唱

唱 U+5531, 唱 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5531 ← 唰 [U+5530] CJK Unified Ideographs 唲 → [U+5532]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

唱 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 口日日 (RAA), four-corner 6606₀, composition ⿰口昌)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 193, character 21
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3765
• Dae Jaweon: page 414, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 640, character 8
• Unihan data for U+5531

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 唱
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
昌	*tʰjaŋ
倡	*tʰjaŋ, *tʰjaŋs
猖	*tʰjaŋ
菖	*tʰjaŋ
閶	*tʰjaŋ
鯧	*tʰjaŋ
裮	*tʰjaŋ
琩	*tʰjaŋ
唱	*tʰjaŋs

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *tʰjaŋs): semantic 口 + phonetic 昌 (OC *tʰjaŋ).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		唱

Same word as 倡 (OC *tʰjaŋs, “to lead; to advocate”). Schuessler (2007), reconstructing the Old Chinese minimally as *k-hlaŋh, considers it to be a Sino-Tibetan word; compare Burmese အချင်း (a.hkyang:, “song, poem”) and perhaps also Proto-Bodo-Garo *lʔəŋ (“to sing”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): chàng (chang⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄤˋ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): cang⁴

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): чон (čon, III)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): coeng³

• Gan (Wiktionary): cong³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhong

  (Hailu, HRS): chong^ˇ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): cong⁴

  (Changting, Changting Pinyin): chông⁴

• Jin (Wiktionary): con³
• Northern Min (KCR): chiô̤ng
• Eastern Min (BUC): chióng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): cieo⁴ / ciunn⁴ / cyorng⁴ / cyoeng⁴
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chhiùⁿ / chhiòⁿ / chhiò / chhiàuⁿ / chhiàng / chhiòng

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cio³ / ciê³ / ciang³

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵tshaon
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): chan⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chàng
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄤˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chàng
    • Wade–Giles: chʻang⁴
    • Yale: chàng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chanq
    • Palladius: чан (čan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ⁵¹/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (唱兒 / 唱儿)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chàngr
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄤˋㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chàngr
    • Wade–Giles: chʻang⁴-ʼrh
    • Yale: chàngr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chanql
    • Palladius: чанр (čanr)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰɑ̃ɻ⁵¹/

Note: Erhuayin chiefly for noun sense.

• • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: cang⁴
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: cang
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰaŋ²¹³/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: чон (čon, III)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ⁴⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: coeng³
    • Yale: cheung
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsoeng³
    • Guangdong Romanization: cêng³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰœːŋ³³/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: cong³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɔŋ²¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhong
    • Hakka Romanization System: cong
    • Hagfa Pinyim: cong⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰoŋ⁵⁵/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: chong^ˇ
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡ʃʰoŋ¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: cong⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɔŋ⁵³/
  • (Changting)
    • Changting Pinyin: chông⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡ʃʰɔŋ⁵⁴/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: con³
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰɒ̃⁴⁵/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chiô̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiɔŋ³³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: chióng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuɔŋ²¹³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cieo⁴
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: cha̤̍uⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰieu⁴²/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ciunn⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰĩũ⁴²/
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cyorng⁴
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: chio̤̍ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰyɒŋ⁴²/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cyoeng⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰyøŋ⁴²/

Note:

• cieo4/ciunn4 - vernacular;
• cyorng4/cyoeng4 - literary.

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hsinchu, Lukang, Sanxia, Yilan, Kinmen, Magong, Singapore, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiùⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tshiùnn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chviux
    • IPA (Kinmen): /t͡sʰiũ¹²/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Yilan, Singapore): /t͡sʰiũ²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Philippines): /t͡sʰiũ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiũ¹¹/
    • IPA (Lukang): /t͡sʰiũ³¹/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Tainan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiòⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tshiònn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chvioix
    • IPA (Zhangzhou, Tainan): /t͡sʰiɔ̃²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Tainan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiò
    • Tâi-lô: tshiò
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chioix
    • IPA (Tainan): /t͡sʰiɤ²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiàuⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tshiàunn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chviaux
    • IPA (Penang): /t͡sʰiãu²¹/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiàng
    • Tâi-lô: tshiàng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chiaxng
    • IPA (Kaohsiung, Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiaŋ²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiaŋ¹¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiòng
    • Tâi-lô: tshiòng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chioxng
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɔŋ¹¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiɔŋ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɔŋ²¹/
Note:
• chhiùⁿ/chhiòⁿ/chhiò/chhiàuⁿ - vernacular;
• chhiàng, chhiòng - literary.
• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cio³ / ciê³ / ciang³
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshiò / tshiè / tshiàng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰio²¹³/, /t͡sʰie²¹³/, /t͡sʰiaŋ²¹³/
Note:
• cio3/ciê3 - vernacular (ciê3 - Chaozhou);
• ciang3 - literary.
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵tshaon
    • MiniDict: tshaon^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²tshaan
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sʰɑ̃³⁴/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: chan⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /ʈ͡ʂʰan⁴⁵/
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /t͡sʰan⁴⁵/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 唱
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ⁵¹/
	Harbin	/ʈ͡ʂʰaŋ⁵³/
	Tianjin	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ⁵³/ /t͡sʰɑŋ⁵³/
	Jinan	/ʈ͡ʂʰaŋ²¹/
	Qingdao	/tʃʰaŋ⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ʈ͡ʂʰaŋ³¹²/
	Xi'an	/ʈ͡ʂʰaŋ⁴⁴/
	Xining	/ʈ͡ʂʰɔ̃²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ¹³/
	Lanzhou	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑ̃¹³/
	Ürümqi	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡sʰaŋ³⁵/
	Chengdu	/t͡sʰaŋ¹³/
	Guiyang	/t͡sʰaŋ²¹³/
	Kunming	/ʈ͡ʂʰã̠²¹²/
	Nanjing	/ʈ͡ʂʰaŋ⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑ̃⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sʰɒ̃⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡sʰɑ̃⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/t͡sʰɑ̃³⁵/
	Suzhou	/t͡sʰɑ̃⁵¹³/
	Hangzhou	/t͡sʰɑŋ⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/t͡ɕʰi⁴²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕia³²⁴/
	Tunxi	/t͡ɕʰiau⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʈ͡ʂʰan⁵⁵/
	Xiangtan	/ʈ͡ʂʰɔn⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰɔŋ²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰoŋ⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/tʃʰoŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰœŋ³³/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰœŋ³³/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰœŋ³³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/t͡sʰiɔŋ²¹/ /t͡sʰiũ²¹/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/t͡sʰuɔŋ²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/t͡sʰiɔŋ³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡sʰiaŋ²¹³/ /t͡sʰio²¹³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/saŋ³⁵/ /sio³⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsyhangH

Rime
Character	唱
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	昌 (24)
Final (韻)	陽 (105)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	尺亮切
Baxter	tsyhangH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ɕʰɨɐŋH/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡ɕʰiɐŋH/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ɕʰiɑŋH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/cʰɨaŋH/
Li Rong	/t͡ɕʰiaŋH/
Wang Li	/t͡ɕʰĭaŋH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡ɕʰi̯aŋH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chàng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	coeng3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*mə-tʰaŋ-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*tʰjaŋs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	唱
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chàng
Middle Chinese	‹ tsyhangH ›
Old Chinese	/*mə-tʰaŋ-s/
English	to lead (in singing)
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	唱
Reading #	1/1
No.	1257
Phonetic component	昌
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	唱
Old Chinese	/*tʰjaŋs/

Definitions

唱

1. (literary) to lead in singing
2. to sing

   唱歌  ―  chànggē  ―  to sing a song

3. to call; to cry out; to chant
4. song
5. (Cantonese) to spread (usually negative) information or rumours
6. (literary) to advocate; to initiate

   • 今誠以吾衆詐自稱公子扶蘇、項燕，爲天下唱，宜多應者。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     今诚以吾众诈自称公子扶苏、项燕，为天下唱，宜多应者。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Jīn chéng yǐ wúzhòng zhà zìchēng Gōngzǐ Fúsū, Xiàng Yàn, wéi tiānxià chàng, yí duō yìngzhě. [Pinyin]

     If we should indeed, at this moment, take advantage of our numbers, call ourselves the men of Prince Fusu and General Xiang Yan in pretense, and seize the initiative among the whole Empire, it is probable that many would spring into action in response.

7. a surname, Chang

Synonyms

• (song):

edit

• 曲 (qǔ)
• 歌 (gē)
• 歌子 (gēzi) (colloquial)
• 歌曲 (gēqǔ)

Compounds

• 一吹一唱
• 一唱一和 (yīchàngyīhè)
• 一唱三歎 / 一唱三叹 (yīchàngsāntàn)
• 一唱百和 (yīchàngbǎihè)
• 一搭一唱
• 主唱 (zhǔchàng)
• 二重唱 (èrchóngchàng)
• 代唱
• 低唱 (dīchàng)
• 伴唱 (bànchàng)
• 伴唱帶 / 伴唱带
• 伴唱影碟
• 伴唱機 / 伴唱机
• 千古絕唱 / 千古绝唱 (qiāngǔjuéchàng)
• 合唱 (héchàng)
• 合唱團 / 合唱团 (héchàngtuán)
• 吟唱 (yínchàng)
• 唄唱 / 呗唱
• 哼唱 (hēngchàng)
• 唱作 (chàngzuò)
• 唱作俱佳
• 唱作念打
• 唱反調 / 唱反调 (chàng fǎndiào)
• 唱叫
• 唱叫揚疾 / 唱叫扬疾
• 唱名 (chàngmíng)
• 唱和 (chànghè)
• 唱哩嗹 / 唱哩𪡏
• 唱喏 (chàngrě)
• 唱好
• 唱對臺戲 / 唱对台戏 (chàng duìtáixì)
• 唱工 (chànggōng)
• 唱念
• 唱戲 / 唱戏 (chàngxì)
• 唱揚 / 唱扬
• 唱曲 (chàngqǔ)
• 唱書 / 唱书
• 唱本 (chàngběn)
• 唱機 / 唱机 (chàngjī)
• 唱歌 (chànggē)
• 唱段 (chàngduàn)
• 唱洋梆子
• 唱片
• 唱獨角戲 / 唱独角戏 (chàng dújiǎoxì)
• 唱的
• 唱盤 / 唱盘 (chàngpán)
• 唱票 (chàngpiào)
• 唱空城計 / 唱空城计 (chàng kōngchéngjì)
• 唱籍
• 唱籌量沙 / 唱筹量沙
• 唱紅白臉 / 唱红白脸 (chànghóngbáiliǎn)
• 唱腔 (chàngqiāng)
• 唱詞 / 唱词 (chàngcí)
• 唱詩班 / 唱诗班 (chàngshībān)
• 唱論 / 唱论
• 唱賺 / 唱赚 (chàngzhuàn)
• 唱遊 / 唱游
• 唱針 / 唱针 (chàngzhēn)
• 唱門詞兒 / 唱门词儿
• 唱陽關 / 唱阳关
• 唱雙簧 / 唱双簧 (chàngshuānghuáng)
• 唱頭 / 唱头
• 唱題目 / 唱题目
• 唱高調 / 唱高调 (chàng gāodiào)
• 單弦說唱 / 单弦说唱
• 嘌唱
• 大合唱 (dàhéchàng)
• 夫唱婦隨 / 夫唱妇随 (fūchàngfùsuí)
• 妍唱
• 對唱 / 对唱 (duìchàng)
• 小唱
• 帶動唱 / 带动唱
• 帶唱帶演 / 带唱带演
• 彈唱 / 弹唱 (tánchàng)
• 彼唱此和
• 搬唱
• 數位唱片 / 数位唱片
• 數字唱片 / 数字唱片
• 更唱
• 歌唱 (gēchàng)
• 歡唱 / 欢唱 (huānchàng)
• 此唱彼和
• 沒戲唱 / 没戏唱 (méixìchàng)
• 清唱 (qīngchàng)
• 清唱劇 / 清唱剧 (qīngchàngjù)
• 淺斟低唱 / 浅斟低唱
• 滑唱
• 滾唱 / 滚唱
• 演唱 (yǎnchàng)
• 漁唱 / 渔唱
• 激光唱機 / 激光唱机
• 激光唱片
• 灌唱片
• 獨唱 / 独唱 (dúchàng)
• 男唱女隨 / 男唱女随
• 絕唱 / 绝唱 (juéchàng)
• 練唱 / 练唱
• 美聲唱法 / 美声唱法 (měishēng chàngfǎ)
• 翻唱 (fānchàng)
• 聯唱 / 联唱
• 臚唱 / 胪唱
• 表唱
• 說唱 / 说唱 (shuōchàng)
• 說唱文學 / 说唱文学
• 說學逗唱 / 说学逗唱 (shuōxuédòuchàng)
• 講唱文學 / 讲唱文学
• 賣唱 / 卖唱 (màichàng)
• 走唱
• 輪唱 / 轮唱 (lúnchàng)
• 輪唱曲 / 轮唱曲
• 連說帶唱 / 连说带唱
• 酬唱 (chóuchàng)
• 重唱 (chóngchàng)
• 野唱
• 鐳射唱片 / 镭射唱片
• 雞唱 / 鸡唱
• 電唱機 / 电唱机 (diànchàngjī)
• 雷射唱片
• 雷射唱盤 / 雷射唱盘
• 領唱 / 领唱 (lǐngchàng)
• 類比唱片 / 类比唱片
• 首唱
• 首唱義兵 / 首唱义兵
• 首唱義舉 / 首唱义举
• 駐唱 / 驻唱 (zhùchàng)
• 高唱 (gāochàng)
• 高唱入雲 / 高唱入云
• 鳴唱 / 鸣唱
• 點唱 / 点唱 (diǎnchàng)
• 點唱機 / 点唱机
• 齊唱 / 齐唱 (qíchàng)

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		唱
alternative forms		暢／畅

Borrowed from English change.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): coeng³

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: coeng³
    • Yale: cheung
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsoeng³
    • Guangdong Romanization: cêng³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰœːŋ³³/

Definitions

唱

1. (Cantonese) to exchange (currency, money, cash, etc.)

Compounds

• 唱散
• 唱錢 / 唱钱

References

• “唱”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
• “唱”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
• “唱”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 周存 [Zhōu, Cún], editor (2023), “唱”, in 长汀话词典 CHANGTINGHUA CIDIAN [Dictionary of Changting Dialect] (overall work in Hakka and Mandarin), Guangzhou: 世界图书出版有限公司 [World Book Publishing Co., Ltd.], →ISBN, page 84.

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 唱

唱

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

1. chant
2. choir

Readings

• Go-on: しょう (shō, Jōyō)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō, Jōyō)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kun: となえる (tonaeru, 唱える, Jōyō)、うたう (utau, 唱う)、うた (uta, 唱)

Compounds

• 歌唱(かしょう) (kashō)
• 合唱(がっしょう) (gasshō)
• 提唱(ていしょう) (teishō)

Korean

Hanja

唱 (eumhun 부를 창 (bureul chang))

1. hanja form^? of 창 (“to chant”)

Vietnamese

Han character

唱: Hán Nôm readings: xướng, xẳng, xang, sướng, xắng, xẵng

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.