爵

爵 U+7235, 爵 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7235 ← 爴 [U+7234] CJK Unified Ideographs 父 → [U+7236]

爵 U+FA9E, 爵 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-FA9E ← 瞧 [U+FA9D] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 犯 → [U+FA9F]

爵 U+2F921, 爵 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F921 ← 爨 [U+2F920] CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 牐 → [U+2F922]

Translingual

Han character

爵 (Kangxi radical 87, 爪+13, 17 strokes, cangjie input 月田中戈 (BWLI), four-corner 2074₆, composition ⿳爫罒𡬠)

Derived characters

• 嚼, 㩱, 灂, 㬭, 爝, 皭, 䂃, 穱, 釂

Additional Derived Characters

• 𠘣, 𢥚, 𦣅, 𭚞, 𮉜, 𮍟, 𲀓, 𨇺, 𨰜, 𪚅, 𬺖, 𬋺, 𫤼, 𥷮, 𫸤

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 689, character 29
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19710
• Dae Jaweon: page 1102, character 28
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2037, character 6
• Unihan data for U+7235

• Unihan data for U+FA9E

• Unihan data for U+2F921

Chinese

simp. and trad.		爵
alternative forms		𠕢 𥥼

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
釂	*ʔsewɢs
皭	*ʔsewɢs, *zewɢ
爝	*ʔsewɢs, *ʔsewɢ, *zewɢ
爵	*ʔsewɢ
嚼	*zewɢ
穱	*ʔsreːwɢ
灂	*zreːwɢ

Pictogram (象形) of an alcohol vessel in the shape of a sparrow. Many variants showed a hand (又) holding it, now written as 寸. In the seal script form 𢋺, the topmost and middle sections of the vessel are combined, while the legs have corrupted into 鬯 (“cup of wine”). In the modern form, top and middle sections of the vessel are separated into 爫 and 罒 respectively. The bottom right sub-component similar to 艮 is a simplification of 鬯.

Etymology

The sense of feudal title or rank was transferred from the ancient practice of conferring alcohol vessels on meritorious workers (who would also go on to attain the higher feudal ranks).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jué (jue²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄩㄝˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zoek³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chiok

  (Hailu, HRS): ziog

• Eastern Min (BUC): ciók
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): zyorh⁶ / zyoeh⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chiok / chiak / chek

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jué
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄩㄝˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jyué
    • Wade–Giles: chüeh²
    • Yale: jywé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyue
    • Palladius: цзюэ (czjue)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zoek³
    • Yale: jeuk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzoek⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: zêg³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sœːk̚³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chiok
    • Hakka Romanization System: jiog^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: jiog⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡si̯ok̚²/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: ziog
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡siok⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ciók
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡suɔʔ²⁴/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: zyorh⁶
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: cio̤h
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡syɒʔ²¹/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: zyoeh⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡syøʔ²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chiok
    • Tâi-lô: tsiok
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ciog
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡siɔk̚⁵/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung, Xiamen): /t͡siɔk̚³²/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chiak
    • Tâi-lô: tsiak
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ciag
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡siak̚³²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chek
    • Tâi-lô: tsik
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zeg
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡siɪk̚³²/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsjak

Rime
Character	爵
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	藥 (107)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	即略切
Baxter	tsjak
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sɨɐk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡siɐk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡siɑk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sɨak̚/
Li Rong	/t͡siak̚/
Wang Li	/t͡sĭak̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡si̯ak̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jue
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zoek3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ts]ewk/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsewɢ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	爵
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jué
Middle Chinese	‹ tsjak ›
Old Chinese	/*[ts]ewk/
English	nobility, rank
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	爵
Reading #	1/1
No.	7256
Phonetic component	爵
Rime group	藥
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	爵
Old Chinese	/*ʔsewɢ/

Definitions

爵

1. (historical) jue (drinking vessel with three supporting feet)
2. feudal title or rank
3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 雀 (“sparrow”)

   為叢驅爵／为丛驱爵  ―  wèicóngqūjué  ―  to drive the sparrows into the thickets

Compounds

• 人爵
• 伯爵 (bójué)
• 侯爵 (hóujué)
• 公爵 (gōngjué)
• 加官晉爵 / 加官晋爵
• 加官進爵 / 加官进爵 (jiāguānjìnjué)
• 勛爵 / 勋爵 (xūnjué)
• 匏爵
• 匪爵
• 受爵
• 名爵 (míngjué)
• 大爵
• 天爵
• 好爵
• 子爵 (zǐjué)
• 官爵 (guānjué)
• 封侯賜爵 / 封侯赐爵
• 封爵 (fēngjué)
• 峻爵
• 巨爵座 (Jùjuézuò)
• 康爵
• 拜爵
• 新爵士樂 / 新爵士乐
• 析圭擔爵 / 析圭担爵
• 步爵
• 淵魚叢爵 / 渊鱼丛爵
• 爵主
• 爵仇
• 爵位 (juéwèi)
• 爵士 (juéshì)
• 爵士樂 / 爵士乐 (juéshìyuè)
• 爵士舞 (juéshìwǔ)
• 爵弁
• 爵服
• 爵祿 / 爵禄 (juélù)
• 爵賞 / 爵赏 (juéshǎng)
• 爵釵 / 爵钗
• 男爵 (nánjué)
• 罰爵 / 罚爵
• 計功受爵 / 计功受爵
• 販官鬻爵 / 贩官鬻爵
• 買官鬻爵 / 买官鬻爵
• 買爵 / 买爵
• 賣官鬻爵 / 卖官鬻爵 (màiguān yù jué)
• 賜爵 / 赐爵 (cìjué)
• 賣爵贅子 / 卖爵赘子
• 賣爵鬻子 / 卖爵鬻子
• 進爵 / 进爵
• 高官顯爵 / 高官显爵
• 高爵厚祿 / 高爵厚禄
• 高爵豐祿 / 高爵丰禄
• 高爵重祿 / 高爵重禄
• 鬻官賣爵 / 鬻官卖爵

References

• “爵”, 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–
• “Entry #10682”, in 臺灣客語辭典 [Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka] (overall work in Chinese and Hakka), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2022.
• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “爵”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 118.