曹

See also: 曺

曹 U+66F9, 曹 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-66F9 ← 書 [U+66F8] CJK Unified Ideographs 曺 → [U+66FA]

Translingual

Han character

曹 (Kangxi radical 73, 曰+7, 11 strokes, cangjie input 廿田日 (TWA), four-corner 5560₆, composition ⿱⿻一曲曰)

Derived characters

• 傮 嘈 㜖 嶆 㡟 慒 槽 漕 㷮 𥕢 䄚 糟 䏆 䐬 艚 螬 褿 䜊 蹧 醩 鏪 鰽(𫚧) 遭 蓸 𡐋 𢲵 𣉿 𣩒 𤗰 𤡐 𥀛 𭿕 𦄧(𬘿) 𨎝 𩞄(𩠎) 𮮁 𪙡 𩆦 𬟠 𩘳 𪯓 𡮦 𣍖 𥲍 𦋿 𧕐

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 502, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14297
• Dae Jaweon: page 876, character 3
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1511, character 6
• Unihan data for U+66F9

Chinese

simp. and trad.		曹
alternative forms		曺 㯥 𣍘

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 曹
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 (曹) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
遭	*ʔsluː
糟	*ʔsluː
醩	*ʔsluːu
傮	*ʔsluː
槽	*ʔsluː, *zluː
曹	*zluː
螬	*zluː
漕	*zluː, *zluːs
嘈	*zluː
艚	*zluː
褿	*zluː
蓸	*zluː
慒	*lju, *zluːŋ

Originally 㯥 (cáo), an ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): two bundles 東 on top. The original meaning is "pair; peer, same kind". Later, 囗 was added as a distinguishing mark, which corrupted into 甘 in bronze inscriptions and 曰 in Seal Script, thus getting the intermediate and semi-archaic version 𣍘. The top two 東 have merged and now resemble 曲 with an extra stroke.

Unrelated to 曲 and 典.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): cáo (cao²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄘㄠˊ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cou⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): tau³

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhò

  (Meixian, Guangdong): cau²

• Northern Min (KCR): cǎu
• Eastern Min (BUC): cò̤
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): zor²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chô / chô͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cao⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zau

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: cáo
    • Zhuyin: ㄘㄠˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cáo
    • Wade–Giles: tsʻao²
    • Yale: tsáu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsaur
    • Palladius: цао (cao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɑʊ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: cou⁴
    • Yale: chòuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsou⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: cou⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰou̯²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: tau³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰau²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhò
    • Hakka Romanization System: co^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: co²
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰo¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: cau²
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰau¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cǎu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sau²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: cò̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡so⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: zor²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: có̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɒ¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: zor²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɒ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chô
    • Tâi-lô: tsô
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zooi
    • IPA (Taipei, Xiamen): /t͡so²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sɤ²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡so¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chô͘
    • Tâi-lô: tsôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zoo
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sɔ²⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cao⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshâu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰau⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶zau
    • MiniDict: zau^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zau
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zɔ²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: dzaw

Rime
Character	曹
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	從 (15)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	昨勞切
Baxter	dzaw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡zɑu/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡zɑu/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡zɑu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡zaw/
Li Rong	/d͡zɑu/
Wang Li	/d͡zɑu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/d͡zʱɑu/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	cáo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cou4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*N-tsˤu/

  (Zhengzhang): /*zluː/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	曹
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	cáo
Middle Chinese	‹ dzaw ›
Old Chinese	/*N-tsˁu/
English	come together; pair
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	曹
Reading #	1/1
No.	1154
Phonetic component	曹
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	曹
Old Chinese	/*zluː/
Notes	金文下非曰字， 上從二東，象列置衆種子之器， 乃槽初文

Definitions

曹

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) plaintiff and defendant
2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) division department of the central government in ancient times
3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) official
4. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) group
5. (literary) people of the same kind

   爾曹／尔曹  ―  ěrcáo  ―  you all

6. (historical) Cao, a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty (1046–221 BCE), covering roughly the area of modern-day Dingtao County in Heze, southwestern Shandong province
7. a surname

   曹操  ―  Cáo Cāo  ―  Cao Cao

Compounds

• 三曹對案 / 三曹对案
• 仙曹
• 倒曹
• 儀曹 / 仪曹
• 兒曹 / 儿曹
• 分曹
• 功曹 (gōngcáo)
• 印曹
• 坐曹
• 天曹
• 市曹 (shìcáo)
• 徐母罵曹 / 徐母骂曹
• 我曹 (wǒcáo)
• 才當曹斗 / 才当曹斗
• 捉放曹
• 擊鼓罵曹 / 击鼓骂曹
• 敖曹
• 曹丘
• 曹全碑
• 曹劌論戰 / 曹刿论战
• 曹國舅 / 曹国舅
• 曹娥江 (Cáo'éjiāng)
• 曹娥碑
• 曹市 (Cáoshì)
• 曹族
• 曹柯之盟
• 曹楊 / 曹杨 (Cáoyáng)
• 曹洞宗
• 曹社之謀 / 曹社之谋
• 曹門 / 曹门
• 曹魏 (Cáo Wèi)
• 法曹
• 清曹峻府
• 爾曹 / 尔曹 (ěrcáo)
• 綁赴市曹 / 绑赴市曹 (bǎngfùshìcáo)
• 蕭曹 / 萧曹
• 蕭規曹隨 / 萧规曹随 (xiāoguīcáosuí)
• 賊曹 / 贼曹
• 部曹
• 陰曹 / 阴曹
• 陰曹地府 / 阴曹地府 (yīncáo dìfǔ)
• 馬曹廟 / 马曹庙 (Mǎcáomiào)

References

• (Min Nan) “曹”, 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.

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 曹

曹

(Jōyō kanji)

1. cadet
2. friend

Readings

• Go-on: ぞう (zō)^{←ざう (zau, historical)}
• Kan-on: そう (sō, Jōyō)^{←さう (sau, historical)}
• Kun: つかさ (tsukasa, 曹)、ともがら (tomogara, 曹)、へや (heya, 曹)

Compounds

• 軍(ぐん)曹(そう) (gunsō)
• 曹(そう)長(ちょう) (sōchō)
• 御(おん)曹(ぞう)司(し) (onzōshi)
• 重(じゅう)曹(そう) (jūsō)
• 曹(そう)洞(とう)宗(しゅう) (sōtōshū)

Korean

Hanja

曹 (eum 조 (jo))

1. alternative form of 曺

Compounds

• 조계종 (曹溪宗, jogyejong)
• 육조 (六曹, yukjo)

Vietnamese

Han character

曹: Hán Nôm readings: Tào

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