middle Chinese 語 (MC ngjoX).

• (Tokyo) ご [góꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ɡo̞]

When used as a suffix, the resulting word is always heiban.

語(ご) • (go) 

1. (linguistics) a word, term

   Synonyms: 言葉 (kotoba), 単語 (tango)

2. a proverb

   Synonyms: 諺 (kotowaza), 成句 (seiku)

語(ご) • (-go) 

1. language of, -ese, -ish

   日(に)本(ほん)語(ご) ― nihongo ― Japanese

   英(えい)語(ご) ― eigo ― English

   スペイン語(ご) ― supeingo ― Spanish

語(ご) • (go) 

1. talk, speak
2. word, language, term
3. short for 物語 (monogatari): story, tale, narrative

From Middle Chinese 語 (MC ngjoX).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	ᅌᅥᆼ〯 (Yale: ngě)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2]	말〯ᄉᆞᆷ〮 (Yale: mǎlsóm)	어〯 (Yale: ě)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɘ(ː)]
• Phonetic hangul: [어(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Wikisource

語 (eumhun 말씀 어 (malsseum eo))

1. hanja form^? of 어 (“language of; -ese; -ish”)

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

語: Hán Việt readings: ngữ^[1][2][3]
語: Nôm readings: ngỡ^[1][2][3][4], ngửa^[1][2][3][4], ngữ^[1][2][3], ngứa^[1][3], ngợ^[3][4], gỡ^[1]

1. chữ Hán form of ngữ (“language”)
2. chữ Nôm form of ngỡ (“to think that”)

• 國語 (quốc ngữ)
• 語羅 (ngỡ là)