臣

See also: 巨, 𦣝, and 𦣞

臣 U+81E3, 臣 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-81E3 ← 臢 [U+81E2] CJK Unified Ideographs 臤 → [U+81E4]

⾂ U+2F82, ⾂ KANGXI RADICAL MINISTER ← ⾁ [U+2F81] Kangxi Radicals ⾃ → [U+2F83]

Translingual

Stroke order (Chinese)

Stroke order (Japan)

Stroke order (cursive)

Han character

See images of
Radical 131 臣

臣 (Kangxi radical 131, 臣+0, 6 strokes in Chinese, 7 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 尸中尸中 (SLSL), four-corner 7171₇, composition ⿺𠃊⿳丅𠃍丅 or ⿷匚⿳丨コ丨 or ⿻巨⿱丨丨)

1. Kangxi radical #131, ⾂.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/臣
• 𠈄, 𠱸, 𭎏, 姫, 弫, 挋, 𭰍, 栕, 烥, 𦚠, 𤱥, 𮀁, 䋗, 𧊺, 𧧰, 𨦍, 𩠝
• 卧, 𠙉, 𠡗, 𭘍, 䢻, 𢼧, 𣂜, 䛗, 頣, 𩠞, 𢙞, 𤇸, 𠽺, 宦, 茞, 䆠, 𡇖, 嚚

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 999, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30068
• Dae Jaweon: page 1450, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2801, character 1
• Unihan data for U+81E3

Chinese

simp. and trad.		臣
alternative forms		𢘑 𮍌

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 臣
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
臤	*kʰaːn, *kʰriːn, *ɡiːn, *kʰins
掔	*kʰriːn, *kʰiːn
慳	*kʰriːn
藖	*ɡriːn, *ɡriːns
堅	*kiːn
鋻	*kiːn, *kiːns
鰹	*kiːn
蜸	*kʰiːnʔ
菣	*kʰiːns, *kʰins
賢	*ɡiːn
礥	*ɡiːn, *ɢrin
臔	*ɡiːnʔ
挋	*kiŋs
臣	*ɡiŋ
茞	*ɡiŋ
腎	*ɡjinʔ
頣	*hŋiŋʔ
緊	*kinʔ
嚚	*ŋɡriŋ
鏗	*kʰreːŋ
摼	*kʰreːŋ
硻	*kʰreːŋ

Pictogram (象形) – A vertical eye of a man looking downwards. As an individual character it has taken on the meanings “slave; servant; minister”, while the meaning relating to eyes appears when used as a radical, such as in 臨 (“to look down at”) and 監 (“to inspect”).

Compare 目. Unrelated to 𦣞.

Etymology

In Old Chinese, nominalization with nasal suffix of the verb 視 (OC *ɡljilʔ, *ɡljils, *ɢljils, “to watch”), hence literally "watcher; supervisor" (Schuessler 2007). In the archaic language of the Shang oracle bones (late second millennium BCE), this word referred to "royal officers, many of whose individual names were recorded, who served in the royal court, received the king's orders to launch military expeditions and other tasks, and received royal gifts" (Keightley 2012).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chén (chen²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄣˊ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): san⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): sin³

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): sṳ̀n

  (Hailu, HRS): shin

  (Meixian, Guangdong): sen²

• Eastern Min (BUC): sìng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): sing²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sîn

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cing⁵ / cêng⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zen

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chén
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chén
    • Wade–Giles: chʻên²
    • Yale: chén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chern
    • Palladius: чэнь (čɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: san⁴
    • Yale: sàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: sin³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sin²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ̀n
    • Hakka Romanization System: siin^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: sin²
    • Sinological IPA: /sɨn¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: shin
    • Sinological IPA: /ʃin⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: sen²
    • Sinological IPA: /sən¹¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sìng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sing²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: síng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬiŋ¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sing²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬiŋ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sîn
    • Tâi-lô: sîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siin
    • IPA (Xiamen): /sin²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sin²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /sin¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /sin²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /sin²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cing⁵ / cêng⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshîng / tshêng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiŋ⁵⁵/, /t͡sʰeŋ⁵⁵/

Note: cêng5 - Jieyang.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶zen
    • MiniDict: zen^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zen
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zən²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: dzyin

Rime
Character	臣
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	植鄰切
Baxter	dzyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑiɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑin/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑin/
Li Rong	/ʑiĕn/
Wang Li	/ʑĭĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʑi̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	san4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]i[ŋ]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡiŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	臣
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chén
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyin ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]i[ŋ]/
English	slave, subject
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	臣
Reading #	1/1
No.	1342
Phonetic component	臣
Rime group	眞
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	辰
Old Chinese	/*ɡiŋ/
Notes	甲文臧象以戈刺目爲奴， 省戈表不刺者則爲臣， 專指役使於家內者

Definitions

臣

1. (obsolete) slave; servant; captive
2. minister; statesman; official (in feudal society)

   • 己亥卜，貞。令吳小耤臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     己亥卜，贞。令吴小耤臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Oracle bone, late second millennium BCE, quoted and translated in Working for His Majesty: Research Notes on Labor Mobilization in Late Shang China (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.) by David N. Keightley

     Jǐhài bǔ, zhēn. Lìng Wú xiǎo jí chén. [Pinyin]

     Making cracks on jihai, divined: "[We] order Wu [?] to be the Junior Servitor for Cultivation.

   • 帝曰：「臣作朕股肱耳目。……。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE

     Dì yuē: “Chén zuò zhèn gǔgōng ěrmù........” [Pinyin]

     The Thearch said, 'My ministers constitute my legs and arms, my ears and eyes. [...]."

   • 定公問：「君使臣，臣事君，如之何？」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     定公问：「君使臣，臣事君，如之何？」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Dìng gōng wèn: “Jūn shǐ chén, chén shì jūn, rúzhīhé?” [Pinyin]

     The duke Ding asked how a prince should employ his ministers, and how ministers should serve their prince.

   • 九日龍山飲，黃花笑逐臣。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     九日龙山饮，黄花笑逐臣。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 《九日龍山飲/九日龙山饮》 by Li Bai, 762 CE

     Jiǔrì Lóngshān yǐn, huánghuā xiào zhúchén. [Pinyin]

     Drinking at Longshan on the Double Ninth, the yellow blossoms mock the exiled minister.

3. (more broadly) subjects of a monarch

   • 溥天之下，莫非王土。率土之濱，莫非王臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     溥天之下，莫非王土。率土之滨，莫非王臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Pǔ tiān zhī xià, mòfēi wáng tǔ. Shuàitǔ zhī bīn, mòfēi wáng chén. [Pinyin]

     Under the wide heaven, all is the king's land. Within the sea-boundaries of the land, all are the king's servants.

4. to make a subject

   • 王若負人徒之眾，仗兵革之彊，乘毀魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有後患也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     王若负人徒之众，仗兵革之强，乘毁魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有后患也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

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

     Wáng ruò fù réntú zhī zhòng, zhàng bīnggé zhī qiáng, chéng huǐ Wèi zhī wēi, ér yù yǐ lì chén tiānxià zhī zhǔ, chén kǒng qí yǒu hòuhuàn yě. [Pinyin]

     Should Your Majesty rely on the multitude of your subjects and depend on the strength of your weapons, making use of the might with which you laid waste to Wei, with a desire to subjugate the lords of the world by brute force, your servant fears that there may be trouble later on.

5. (humble, historical or archaic) I, me; your servant (humble pronoun, especially when speaking to a monarch)

   • 王若負人徒之眾，仗兵革之彊，乘毀魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有後患也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     王若负人徒之众，仗兵革之强，乘毁魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有后患也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

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

     Wáng ruò fù réntú zhī zhòng, zhàng bīnggé zhī qiáng, chéng huǐ Wèi zhī wēi, ér yù yǐ lì chén tiānxià zhī zhǔ, chén kǒng qí yǒu hòuhuàn yě. [Pinyin]

     Should Your Majesty rely on the multitude of your subjects and depend on the strength of your weapons, making use of the might with which you laid waste to Wei, with a desire to subjugate the lords of the world by brute force, your servant fears that there may be trouble later on.

   • 自壬辰至于五六年間，賊不敢直突於兩湖者，以舟師之扼其路也。今臣戰船尙有十二，出死力拒戰，則猶可爲也。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: Admiral Yi Sun-sin, 1597, quoted in《李忠武公全書》 (Collected Works of Yi, Duke of Loyalty and Martiality), 1795

     자 임진^(으로) 지우 오륙년 간^(에) 적^(이) 불감직돌어양호자^(는) 이주사지액기로야^(니이다). 금 신 전선^(이) 상유십이^(하니) 출사력거전^(이면) 즉 유가위야^(니이다).
     Ja Imjin[-euro] jiu o ryuk nyeon gan[-e], jeog[-i] bulgam jik dol eo Yangho ja[-neun], i jusa ji aek gi ro ya[-niida]. Geum sin jeonseon[-i] sang yu sibi[-hani], chul saryeok geojeon[-imyeon], jeuk yu ga wi ya[-niida]. [Sino-Korean]

     Through the five or six years after 1592, the enemy have not dared directly attack Jeolla and Chungcheong because our fleet guarded their route. Your servant still has twelve battleships today. If we defend with our dying strength, it can still be done.

6. a surname
7. (chiefly Cantonese) a respelling of the English patronymic son

   羅便臣／罗便臣  ―  Luóbiànchén  ―  Robinson

   乃路臣  ―  Nǎilùchén  ―  Nelson

Synonyms

• (minister): 臣子 (chénzǐ)

Derived terms

Sino-Xenic (臣):

• → Korean: 신(臣) (sin)
• → Vietnamese: thần (臣)

Compounds

• 一代宗臣
• 一代鼎臣
• 下臣
• 不按君臣
• 不臣 (bùchén)
• 不臣之心 (bùchén zhī xīn)
• 主憂臣辱 / 主忧臣辱
• 主臣
• 主辱臣死
• 亂臣 / 乱臣 (luànchén)
• 亂臣賊子 / 乱臣贼子 (luànchénzéizǐ)
• 亂臣逆子 / 乱臣逆子
• 五位君臣
• 五臣
• 人臣 (rénchén)
• 位極人臣 / 位极人臣 (wèijírénchén)
• 佞臣 (nìngchén)
• 使臣 (shǐchén)
• 信臣
• 倖臣 / 幸臣
• 俯首稱臣 / 俯首称臣 (fǔshǒu chēngchén)
• 偪臣
• 先臣
• 入臣
• 內臣 / 内臣 (nèichén)
• 公卿大臣
• 具臣
• 刑臣
• 力臣
• 功臣 (gōngchén)
• 勛臣 / 勋臣 (xūnchén)
• 北洋大臣
• 北面稱臣 / 北面称臣
• 南洋大臣
• 反臣 (fǎnchén)
• 名臣
• 君射臣決 / 君射臣决
• 君桴臣鼓
• 君臣 (jūnchén)
• 君臣佐使 (jūnchénzuǒshǐ)
• 四海稱臣 / 四海称臣
• 壟畝之臣 / 垄亩之臣
• 大臣 (dàchén)
• 奸臣 (jiānchén)
• 姦臣 / 奸臣 (jiānchén)
• 媵臣
• 嬖臣 (bìchén)
• 孤臣
• 孤臣孽子
• 孽子孤臣
• 宗臣
• 家臣 (jiāchén)
• 小臣
• 市井之臣
• 幸臣 (xìngchén)
• 廚養臣 / 厨养臣
• 弄臣 (nòngchén)
• 微臣 (wēichén)
• 忠臣 (zhōngchén)
• 忠臣孝子
• 忠臣烈士
• 忠臣義士 / 忠臣义士
• 愚臣 (yúchén)
• 放臣
• 文臣 (wénchén)
• 朝臣 (cháochén)
• 末臣
• 柱石之臣
• 柱臣
• 柄臣
• 棟梁之臣
• 樞臣 / 枢臣
• 權臣 / 权臣 (quánchén)
• 欽差大臣 / 钦差大臣 (qīnchāidàchén)
• 法臣
• 波臣
• 波臣派
• 爭臣 / 争臣
• 疆臣
• 直臣 (zhíchén)
• 社稷之臣 (shèjì zhī chén)
• 私臣
• 稱臣 / 称臣 (chēngchén)
• 稱臣納貢 / 称臣纳贡
• 穡臣 / 穑臣
• 竊簪之臣 / 窃簪之臣
• 純臣 / 纯臣
• 納貢稱臣 / 纳贡称臣
• 纍臣 / 累臣
• 老臣 (lǎochén)
• 能臣 (néngchén)
• 臣一主二
• 臣僚 (chénliáo)
• 臣妾
• 臣子 (chénzǐ)
• 臣工
• 臣心如水
• 臣服 (chénfú)
• 臣民 (chénmín)
• 臣門如市 / 臣门如市
• 舊臣 / 旧臣 (jiùchén)
• 良臣 (liángchén)
• 茵席之臣
• 草茅之臣
• 藎臣 / 荩臣
• 虎臣
• 褻臣 / 亵臣
• 諍臣 / 诤臣
• 謀臣 / 谋臣 (móuchén)
• 諧臣 / 谐臣
• 諫臣 / 谏臣
• 謀臣如雨 / 谋臣如雨
• 謀臣武將 / 谋臣武将 (móuchén wǔjiàng)
• 謀臣猛將 / 谋臣猛将
• 讒臣 / 谗臣
• 豪臣
• 貞臣 / 贞臣
• 貴極人臣 / 贵极人臣
• 貳臣 / 贰臣 (èrchén)
• 貳臣傳 / 贰臣传
• 買臣覆水 / 买臣覆水
• 買臣負薪 / 买臣负薪
• 賊子亂臣 / 贼子乱臣
• 賊臣亂子 / 贼臣乱子
• 賊臣逆子 / 贼臣逆子
• 賢臣 / 贤臣 (xiánchén)
• 車臣 / 车臣 (Chēchén)
• 近臣 (jìnchén)
• 逆子賊臣 / 逆子贼臣
• 逆臣賊子 / 逆臣贼子
• 逐臣
• 邪臣
• 重臣 (zhòngchén)
• 閨閣之臣 / 闺阁之臣
• 陰臣 / 阴臣
• 陪臣
• 骨鯁之臣 / 骨鲠之臣
• 鼎臣
• 鼎鼐臣

References

• “臣”, 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–