南

南	U+5357, 南 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5357

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

南 (Kangxi radical 24, 十+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十月廿十 (JBTJ), four-corner 4022₇, composition ⿱十⿵冂𢆉)

Derived characters

㑲, 㓓, 喃, 𡎜, 婻, 𪩂, 㣮, 揇, 湳, 暔, 腩, 楠, 煵, 遖, 䊖, 䋻(䌾), 蝻, 諵, 𨂾, 𨡯, 𨩇, 𠄼, 献, 𢆥, 𦣰, 萳, 罱, 䈒

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 157, character 5
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 65, character 2
Unihan data for U+5357

Chinese

simp. and trad.		南
2nd round simp.		⿱十冂

Wikipedia has articles on:

南 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
南 (Cantonese)
南 (Gan)
nàm (Hakka)
南 (Wu)

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
南	*nuːm
楠	*nuːm
腩	*nuːmʔ
湳	*nuːmʔ
揇	*nuːmʔ
萳	*nuːmʔ
罱	*ruːmʔ
喃	*rnuːm
諵	rnuːm, rnuːms

This character has been explained as a pictogram (象形) of a hanging percussion instrument, originally identical to the left side of 㱿. Under this hypothesis its borrowing for the word “south” is difficult to explain.

Sagart (1988) instead proposes that it is a pictogram of the front of a house. Archaeological evidence confirms that in antiquity, at least in some regions, houses were built to face south.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-nam (“sky, sun”) (STEDT; Schuessler (2007); Benedict (1972)); the south is traditionally associated with the sun & light, compare 陽 (OC *laŋ, “light, sun-lit south-side of a hill”).

If so, cognate with Tibetan གནམ (gnam, “sky”), ནམ (nam, “night”), Tshangla ngam (“sun, noon, day, sky”), Chepang न्‍याम् (nyam, “sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather”).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates this word to Old Chinese *nɨm (revised to *nˤ[ə]m in 2014) "belly, front of the body", further "south" to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nam (“rib(s)”), as one term for one body-part often shifts its meaning to another body-part nearby.

If so, 南 is cognate with 妊 (OC *njɯms, “to carry inside one's belly → to be pregnant”), 任 (OC *njɯm, *njɯms, “to carry a burden, especially in front of the body”), also 腩 (OC *nuːmʔ, “belly (of an ox)”), Southern Pumi nõ⁵⁵, Burmese နံရိုး (nam-rui:, “side of the body, rib”), and thus is a semantic counterpart to 北 (OC *pɯːɡ, “north”), which is related to 背 (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs, “back of the body”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): nán (nan²)

(Zhuyin): ㄋㄢˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): nan²

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): нан (nan, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): naam⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): nam³
Gan (Wiktionary): lan⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): nàm

(Hailu, HRS): nam

(Meixian, Guangdong): nam²
Jin (Wiktionary): nan¹
Northern Min (KCR): nâng
Eastern Min (BUC): nàng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): nang²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): lâm

(Teochew, Peng'im): lam⁵ / nam⁵ / nang⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶noe
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): lan²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: nán
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: nán
  - Wade–Giles: nan²
  - Yale: nán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nan
  - Palladius: нань (nanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nän³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: nan²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: lan
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nan²¹/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: нан (nan, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /næ̃²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: naam⁴
  - Yale: nàahm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: naam⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: nam⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /naːm²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: nam³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ⁿdam²²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: lan⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lan³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: nàm
  - Hakka Romanization System: nam^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: nam²
  - Sinological IPA: /nam¹¹/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: nam
  - Sinological IPA: /nam⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: nam²
  - Sinological IPA: /nam¹¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: nan¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /næ̃¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: nâng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /naŋ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: nàng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nˡaŋ⁵³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: nang²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /naŋ¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâm
  - Tâi-lô: lâm
  - Phofsit Daibuun: laam
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lam²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /lam²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /lam¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /lam²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lam²³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: lam⁵ / nam⁵ / nang⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lâm / nâm / nâng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lam⁵⁵/, /nam⁵⁵/, /naŋ⁵⁵/

Note:

lam5 - Chaozhou, Raoping;
nam5 - Shantou, Chaoyang, Jieyang;
nang5 - Chenghai.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶noe
  - MiniDict: noe^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³noe
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /nø²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: lan²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃an¹³/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 南
Mandarin	Beijing	/nan³⁵/
	Harbin	/nan²⁴/
	Tianjin	/nan⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/nã⁴²/
	Qingdao	/nã⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/nan⁴²/
	Xi'an	/nã²⁴/
	Xining	/nã²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/nan⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/lɛ̃n⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/nan⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/nan²¹³/
	Chengdu	/nan³¹/
	Guiyang	/nan²¹/
	Kunming	/nã̠³¹/
	Nanjing	/laŋ²⁴/
	Hefei	/læ̃⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/næ̃¹¹/
	Pingyao	/nɑŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/næ̃³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/nø²³/
	Suzhou	/nø¹³/
	Hangzhou	/nẽ̞²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/nø³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/lɛ⁴⁴/
Hui	Tunxi	/lɔ⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/lan¹³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/nan¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/lan⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/nam¹¹/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/nɑm¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/nam²¹/
	Nanning	/nam²¹/
	Hong Kong	/nam²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/lam³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/naŋ⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/naŋ³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/nam⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/nam³¹/

Middle Chinese: nom

Rime
Character	南
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	泥 (8)
Final (韻)	覃 (159)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	那含切
Baxter	nom
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/nʌm/
Pan Wuyun	/nəm/
Shao Rongfen	/nɒm/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/nəm/
Li Rong	/nᴀm/
Wang Li	/nɒm/
Bernhard Karlgren	/năm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	nán
Expected Cantonese Reflex	naam⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*nˤ[ə]m/

(Zhengzhang): /*nuːm/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	南
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	nán
Middle Chinese	‹ nom ›
Old Chinese	/*nˁ[ə]m/
English	south
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	南
Reading #	1/1
No.	9355
Phonetic component	南
Rime group	侵
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	南
Old Chinese	/*nuːm/

Definitions

南

south; southern

Coordinate terms

(compass points) 方位;

西北 (xīběi)	北	東北／东北 (dōngběi)
西 (xī)		東／东 (dōng)
西南 (xīnán)	南	東南／东南 (dōngnán)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (南):

→ Japanese: 南(なん) (nan)
→ Okinawan: 南(なん) (nan)
→ Korean: 남(南) (nam)
→ Vietnamese: nam (南)

Others:

→ Japanese: 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind (mahjong tile)”)

Compounds

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): nā, ná (na¹, na²)

(Zhuyin): ㄋㄚ, ㄋㄚˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): naa¹
Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): na¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: nā
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: na
  - Wade–Giles: na¹
  - Yale: nā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nha
  - Palladius: на (na)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nä⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ná
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄚˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ná
  - Wade–Giles: na²
  - Yale: ná
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: na
  - Palladius: на (na)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nä³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: naa¹
  - Yale: nā
  - Cantonese Pinyin: naa¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: na¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /naː⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: na¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: na
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /na³³/

Definitions

南

Only used in 南無／南无 (nāmó).

References

“南”, 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–

Japanese

Kanji

南

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Go-on: なん (nan, Jōyō)^{←なん (nan, historical)}^{←なむ (namu, ancient)}
Kan-on: だん (dan)^{←だん (dan, historical)}^{←だむ (damu, ancient)}
Kan’yō-on: な (na, Jōyō ^†)
Kun: みなみ (minami, 南, Jōyō)
Nanori: あけ (ake)、なみ (nami)、は (ha)、みな (mina)、みまみ (mimami)、よし (yoshi)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
南
みなみ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

南

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Minami

Wikipedia

⟨mi₁nami₁⟩ → */mʲinamʲɨ/ → /minami/

From Old Japanese.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) みなみ [mìnámí] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

(Kyoto) みなみ [míꜜnàmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

(Kagoshima) みなみ [mìnáꜜmì] (Nakadaka – [2])
IPA^(key): [mʲi̥na̠mʲi̥]

Noun

南(みなみ) • (minami)

the south (cardinal point)
- c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo^[3]
  和可夜之奈比乃可波利爾波(わがやしなひのかはりには)、於保末之末須(おほまします)、美奈美(みなみ)乃末知奈流(のまちなる)奴(やつこ)乎宇氣與止(をうけよと)... [Man'yōgana]
  我(わ)が養(やしな)ひの代(かは)りには、おほ坐(ま)します、南(みなみ)の街(まち)なる奴(やつこ)を受(う)けよと... [Modern spelling]
  waga yashinai no kawari ni wa, ōmashimasu, minami no machi naru yatsuko o ukeyo to...
  (please add an English translation of this example)
Antonym: 北 (kita)
a southerly, south wind
Synonym: 南風 (minamikaze, hae)

Antonym: 北 (kita)

Coordinate terms

(compass points) 方角 (hōgaku);

北西 (hokusei) 西北 (seihoku)	北 (kita)	北東 (hokutō) 東北 (tōhoku)
西 (nishi)		東 (higashi)
西南 (seinan) 南西 (nansei)	南 (minami)	東南 (tōnan) 南東 (nantō)

Derived terms

Proper noun

南(みなみ) or 南(ミナミ) • (Minami)

(historical) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo (as it was located south of Edo Castle)
the name of a ward in various cities throughout Japan, especially a former ward in the city of Osaka which is now part of Chūō Ward
a male given name
a female given name
a surname

Verb

南(みなみ)する • (minami suru) suru (stem 南(みなみ)し (minami shi), past 南(みなみ)した (minami shita))

(archaic) to go south
- 1789, Seikashū (haikai by Takai Kitō)
  紅楓(もみぢ)深(ふか)し、みなみし西(にし)す、水(みづ)の隅(すみ)
  momiji fukashi, minami shi nishi su, mizu no sumi
  (please add an English translation of this example)

Conjugation

Conjugation of "南する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	南し	みなみし	minami shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	南し	みなみし	minami shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	南する	みなみする	minami suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	南する	みなみする	minami suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	南すれ	みなみすれ	minami sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	南せよ¹ 南しろ²	みなみせよ¹ みなみしろ²	minami seyo¹ minami shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	南される	みなみされる	minami sareru
Causative	南させる南さす	みなみさせるみなみさす	minami saseru minami sasu
Potential	南できる	みなみできる	minami dekiru
Volitional	南しよう	みなみしよう	minami shiyō
Negative	南しない	みなみしない	minami shinai
Negative continuative	南せず	みなみせず	minami sezu
Formal	南します	みなみします	minami shimasu
Perfective	南した	みなみした	minami shita
Conjunctive	南して	みなみして	minami shite
Hypothetical conditional	南すれば	みなみすれば	minami sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

Classical conjugation of "南す" (サ行変格活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	南せ	みなみせ	minamise
Continuative (連用形)	南し	みなみし	minamisi
Terminal (終止形)	南す	みなみす	minamisu
Attributive (連体形)	南する	みなみする	minamisuru
Realis (已然形)	南すれ	みなみすれ	minamisure
Imperative (命令形)	南せよ	みなみせよ	minamiseyo
Key constructions
Negative	南せず	みなみせず	minamisezu
Contrasting conjunction	南すれど	みなみすれど	minamisuredo
Causal conjunction	南すれば	みなみすれば	minamisureba
Conditional conjunction	南せば	みなみせば	minamiseba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	南しき	みなみしき	minamisiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	南しけり	みなみしけり	minamisikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action)	南しつ	みなみしつ	minamisitu
Perfect tense (natural event)	南しぬ	みなみしぬ	minamisinu
Perfect-continuative tense	南せり南したり	みなみせりみなみしたり	minamiseri minamisitari
Volitional	南せむ	みなみせむ	minamisemu

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
南
みんなみ Grade: 2
irregular

/minami/ → /minːami/

Appears in The Pillow Book, completed in 1002.

Alteration of minami.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) みんなみ [mìńnámí] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [mʲĩnːa̠mʲi]

Noun

南(みんなみ) • (minnami)

(archaic) the south

Proper noun

南(みんなみ) • (Minnami)

(historical, archaic) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
南
なん Grade: 2
goon

/namʉ/ → /naɴ/

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nom).

Noun

南(なん) • (nan)

the south
Synonym: 南方 (nanpō)
Short for 南鐐 (nanryō): beautiful silver; a type of silver coin in the Edo period

Derived terms

南(なん)南(なん)西(せい) (nan-nansei)
南(なん)南(なん)東(とう) (nan-nantō)

Affix

南(なん) • (nan)

south, southern
Used in Sanskrit transliterations

Derived terms

南(なん)下(か) (nanka)
南(なん)柯(か) (nanka)
南(なん)極(きょく) (nankyoku)
南(なん)国(こく) (nankoku), 南(なん)国(ごく) (nangoku)
南(なん)端(たん) (nantan)
南(なん)挺(てい), 南(なん)廷(てい), 南(なん)庭(てい) (nantei)
南(なん)殿(でん) (nanden), 南(な)殿(でん) (naden)
南蛮(なんばん) (nanban)
南(なん)部(ぶ) (nanbu)
南(なん)風(ぷう) (nanpū)
南(なん)方(ぽう) (nanpō)
南(なん)北(ぼく) (nanboku)
南(なん)洋(よう) (nan'yō)
南(なん)鐐(りょう) (nanryō)
以(い)南(なん) (inan)
江(こう)南(なん) (kōnan)
指(し)南(なん) (shinan)
周(しゅう)南(なん) (Shūnan)
西(せい)南(なん) (seinan)
東(とう)南(なん) (tōnan)
洛(らく)南(なん) (rakunan)

Proper noun

南(なん) • (Nan)

a female given name
a surname

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
南
なん Grade: 2
irregular

From Mandarin 南 (nán).

Noun

南(ナン) • (nan)

(mahjong) south wind (mahjong tile)
Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
(mahjong) a 役 (yaku, “winning hand”) with a triplet or quad of south wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 翻 (han, “doubles”)
Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)

Coordinate terms

風(かぜ)牌(ハイ) (kazehai, “wind tiles”): 東(トン) (ton, “east wind”), 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind”), 西(シャー) (shā, “west wind”), 北(ペー) (pē, “north wind”)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
南
みなん Grade: 2
irregular

Shift from standard Japanese minami, dropping the final vowel and keeping the nasal.

/minami/ → /minaɴ/

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mʲinã̠ɴ]

Noun

南(みなん) • (minan)

(dialect, Kagoshima) south (cardinal point)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, →ISBN.

Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nom).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	남 (Yale: nàm)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527^[2]	앏 (Yale: àlp)	남 (Yale: nàm)
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576	남녁 (Yale: namnyek) 앏 (Yale: alp)	남 (Yale: nam)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠m]
Phonetic hangul: [남]

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

南

Wikisource

南 (eumhun 남녘 남 (namnyeok nam))

hanja form^? of 남 (“south; southern”)

Compounds

강남 (江南, Gangnam)
남극 (南極, namgeuk)
남반구 (南半球, Namban'gu)
남부 (南部, nambu)
남한 (南韓, Namhan)
월남 (越南, Wollam)
통미봉남 (通美封南, tongmibongnam)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠]
Phonetic hangul: [나]

Hanja

南 (eumhun 나무 나 (namu na))

hanja form^? of 나 (“Only used in 나무 (南無, namu)”)

References

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

Okinawan

Alternative forms

Kanji in this term
南
ふぇー Grade: 2
kun'yomi

南風

Kanji

南

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

On (unclassified): なん (nan, Jōyō)
Kun: ふぇー (fē, 南)

Compounds

南(なん)瓜(くゎー) (nankwā)
南蛮(なんばん) (nanban)

Etymology

Cognate to Yonaguni 南 (hai, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

Pronunciation

(Shuri-Naha) ふぇー [fèé] (Heiban - [0])
IPA^(key): [ɸeː]

Noun

南(ふぇー) (fē)

the south (cardinal point)
a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

Derived terms

南(ふぇー)風(かじ) (fēkaji)

References

“ふぇー【南・南風】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Old Japanese

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Compound of み (mi₁, uncertain, possibly “sea” or “water”) +‎ な (na, apophonic form of attributive particle の (no₂)) +‎ 見 (mi₁, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of verb 見る (mi₁ru), “to look, see”)?”

Noun

南 (mi₁nami₁) (kana みなみ)

the south (cardinal point)
- Shosoin document, text here
  和可夜之奈比乃、可波利爾波、於保末之末須、美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎、宇気与止
  wa ga yasinapi₁ no₂, kapari ni pa, opo masimasu mi₁nami₁ no₂ mati naru nu wo, uke₂ yo₂ to₂
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
a southerly (wind blowing from the south)
- c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 18, poem 4106:
  
  ...南吹雪消益而射水河流水沫能余留弊奈美...
  ...mi₁nami₁ puki₁ yuki₁ke₂ *masarite Imi₁du-gapa nagaru mi₁nawa no₂ yo₂ru pe₁ nami₁...
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

Also used in the Man'yōshū (759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨na⟩ and 借訓 (shakkun) kana for ⟨namu⟩.

Descendants

Japanese: 南 (minami)

Tày

Noun

南 (nam)

Nôm form of nam (“south”).

References

Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[4] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

Vietnamese

Han character

南: Hán Nôm readings: nam

Adjective

南 • (nam)

south, southern

References

Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)

Yonaguni

Kanji

南

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Kun: はい (hai, 南)

Etymology

Cognate to Okinawan 南 (fē, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [hai]

Noun

南(はい) (hai)

the south (cardinal point)
a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

References

“はい【南・南風】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Zhuang

Noun

南

Sawndip form of namz

[DJR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-2] 2.0 ^2.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[3] Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, →ISBN.

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