徐

徐 U+5F90, 徐 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5F90 ← 徏 [U+5F8F] CJK Unified Ideographs 徑 → [U+5F91]

Translingual

Han character

徐 (Kangxi radical 60, 彳+7, 10 strokes, cangjie input 竹人人一木 (HOOMD), four-corner 2829₄, composition ⿰彳余)

Derived characters

• 𡲰 𣻄 𣉹 𪹘 𬁊 𭞃 蒣

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 367, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10110
• Dae Jaweon: page 690, character 10
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 825, character 14
• Unihan data for U+5F90

Chinese

simp. and trad.		徐

Glyph origin

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

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

	Old Chinese
斜	*lja, *laː
茶	*rlaː
荼	*rlaː, *ɦlja, *l'aː
梌	*rlaː, *l̥ʰaː, *l'aː
搽	*rlaː
塗	*rlaː, *l'aː
佘	*ɦlja
賒	*hljaː
畬	*hljaː, *la
舍	*hljaːʔ, *hljaːs
捨	*hljaːʔ
騇	*hljaːʔ, *hljaːs
涻	*hljaːs
稌	*l̥ʰaː, *l̥ʰaːʔ
悇	*l̥ʰaː, *l̥ʰas, *las
庩	*l̥ʰaː
捈	*l̥ʰaː, *l'aː
途	*l'aː
酴	*l'aː
駼	*l'aː
鵌	*l'aː, *la
涂	*l'aː, *l'a
嵞	*l'aː
峹	*l'aː
筡	*l'aː, *l̥ʰa
蒤	*l'aː
徐	*lja
俆	*lja
敘	*ljaʔ
漵	*ljaʔ
除	*l'a, *l'as
篨	*rla
滁	*rla
蒢	*rla
蜍	*ɦlja, *la
鵨	*hljaː
瑹	*hlja
余	*la
餘	*la
艅	*la
狳	*la
雓	*la
悆	*las

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *lja): semantic 彳 (“walk slowly”) + phonetic 余 (OC *la)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): xú (xu²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄩˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xu²

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): ceoi⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): tui³

• Gan (Wiktionary): qy²
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhì

  (Hailu, HRS): ci

  (Meixian, Guangdong): qi²

• Jin (Wiktionary): xy¹
• Northern Min (KCR): cṳ̌
• Eastern Min (BUC): sṳ̀
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): sy² / su² / si² / cy²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chhî / sû / sîr / sî

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ce⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zhi
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): si²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xú
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄩˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: syú
    • Wade–Giles: hsü²
    • Yale: syú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyu
    • Palladius: сюй (sjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: xu²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xy
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)
    • Jyutping: ceoi⁴
    • Yale: chèuih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsoey⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: cêu⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɵy̯²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: tui³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰui²²/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: qy²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰy²⁴/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhì
    • Hakka Romanization System: qi^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: qi²
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰi¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: ci
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰi⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: qi²
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡ɕʰi¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: xy¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɕy¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cṳ̌
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sy²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sṳ̀
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sy⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Jiangkou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sy²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: sṳ́
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬy¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sy²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬy²⁴/
  • (Youyang)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sy²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /θy²⁴/
  • (Nanri)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: su²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬu¹³/
  • (Fengting)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: si²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬi²⁴/
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cy²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: chṳ́
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰy¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cy²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰy²⁴/

Note:

• sy2 - literary (including surname);
• cy2 - vernacular.

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Magong, Hsinchu, Taichung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhî
    • Tâi-lô: tshî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chii
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰi¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰi²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Tainan, Yilan): /t͡sʰi²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sû
    • Tâi-lô: sû
    • Phofsit Daibuun: suu
    • IPA (Xiamen): /su²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sîr
    • Tâi-lô: sîr
    • IPA (Lukang): /sɨ²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Kinmen): /sɯ²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sî
    • Tâi-lô: sî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sii
    • IPA (Jinjiang, Xiamen): /si²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /si¹³/
Note:
• Xiamen, Zhangzhou:
  • chhî - vernacular (including surname);
  • sû/sî - literary.
• Quanzhou:
  • chhî - vernacular;
  • sîr - literary (including surname).
• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ce⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshṳ̂
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɯ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶zhi
    • MiniDict: zhi^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³xxi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ʑi²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: si²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /si¹³/
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /ɕi¹³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 徐
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕy³⁵/
	Harbin	/ɕy²⁴/
	Tianjin	/ɕy⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/ɕy⁴²/
	Qingdao	/sy⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/sy⁴²/
	Xi'an	/ɕy²⁴/
	Xining	/ɕy²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ɕy⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ɕy⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/ɕy⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/ɕy²¹³/
	Chengdu	/ɕy³¹/
	Guiyang	/ɕi²¹/
	Kunming	/ɕi³¹/
	Nanjing	/t͡sʰy²⁴/
	Hefei	/sz̩ʷ⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕy¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ɕy¹³/
	Hohhot	/ɕy³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ʑi²³/
	Suzhou	/zi¹³/
	Hangzhou	/d͡zz̩ʷ²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/zei³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕʰy⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/t͡sʰi⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/si¹³/
	Xiangtan	/ɕy¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡ɕʰy²⁴/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰi¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/t͡sʰi¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰøy²¹/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰy²¹/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰøy²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/su³⁵/ /t͡sʰi³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/sy⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/t͡sy²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡sʰɯ⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/si³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: zjo

Rime
Character	徐
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	邪 (17)
Final (韻)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	似魚切
Baxter	zjo
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/zɨʌ/
Pan Wuyun	/ziɔ/
Shao Rongfen	/ziɔ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/zɨə̆/
Li Rong	/ziɔ/
Wang Li	/zĭo/
Bernhard Karlgren	/zi̯wo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ceoi4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*sə.la/

  (Zhengzhang): /*lja/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	徐
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xú
Middle Chinese	‹ zjo ›
Old Chinese	/*sə.la/
English	walk slowly
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	徐
Reading #	1/1
No.	15782
Phonetic component	余
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	徐
Old Chinese	/*lja/

Definitions

徐

1. slowly; quietly; calmly
2. composed; poised
3. short for 徐州 (Xúzhōu, “Xuzhou”)
4. a surname

   徐霞客  ―  Xú Xiákè  ―  Xu Xiake (Ming dynasty travel writer)

Compounds

• 不疾不徐
• 于徐
• 半老徐娘 (bànlǎoxúniáng)
• 城北徐公
• 執徐 / 执徐
• 巴徐 (Bāxú)
• 徐劉 / 徐刘 (Xúliú)
• 徐古 (Xúgǔ)
• 徐周 (Xúzhōu)
• 徐墩 (Xúdūn)
• 徐娘 (xúniáng)
• 徐娘半老 (xúniángbànlǎo)
• 徐家 (Xújiā)
• 徐家山 (Xújiāshān)
• 徐家棚 (Xújiāpéng)
• 徐州 (Xúzhōu)
• 徐庾體 / 徐庾体
• 徐徐 (xúxú)
• 徐樓 / 徐楼 (Xúlóu)
• 徐橋 / 徐桥 (Xúqiáo)
• 徐步 (xúbù)
• 徐母罵曹 / 徐母骂曹
• 徐穉置芻 / 徐穉置刍
• 徐緩 / 徐缓
• 徐行 (xúxíng)
• 徐風 / 徐风
• 徐黃 / 徐黄 (Xúhuáng)
• 清風徐來 / 清风徐来
• 紆徐 / 纡徐
• 緩步徐行 / 缓步徐行
• 舒徐
• 虛徐 / 虚徐
• 高徐 (Gāoxú)

Descendants

• → English: Xu, Hsu, Chui, Tsui, Zee, Chee

References

• “徐”, 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–
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “徐”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 139.

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 徐

徐

(Jōyō kanji)

1. slow, gradual

Readings

• Go-on: じょ (jo, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: しょ (sho)
• Kun: おもむろ (omomuro, 徐ろ)、おもむろに (omomuro ni, 徐ろに)、おそい (osoi, 徐い)

Derived terms

• 徐(じょ)々(じょ) (jojo, “slowly”)
• 徐(じょ)行(こう) (jokō, “go slowly”)
• 徐(おもむろ)に (omomuro ni, “slowly”)

Korean

Hanja

徐 (eumhun 천천히 서 (cheoncheonhi seo))

1. slow
2. a surname

Compounds

• 서서 (徐徐, seoseo, “slowly;gradually”)

Vietnamese

Han character

徐: Hán Nôm readings: từ

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