央

See also: 中

央 U+592E, 央 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-592E ← 夭 [U+592D] CJK Unified Ideographs 夯 → [U+592F]

Translingual

Han character

央 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 中月大 (LBK), four-corner 5003₀, composition ⿻冂大 or ⿻𠀃人)

Derived characters

• 佒, 坱, 抰, 咉, 岟, 泱, 㹧, 怏, 姎, 柍, 殃, 映, 胦, 炴, 眏, 䄃, 秧, 䘧, 紻, 軮, 詇, 𧲱, 鉠 (𫓭), 鞅, 䬬, 駚 (𩧫), 䱀
• 㿮, 䒋, 英, 䇦, 雵, 𦁾, 㼜, 盎, 𩢥, 鴦 (鸯)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 249, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5840
• Dae Jaweon: page 508, character 3
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 524, character 6
• Unihan data for U+592E

Chinese

trad.		央
simp. #		央

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 央
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
鴦	*qaːŋ, *qaŋ
佒	*qaːŋ
咉	*qaːŋ, *qaːŋʔ
眏	*qaːŋ
姎	*qaːŋ, *qaːŋʔ
坱	*qaːŋʔ
映	*qaːŋʔ, *qraŋs
泱	*qaːŋʔ, *qaŋ
盎	*qaːŋʔ, *qaːŋs
駚	*qaːŋʔ, *qaŋʔ
軮	*qaːŋʔ
醠	*qaːŋʔ, *qaːŋs
央	*qaŋ
秧	*qaŋ, *qaŋʔ
殃	*qaŋ
鞅	*qaŋ, *qaŋʔ, *qaŋs
鉠	*qaŋ, *qraŋ
雵	*qaŋ
胦	*qaŋ, *qroːŋ
柍	*qaŋʔ
詇	*qaŋʔ, *qaŋs, *qraŋs
岟	*qaŋʔ
炴	*qaŋʔ
怏	*qaŋʔ, *qaŋs
紻	*qaŋʔ
英	*qraŋ
瑛	*qraŋ
霙	*qraŋ
韺	*qraŋ
媖	*qraŋ
渶	*qraŋ
鶧	*qraŋ
楧	*qraŋ
暎	*qraŋs

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 大 (“man”) + 冂 (“pole”) - a man carrying a pole with its middle on his shoulder.

Etymology

於 (OC ʔa) plus terminative suffix *-ŋ, hence literally "to get to be in the middle" (Schuessler, 2007). See 於 (OC ʔa) for further etymology.

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yāng (yang¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): joeng¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yông / ông
• Eastern Min (BUC): iŏng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): iong / iang / ng

  (Teochew, Peng'im): iang¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yāng
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yang
    • Wade–Giles: yang¹
    • Yale: yāng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iang
    • Palladius: ян (jan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɑŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)
    • Jyutping: joeng¹
    • Yale: yēung
    • Cantonese Pinyin: joeng¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yêng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jœːŋ⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yông / ông
    • Hakka Romanization System: iong^ˊ / ong^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yong¹ / ong¹
    • Sinological IPA: /i̯oŋ²⁴/, /oŋ²⁴/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yông / ông
    • Hakka Romanization System: (r)iong^ˊ / ong^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yong¹ / ong¹
    • Sinological IPA: /(j)i̯oŋ²⁴/, /oŋ²⁴/

Note:

• yông - literary;
• ông - vernacular (limited, e.g. 中央).

• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: iŏng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /yoŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iong
    • Tâi-lô: iong
    • Phofsit Daibuun: iofng
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /iɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /iɔŋ³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iang
    • Tâi-lô: iang
    • Phofsit Daibuun: iafng
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /iaŋ⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ng
    • Tâi-lô: ng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ngf
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /ŋ̍⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /ŋ̍³³/
Note:
• iong - literary;
• iang - literary (all sense in Zhangzhou, “to beg” in Xiamen and mainstream Taiwanese);
• ng - vernacular (limited, e.g. 中央).
• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: iang¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: iang
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /iaŋ³³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 央
Mandarin	Beijing	/iɑŋ⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/iaŋ⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/iɑŋ²¹/
	Jinan	/iaŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/iaŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/iaŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/iaŋ²¹/
	Xining	/iɔ̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/iɑŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/iɑ̃³¹/
	Ürümqi	/iɑŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/iaŋ⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/iã̠⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/iaŋ³¹/
	Hefei	/iɑ̃²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/iɒ̃¹¹/
	Pingyao	/iɑŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/iɑ̃³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/iã⁵³/
	Suzhou	/iã⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ʔiɑŋ³³/
	Wenzhou	/j̠i³³/
Hui	Shexian	/ia³¹/
	Tunxi	/iau¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ian³³/
	Xiangtan	/ian³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/iɔŋ⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/ioŋ⁴⁴/
	Taoyuan	/oŋ²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jœŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/jœŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/jœŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/iɔŋ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/yoŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/iɔŋ⁵⁴/ /ɔŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/iaŋ³³/ /ŋ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/iaŋ²³/ /o²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: 'jang

Rime
Character	央
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	陽 (105)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	於良切
Baxter	'jang
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔɨɐŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔiɐŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔiɑŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔɨaŋ/
Li Rong	/ʔiaŋ/
Wang Li	/ĭaŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʔi̯aŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yāng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	joeng1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ʔaŋ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*qaŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	央	央
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yāng	yāng
Middle Chinese	‹ ʔjang ›	‹ ʔjang ›
Old Chinese	/*ʔaŋ/	/*ʔaŋ/
English	end (v.)	center (n.)
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	央
Reading #	1/1
No.	14488
Phonetic component	央
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	央
Old Chinese	/*qaŋ/

Definitions

央

1. center; middle
2. to end; to finish
3. to beg; to plead; to implore
4. (alt. form 殃) calamity; disaster
5. a surname

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yīng (ying¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄥ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yīng
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ying
    • Wade–Giles: ying¹
    • Yale: yīng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ing
    • Palladius: ин (in)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /iŋ⁵⁵/

Definitions

央

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) only used in 央央 (clarification of this definition is needed)

Compounds

• 中央 (zhōngyāng)
• 中央大學 / 中央大学
• 中央山脈 / 中央山脉 (Zhōngyāng Shānmài)
• 中央政府 (zhōngyāng zhèngfǔ)
• 中央銀行 / 中央银行 (zhōngyāng yínháng)
• 中央集權 / 中央集权 (zhōngyāng jíquán)
• 中央黨部 / 中央党部
• 公央婆
• 夜未央
• 央中
• 央人 (yāngrén)
• 央人作伐
• 央元音 (yāngyuányīn)
• 央厄 (yāng'è)
• 央及 (yāngjí)
• 央告 (yānggào)
• 央塔克 (Yāngtǎkè)
• 央央
• 央央戧戧 / 央央戗戗
• 央央插插
• 央媒
• 央帶 / 央带
• 央戧 / 央戗
• 央托 (yāngtuō)
• 央求 (yāngqiú)
• 央浼
• 央浼營幹 / 央浼营干
• 央煩 / 央烦
• 央行 (yāngháng)
• 央託 / 央托 (yāngtuō)
• 央請 / 央请
• 央靠
• 念央兒 / 念央儿
• 投央
• 未央 (wèiyāng)
• 未央宮 / 未央宫 (Wèiyāng Gōng)
• 東央西告 / 东央西告
• 死告活央
• 無央 / 无央
• 長樂未央 / 长乐未央
• 震央 (zhènyāng)

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 央

央

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: おう (ō, Jōyō)、よう (yō)
• Kan-on: よう (yō)、えい (ei)
• Kun: なかば (nakaba, 央ば)
• Nanori: あたる (ataru)、とおる (tōru)、なかば (nakaba)、ひさし (hisashi)、ひろし (hiroshi)、なか (naka)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
央
おう Grade: 3
goon

From Middle Chinese 央 (MC 'jang).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞ː]

Affix

央(おう) • (ō) ^{←あう (au)?}

1. centre, middle
2. (US) short for 央州 (“Oregon (a state of the United States)”)

Derived terms

• 震央(しんおう) (shin'ō)
• 中央(ちゅうおう) (chūō)

Proper noun

央(おう) • (Ō) ^{←あう (Au)?}

1. a male given name

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
央
あたる Grade: 3
nanori

From the verb 当(あ)たる (ataru, “to hit, to win, to be correct”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ta̠ɾɯ̟]

Proper noun

央(あたる) • (Ataru) 

1. a male given name

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
央
とおる Grade: 3
nanori

From the verb 通(とお)る (tōru, “to go through, to pass”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) とおる [tòórú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [to̞ːɾɯ̟]

Proper noun

央(とおる) • (Tōru) 

1. a male given name

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
央
なか(ば) Grade: 3
kun'yomi

From the noun 央(なか)ば (nakaba, “half, middle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [na̠ka̠ba̠]

Proper noun

央(なかば) • (Nakaba) 

1. a male given name

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
央
ひさし Grade: 3
nanori

From the Classical Japanese adjective 久(ひさ)し (hisashi, “long time”), modern form 久(ひさ)しい (hisashii).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [çisa̠ɕi]

Proper noun

央(ひさし) • (Hisashi) 

1. a male given name

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
央
ひろし Grade: 3
nanori

From the Classical Japanese adjective 広(ひろ)し (hiroshi, “wide, broad, spacious, vast”), modern form ひろい (hiroi).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ひろし [híꜜròshì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [çiɾo̞ɕi]

Proper noun

央(ひろし) • (Hiroshi) 

1. a male given name

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
央
よう Grade: 3
on'yomi

From the kanji's on'yomi reading of よう (yō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jo̞ː]

Proper noun

央(よう) • (Yō) 

1. a male given name

Etymology 8

Kanji in this term
央
なか Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Compare nouns 央(なか)ば (nakaba, “half, middle”) and なか (naka, “inside, middle, center”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) なか [nàká] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [na̠ka̠]

Proper noun

央(なか) • (Naka) 

1. a male given name

Korean

Hanja

央 • (ang) (hangeul 앙, revised ang, McCune–Reischauer ang)

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

Vietnamese

Han character

央: Hán Nôm readings: ương, trân

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