弓
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Translingual
Stroke order | |||
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Han character
弓 (radical 57, 弓+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 弓 (N), four-corner 17207, composition ⿱コ㇉)
- Kangxi radical #57, ⼸.
References
- KangXi: page 356, character 1
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9692
- Dae Jaweon: page 671, character 22
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 987, character 11
- Unihan data for U+5F13
Chinese
simp. and trad. |
弓 |
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Glyph origin
Historical forms of the character 弓 | ||||
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Shang | Western Zhou | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Chu Slip and silk script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
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Characters in the same phonetic series (弓) (Zhengzhang, 2003) | |
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Old Chinese | |
弓 | *kʷɯŋ |
穹 | *kʰʷɯŋ |
焪 | *kʰʷɯŋ, *kʰʷɯŋs |
芎 | *kʰʷɯŋ |
Pictogram (象形) - pictographic representation of a bow.
Etymology
Possibly related to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *kuːŋ (“tree, branch, stem”) (Coblin, 1986), semantically connected with the shape of a bent tree branch. Cognate with Burmese ကိုင် (kuing, “to bend over; to be bent”), အကိုင် (a.kuing, “stalk; branch”), Tedim Chin [script needed] (kung¹, “tree”), Jingpho kung (“to branch; to grow”), lakung (“branch; limb”), Lepcha [script needed] (kóng, “branch”), [script needed] (kúng, “tree”) (STEDT).
Schuessler (2007) proposes that both Old Chinese 弓 (OC *kʷɯŋ) and Proto-Tibeto-Burman *kuːŋ are derived from Proto-Mon-Khmer *koŋ, whence Nyah Kur [script needed] (kóoŋ, “bent (in the middle)”), Mon ကိုၚ် (“to be bent”), Khmer កោង (kaong, “to bend; to be bent”), Khasi pyrkhung (“to bend; to arch”), Pear kuŋ (“bend”), Vietnamese cong (“to be bent, curved”).
Also compare Proto-Tibeto-Burman *ku(ː)m (“arched; vaulted”)
Derivatives are 肱 (OC *kʷɯːŋ, “(upper) arm”) and 穹 (OC *kʰʷɯŋ, “arched; vault; sky”).
Pronunciation
Compounds
Japanese
Readings
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term |
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弓 |
ゆ Grade: 2 |
kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. In modern Japanese, only found as a prefix in compounds.[1][2]
Derived terms
Etymology 2


Kanji in this term |
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弓 |
ゆみ Grade: 2 |
kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE). A surface analysis suggests a combination of Old Japanese yu (see above) + suffixing element mi, itself of uncertain derivation.
Noun
Derived terms
- 弓矢 (yumiya, “bow and arrow”)
- 梓弓 (azusa yumi, “a catalpa wood bow”)
- 破魔弓 (hama yumi, “a traditional Shintō ceremonial bow for dispelling evil”)
- 重籐弓 (shigedō yumi), 滋籐弓 (shigedō yumi), 繁籐弓 (shigedō yumi, “a rattan wood bow”)
See also
- ロングボウ (rongubō, “longbow”)
Further reading
弓_(武器) on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ja (archery) Yumi (Japanese archery bow) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia 弓_(楽器) on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ja (music) Bow_(music) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Etymology 3
Kanji in this term |
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弓 |
たらし Grade: 2 |
kun’yomi |
Alteration from torashi, 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb torasu, from tora as the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of verb 取る (toru, “to take”) + す (su, honorific suffix in Old Japanese). Original meaning was “something kept to hand”.[1][2]
Alternative forms
Noun
弓 (hiragana たらし, rōmaji tarashi)
Synonyms
- 御%執 (み%たらし), 御弓 (mitarashi)
Etymology 4
Kanji in this term |
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弓 |
きゅう Grade: 2 |
kan’on |
From Middle Chinese 弓 (MC kɨuŋ).[1][2] Compare modern Mandarin 弓 (gōng).
Noun
- (rare) a bow
- (obsolete) in ancient Chinese archery, a unit of length for measuring the distance between the archer and the target; one kyū was equal to six 尺 (shaku), roughly six feet or 182 centimeters
- (obsolete) in ancient China, a unit of length for surveying land; one kyū was equal to eight 尺 (shaku), roughly eight feet or 242 centimeters
Usage notes
In modern Japanese, the reading kyū is most often found in compounds.
Derived terms
Korean

the shape of the Hun bow
Hanja
弓 • (gung)
Related terms
Vietnamese
Han character
弓 (cung)
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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