南

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

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

• KangXi: page 157, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
• Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 65, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5357

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

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.

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 [script needed] (nyam, “sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather”).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates 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 [script needed] (nam, “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”).

南

1. south; southern

• 東／东 (dōng): East; Eastern
• 西 (xī): West; Western
• 北 (běi): North; Northern

南

1. Only used in 南無／南无 (nāmó).

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. south
2. kanji used to transliterate Buddhist terms borrowed from Sanskrit

• 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, uncommon)
• Kun: みなみ (minami, 南, Jōyō)
• Nanori: あけ (ake); みな (mina); よし (yoshi)

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

⟨mi₁nami₁⟩ → */mʲinamʲɨ/ → /minami/

From Old Japanese.

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

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

• Kun’yomi
  • (Kyoto) み​なみ [míꜜnàmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

• Kun’yomi
  • (Kagoshima) みな​み [mìnáꜜmì] (Nakadaka – [2])
  • IPA^(key): [mʲi̥na̠mʲi̥]

南 (hiragana みなみ, rōmaji minami)

1. south (cardinal point)
   • c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo[3]

     和 (わ)可 (が)夜 (や)之 (し)奈 (な)比 (ひ)乃 (の)可 (か)波 (は)利 (り)爾 (に)波 (は)、於 (お)保 (ほ)末 (ま)之 (し)末 (ま)須 (す)、美 (み)奈 (な)美 (み)乃 (の)末 (ま)知 (ち)奈 (な)流 (る)奴 (やつこ)乎 (を)宇 (う)氣 (け)與 (よ)止 (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)

2. south wind, southerly
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 18, poem 4106), text here

     ...南 (みなみ)吹 (ふき)雪消 (ゆきげは)益 (ふり)而 (て)射 (い)水河 (みづかは)流 (ながる)水沫 (みなわ)能 (の)余 (よ)留 (る)弊 (へ)奈 (な)美 (み)... [Man'yōgana]

     ...南 (みなみ)吹 (ふ)き雪 (ゆき)消 (げ)はふりて射 (い)水 (みづ)川 (がは)流 (なが)る水沫 (みなわ)の寄 (よ)るへ無 (な)み... [Modern spelling]

     ...minami fuki yukige wa furite Imizu-gawa nagaru minawa no yoru e nami...

     (please add an English translation of this example)

   Synonym: 南風 (minamikaze, hae)

   Antonym: 北 (kita)

南 (hiragana みなみ, katakana ミナミ, rōmaji Minami)

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

   as it was located south of Edo Castle

2. 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
3. a female given name
4. a surname

南する (hiragana みなみする, rōmaji minami suru)

1. (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)

/minami/ → /minːami/

Appears in The Pillow Book, completed in 1002.

Alteration of minami.[1]

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

南 (hiragana みんなみ, rōmaji minnami)

1. (archaic) south (cardinal point)

南 (hiragana みんなみ, rōmaji Minnami)

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

/nam/ → /namʉ/ → /naɴ/

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nʌm).

南 (hiragana なん, rōmaji nan)

1. south (cardinal point)

   Synonym: 南方 (nanpō)

2. Short for 南鐐 (nanryō): beautiful silver; a type of silver coin in the Edo period

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

南 (hiragana なん, rōmaji Nan)

1. a female given name
2. a surname

From Mandarin 南 (nán).

南 (katakana ナン, rōmaji nan)

1. (mahjong) south wind (mahjong tile)

   Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)

2. (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)

• 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”)

南 • (nam)

• Eumhun:
  • Sound (hangeul): 남
  • Name (hangeul): 남녘

1. south; southern

南: Hán Nôm readings: nam, na

南 (nam)

1. south, southern

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