頸

Translingual

Traditional	頸
Shinjitai (extended)	頚
Simplified	颈

Han character

頸 (Kangxi radical 181, 頁+7, 16 strokes, cangjie input 一一一月金 (MMMBC), four-corner 1118₆, composition ⿰巠頁)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 1405, character 14
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 43515
Dae Jaweon: page 1922, character 19
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4373, character 7
Unihan data for U+9838

Chinese

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
葝	ɡeŋ, ɡeŋ
頸	keŋʔ, ɡeŋ
勁	kɯns, keŋs
鑋	kʰeŋ, kʰeːŋs
輕	kʰeŋ, kʰeŋs
涇	ɡeŋʔ, keːŋ
經	keːŋ, keːŋs
鵛	*keːŋ
巠	*keːŋ
剄	*keːŋʔ
烴	*keːŋʔ
徑	*keːŋs
逕	*keːŋs
桱	*keːŋs
蛵	*qʰeːŋ
陘	*ɡeːŋ
鋞	ɡeːŋ, ɡeːŋʔ
脛	ɡeːŋʔ, ɡeːŋs
踁	*ɡeːŋs

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *keŋʔ, *ɡeŋ) : phonetic 巠 (OC *keːŋ) + semantic 頁 (“body part”).

Etymology 1

trad.		頸
simp.		颈
alternative forms		頚

Schuessler (2007) compares this to Tibetan སྐེ (ske, “neck”), Chepang केक् (kek, “neck”), कय्‍क् (kəyk, “neck, stem”), and suggests that this word is part of a larger word family based on a Sino-Tibetan root *ke (“concave”). These Tibeto-Burman comparanda are given under Proto-Tibeto-Burman *s/m-kej-k (“neck”) in STEDT.

Wang (1982) relates this to 亢 (OC *kaːŋ, “neck”), but Schuessler (2007) finds this relationship unlikely.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): jǐng (jing³)

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄥˇ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): jin³
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): geng² / ging²

(Taishan, Wiktionary): giang²
Gan (Wiktionary): jiang³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): kiáng

(Meixian, Guangdong): giang³
Eastern Min (BUC): géng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kèng / kéng

(Teochew, Peng'im): gên³
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵cin
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): jin³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jǐng
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄥˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jǐng
  - Wade–Giles: ching³
  - Yale: jǐng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiing
  - Palladius: цзин (czin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiŋ²¹⁴/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: jin³
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gin
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕin⁵³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: geng² / ging²
  - Yale: géng / gíng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: geng² / ging²
  - Guangdong Romanization: géng² / ging²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛːŋ³⁵/, /kɪŋ³⁵/

Note:

geng2 - vernacular (can also be used in literary contexts);
ging2 - literary (rare).

(Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: giang²
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /kiaŋ⁵⁵/

Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: jiang³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiaŋ²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kiáng
  - Hakka Romanization System: giang^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: giang³
  - Sinological IPA: /ki̯aŋ³¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: giang³
  - Sinological IPA: /kiaŋ³¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: géng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛiŋ²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kèng
  - Tâi-lô: kìng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kexng
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kiɪŋ²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kiɪŋ⁴¹/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kéng
  - Tâi-lô: kíng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: keang
  - IPA (Taipei): /kiɪŋ⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiɪŋ⁴¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gên³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kèⁿ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kẽ²¹³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵cin
  - MiniDict: cin^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²jin
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕin³⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: jin³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕin⁴¹/

Middle Chinese: gjieng, kjiengX

Rime
Character	頸	頸
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	群 (30)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	清 (121)	清 (121)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	巨成切	居郢切
Baxter	gjieng	kjiengX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɡiᴇŋ/	/kiᴇŋ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/ɡiɛŋ/	/kiɛŋ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/ɡiæŋ/	/kiæŋ^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/giajŋ/	/kiajŋ^X/
Li Rong	/ɡiɛŋ/	/kiɛŋ^X/
Wang Li	/ɡĭɛŋ/	/kĭɛŋ^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/gi̯ɛŋ/	/ki̯ɛŋ^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qíng	jǐng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	king⁴	ging²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*m-[k]eŋ/, /*[k]eŋʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*keŋʔ/, /*ɡeŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	頸	頸
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jǐng	jǐng
Middle Chinese	‹ gjieng ›	‹ kjieng^X ›
Old Chinese	/m-[k]eŋ/ (no palatalization before -eŋ?)	/[k]eŋʔ/ (no palatalization before -eŋ?)
English	neck	neck
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	頸	頸
Reading #	1/2	2/2
No.	6789	6795
Phonetic component	巠	巠
Rime group	耕	耕
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	頸	頸
Old Chinese	/*keŋʔ/	/*ɡeŋ/

Definitions

頸

neck (Classifier: 條／条 c)
我條頸好痕。 [Cantonese, trad.]
我条颈好痕。 [Cantonese, simp.]
ngo⁵ tiu⁴ geng² hou² han⁴. [Jyutping]
My neck is itchy.
neck-like thing
瓶頸／瓶颈 ― píngjǐng ― bottleneck

子宮頸／子宫颈 ― zǐgōngjǐng ― cervix

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 脖子 (“neck”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		頸, 項, 頸項, 亢, 脰
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		頸項, 頸部
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	脖子
	Taiwan	脖子
	Chengde	脖子
	Ulanhot	脖子
	Tongliao	脖子
	Chifeng	脖子
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	脖子
	Heihe	脖子
	Qiqihar	脖子
	Harbin	脖子
	Jiamusi	脖子
	Baicheng	脖子
	Changchun	脖子
	Tonghua	脖子
	Shenyang	脖子
	Jinzhou	脖子
	Singapore	頸項, 脖子
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	脖子
	Tangshan	脖子
	Cangzhou	脖子
	Baoding	脖子
	Shijiazhuang	脖子
	Lijin	脖子
	Jinan	脖子
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	脖子
	Dandong	脖子
	Yantai	脖子
	Yantai (Muping)	脖子
	Qingdao	脖子, 脖頸子
	Zhucheng	脖子
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	脖子
	Lingbao	脖子
	Jining	脖子, 格了脖兒
	Wanrong	脖項, 脖子
	Linfen	脖項, 項脖
	Shangqiu	脖子, 頸
	Yuanyang	脖子, 頸子
	Zhengzhou	脖子
	Xinyang	脖子
	Baihe	脖子, 頸脖
	Xi'an	脖項, 脖子, 項頸兒
	Baoji	脖子, 脖朗骨
	Tianshui	脖子
	Xining	脖子, 脖板, 脖脖, 板頸, 皮板筋
	Xuzhou	脖頸子, 脖了頸子, 脖子, 脖頸兒
	Fuyang	脖子
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	脖子
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	脖子
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	脖子
	Bayanhot	脖子, 脖頸
	Lanzhou	脖子
	Dunhuang	脖子, 脖頸
	Hami	脖子
	Ürümqi	脖子, 板頸
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	頸項, 脖子, 頸子
	Nanchong	頸子
	Dazhou	頸項
	Hanyuan	頸項
	Xichang	脖子, 頸子
	Zigong	頸子
	Chongqing	頸子, 頸項
	Wuhan	頸子, 頸框
	Yichang	頸子
	Xiangyang	脖子, 頸脖子
	Tianmen	脖子, 頸子, 頸項
	Guiyang	脖頸, 頸根
	Zunyi	頸子
	Bijie	頸子
	Liping	頸
	Zhaotong	脖子
	Dali	脖子
	Kunming	脖子
	Mengzi	脖子
	Guilin	頸子
	Liuzhou	頸脖
	Jishou	頸梗
	Hanzhong	脖子, 頸項
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	頸子, 脖子
	Yangzhou	頸項, 頸亢
	Lianyungang	脖子
	Lianshui	脖子
	Nantong	頸項, 頸亢
	Anqing	頸子
	Wuhu	頸子
	Hefei	腦頸把子, 老頸子
	Hong'an	頸杆子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	頸
	Hong Kong	頸
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	頸
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	頸
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	頸
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	頸
	Macau	頸
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	頸
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	頸
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	頸
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	頸
	Foshan	頸
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	頸
	Foshan (Shunde)	頸
	Foshan (Sanshui)	頸
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	頸
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	頸
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	頸
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	頸
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	頸
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	頸
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	頸
	Taishan	頸
	Kaiping (Chikan)	頸
	Enping (Niujiang)	頸
	Heshan (Yayao)	頸頭
	Dongguan	頸, 頸臂 of a person
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	頸
	Qingyuan	頸
	Fogang	頸
	Yingde (Hanguang)	頸
	Yangshan	頸
	Lianshan (Butian)	頸
	Lianzhou (Qingshui; Sihui)	頸
	Shaoguan	頸
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	頸
	Renhua	頸
	Lechang	頸
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	頸
	Sihui	頸
	Guangning	頸
	Deqing	頸
	Huaiji	頸
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	頸
	Yunfu	頸
	Xinxing	頸
	Luoding	頸
	Yunan (Pingtai)	頸
	Yangjiang	頸, 頸柄
	Xinyi	頸
	Lianjiang	頸
	Wuchuan (Wuyang)	頸, 頸兒
	Nanning	頸
	Wuzhou	頸
	Yulin	頸
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	頸, 頸筋
	Guiping	頸
	Mengshan (Xihe)	頸
	Guigang (Nanjiang)	頸
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	頸
	Baise	頸
	Bobai	頸
	Lingshan	頸
	Pubei	頸
Qinzhou	頸
Beihai	頸
Ningming	頸
Hengzhou	頸
Hezhou (Pumen, Babu)	頸
Danzhou	頸
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	頸
Singapore (Guangfu)	頸
Gan	Nanchang	頸
	Pengze	頸
	Lichuan	頸
	Pingxiang	頸牯
Hakka	Meixian	頸根, 頸
	Xingning	頸
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	頸
	Huidong (Daling)	頸
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	頸
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	頸
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	頸骨
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	頸根
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	頸根
	Wuhua (Changbu)	頸根
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	頸
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	頸
	Wengyuan	頸
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	頸
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	頸
	Liannan	頸
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	頸
	Jiexi	頸
	Luhe	頸根
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	頸骨
	Changting	頸
	Wuping	頸根
	Wuping (Yanqian)	頸官
	Wuping (Pingyu)	頸根
	Liancheng	頸骨, 頸
	Ninghua	頸
	Yudu	頸
	Ruijin	頸
	Shicheng	頸
	Shangyou (Shexi)	頸根
	Tonggu (Sandu)	頸
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	頸筋
	Dayu	頸
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	頸根
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	頸根
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	頸根
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	頸根
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	頸根
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	頸
	Hong Kong	頸
	Yangxi (Tangkou)	頸
	Yangchun (Sanjia)	頸
	Xinyi (Sihe)	頸
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	頸
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	頸
	Maoming (Shalang, Dianbai)	頸骨
	Huazhou (Xin'an)	頸
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	頸
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	頸骨
	Mengshan (Xihe)	頸
	Luchuan	頸
	Sabah (Longchuan)	頸
	Senai (Huiyang)	頸
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	頸
	Singkawang	頸, 頸根
	Singapore (Meixian)	頸根
	Singapore (Dabu)	頸根
Huizhou	Jixi	扣頸, 脰頸
	Shexian	頭頸, 項頸
	Huangshan (Tunxi)	頭頸
Jin	Taiyuan	脖子
	Yangyuan	脖子, 脖頸
	Datong	脖子
	Xinzhou	脖子
	Lüliang (Lishi)	脖子
	Changzhi	脖子
	Taibus (Baochang)	脖子
	Linhe	脖子, 脖頸
	Jining	脖子, 脖頸
	Hohhot	脖子
	Baotou	脖頸
	Dongsheng	脖子
	Haibowan	脖頸
	Erenhot	脖子
	Pingshan	脖子
	Zhangjiakou	脖子
	Handan	脖子
	Linzhou	脖了
	Suide	脖子, 脖項
Northern Min	Jian'ou	脰, 仲仲
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	脰仔
	Songxi	脰骨
	Zhenghe	脰仔
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	脰管
	Jianyang	脰
	Wuyishan	脰
	Pucheng (Shibei)	脰
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	脰骨
	Fuzhou (Changle)	脰骨
	Fuqing	脰脖筋, 脰脖株
	Yongtai	脰骨
	Gutian	脰穩
	Fu'an	脰穩
	Ningde	脰穩
	Shouning	脰領
	Zhouning	脰引
	Fuding	脰穩
	Matsu	脰脖
Southern Min	Xiamen	頷頸, 脰項
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	頷頸
	Quanzhou	頷胿, 下頷
	Jinjiang	頷胿
	Hui'an	頷胿
	Anxi	脰項
	Yongchun	脰穩
	Dehua	脰穩
	Zhangzhou	頷頸, 頷管, 頷仔, 頷捘
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	頷仔
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	頷仔頸
	Pinghe	頸骨
	Zhangpu	頷仔
	Yunxiao	頷骨仔
	Zhao'an	頷仔, 頷骨
	Dongshan	頷
	Taipei	頷頸仔
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	頷頸
	Kaohsiung	頷頸
	Yilan	頷頸, 頷頸仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	頷頸
	Taichung	頷仔頸
	Taichung (Wuqi)	頷頸
	Tainan	頷胿, 頷頸仔, 頷仔頸
	Taitung	頷頸仔
	Hsinchu	頷頸
	Kinmen	頷頸
	Penghu (Magong)	頷頸
	Penang (Hokkien)	頷仔頸, 頷頸
	Singapore (Hokkien)	頷頸
	Manila (Hokkien)	頷胿
	Longyan	頭顱頸仔
	Zhangping	頷仔
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	領頸
	Datian	脰嚨
	Chaozhou	頷
	Shantou	頷
	Shantou (Chenghai)	頷
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	頷
	Jieyang	頷
	Lufeng	頷筒仔
	Haifeng	頷, 頷仔, 頷筒仔, 頷脰
	Bangkok (Teochew)	頷
	Ho Chi Minh City (Teochew)	頷
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	頷
	Singapore (Teochew)	頷
	Leizhou	脰
	Wenchang	脰, 脰蒂根
	Haikou	脰蒂, 脰
	Qionghai	脰蒂
	Singapore (Hainanese)	脰蒂
Puxian Min	Putian	脰顱
Puxian Min	Xianyou	脰顱
Central Min	Yong'an	頭頸
	Sanming (Sanyuan)	脰頸
	Sanming (Shaxian)	脰總
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	頸骨, 頸
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Sanxiang)	腚頸
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	頸, 頸子
Shehua	Fu'an	頸棟
	Fuding	頸棟
	Sanming	頸龍
	Shunchang	頸棟
	Hua'an	頸骨
Wu	Shanghai	頭頸, 頭頸骨
	Shanghai (Chongming)	頸骨
	Suzhou	頭頸
	Danyang	頸梗
	Hangzhou	脰頸, 脖子
	Ningbo	頭頸骨, 頭頸
	Wenzhou	頭頸
	Jinhua	項頸
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	頭頸
Xiang	Changsha	頸根, 頸箍
	Xiangtan	頸筋
	Loudi	頸殼, 頸筋
	Shuangfeng	頸殼
	Hengyang	頸筋

Compounds

Etymology 2

trad.		頸
simp.		颈

Usually considered to be the colloquial reading of etymology 1. Wang (2016) considers the semantic narrowing from “neck” to “nape” in the limited context of 脖_子 to be implausible.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): gěng (geng³)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄥˇ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: gěng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄥˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: gěng
  - Wade–Giles: kêng³
  - Yale: gěng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: geeng
  - Palladius: гэн (gɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɤŋ²¹⁴/

Definitions

頸

Used in colloquial words for the nape.

Compounds

脖頸／脖颈 (bógěng)
脖頸兒／脖颈儿 (bógěngr)
脖頸子／脖颈子 (bógěngzi)

Etymology 3

trad.		頸
simp.		颈
alternative forms		䫀／𫖱管滾／滚

Pronunciation

Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kún

Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Hsinchu, Lukang, Sanxia, Yilan, Kinmen, Magong)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kún
  - Tâi-lô: kún
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kuon
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kun⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Tainan, Yilan, Kinmen): /kun⁵³/
  - IPA (Lukang): /kun⁵⁵/

Definitions

頸

Only used in 頷頸／颔颈 and its variants.

Compounds

Japanese

Shinjitai (extended)	頚
Kyūjitai	頸

Kanji

頸

(Hyōgai kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 頚)

Readings

Go-on: きょう (kyō)、ぎょう (gyō)
Kan-on: けい (kei)
Kun: くび (kubi, 頸)

Noun

頸(くび) • (kubi)

Alternative form of 首

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 頸 (MC kjiengX).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	겨ᇰ〯 (Yale: kyěng)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527^[1]	목 (Yale: mwòk)	겨ᇰ〯 (Yale: kyěng)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kjʌ̹ŋ]
Phonetic hangul: [경]

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

頸

Wikisource

頸 (eumhun 목 경 (mok gyeong))

hanja form^? of 경 (“neck”) [affix]

Compounds

경동맥 (頸動脈, gyeongdongmaek)
경추 (頸椎, gyeongchu)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

Han character

頸: Hán Nôm readings: nghỉnh, cảnh

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