辛

See also: 幸, 羍, and 푸

辛 U+8F9B, 辛 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8F9B ← 辚 [U+8F9A] CJK Unified Ideographs 辜 → [U+8F9C]

⾟ U+2F9F, ⾟ KANGXI RADICAL BITTER ← ⾞ [U+2F9E] Kangxi Radicals ⾠ → [U+2FA0]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

See images of
Radical 160 辛

辛 (Kangxi radical 160, 辛+0, 7 strokes, cangjie input 卜廿十 (YTJ), four-corner 0040₁, composition ⿱立十 or ⿱亠𢆉)

1. Kangxi radical #160, ⾟.

Derived terms

• Appendix:Chinese radical/辛
• 㖕, 垶, 㛙, 㢹, 㳯, 梓, 觪, 䛨, 鋅(锌), 騂(骍)
• 乵, 㲔, 㖖, 厗, 宰, 屖, 峷, 莘, 㾕, 嶭, 薛, 巕, 㸉

Additional Derived Characters

• 𠉄, 𢓫, 𭝅, 𭡄, 𬯁, 𤈼, 𤙡, 𬍧, 𦛛, 𥏔, 𪿢, 𥞽, 𮇞, 𦀓, 𦐹, 𫋁, 𨁅, 𨌍, 𬪬, 𤨘, 𮧝, 𮨬, 𥋑, 𩷔
• 𧗶, 𣐽, 𧱏, 𣇛, 𤽮, 𥭴, 𨴲, 𭍤

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1250, character 25
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 38630
• Dae Jaweon: page 1729, character 31
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4036, character 1
• Unihan data for U+8F9B

Chinese

simp. and trad.		辛
alternative forms		䇂 亲

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 辛
Shang		Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
親	*sʰin, *sʰins
寴	*sʰin, *sʰins
儭	*sʰins, *sʰrins
瀙	*sʰins, *ʔsrin, *sʰrins
辛	*siŋ
新	*siŋ
薪	*siŋ
襯	*sʰrins
櫬	*sʰrins
嚫	*t͡sʰrinh
莘	*sriŋ
騂	*seŋ
垶	*seŋ
觪	*seŋ

Pictogram (象形) of a tool—chisel, awl, spike—used to mark slaves and criminals. The characters 䇂 and 亲 are two variants. The former (䇂) is the original version, while the latter is a conflation of both 亲 and 𣓀, a chisel over a tree to indicate the hazelnut branch which was flexible enough to be used as a whip.

It appears as 立 on the top of characters such as 妾, 竟, and 童. Unrelated to 音 and 競, in which it represents the tip of a tongue on top of an open mouth. See also 辡.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-sin (“liver; heart; bile; bitter”); compare Tibetan མཆིན (mchin, “liver”), Burmese သည်း (sany:, “liver”), Tangut 𗮰 (*sji², “liver”) (Gong, 2002; Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): xīn (xin¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄣ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xin¹

• Cantonese (Jyutping): san¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): sîn

  (Hailu, HRS): sin^ˋ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): xin¹

• Northern Min (KCR): séng
• Eastern Min (BUC): sĭng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): sing¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sin

  (Teochew, Peng'im): sing¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹shin

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sin
    • Wade–Giles: hsin¹
    • Yale: syīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shin
    • Palladius: синь (sinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: xin¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xin
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: san¹
    • Yale: sān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sîn
    • Hakka Romanization System: xin^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xin¹
    • Sinological IPA: /sin²⁴/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: sin^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /sin⁵³/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: xin¹
    • Sinological IPA: /ɕin⁴⁴/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: séng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /seiŋ⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sĭng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ⁵⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sing¹
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: sing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬiŋ⁵³³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: sing¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬiŋ⁵⁴⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sin
    • Tâi-lô: sin
    • Phofsit Daibuun: syn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /sin⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sin³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /sin⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /sin⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /sin⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: sing¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹shin
    • MiniDict: shin^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹xin
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕin⁵³/

---

• Middle Chinese: sin

Rime
Character	辛
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	息鄰切
Baxter	sin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/sin/
Shao Rongfen	/sjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sin/
Li Rong	/siĕn/
Wang Li	/sĭĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/si̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xīn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	san1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]i[n]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*siŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	辛
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xīn
Middle Chinese	‹ sin ›
Old Chinese	/*[s]i[n]/
English	pungent; painful
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	辛
Reading #	1/1
No.	13810
Phonetic component	辛
Rime group	眞
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	新
Old Chinese	/*siŋ/
Notes	甲文象黥刺刀具， 𠞂（皮傷）初文

Definitions

辛

1. spicy; hot; pungent

   辛辣  ―  xīnlà  ―  spicy

2. hard; laborious; toilsome

   辛苦  ―  xīnkǔ  ―  laborious

3. sorrowful; miserable; hard

   辛酸  ―  xīnsuān  ―  bitter

4. a surname

   辛棄疾／辛弃疾  ―  Xīn Qìjí  ―  Xin Qiji (Chinese poet during the Southern Song dynasty)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 辣 (“spicy”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		辛
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		辣, 辛辣
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	辣
	Taiwan	辣
	Chifeng	辣
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	辣
	Harbin	辣
	Shenyang	辣
	Malaysia	辣
	Singapore	辣
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	辣
	Tangshan	辣
	Cangzhou	辣
	Baoding	辣
	Shijiazhuang	辣
	Jinan	辣
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	辣
	Qingdao	辣
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	麻
	Zhengzhou	辣
	Xi'an	辣
	Xining	辣
	Xuzhou	辣
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	辣
	Lanzhou	辣
	Ürümqi	辣
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	辣
	Chongqing	辣
	Wuhan	辣
	Guiyang	辣
	Kunming	辣
	Guilin	辣
	Liuzhou	辣
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	辣
	Yangzhou	辣
	Nantong	辣
	Hefei	辣
Cantonese	Guangzhou	辣
	Hong Kong	辣
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	辣
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	辣
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	辣
	Taishan	辣
	Dongguan	辣
	Yangjiang	辣
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	辣
	Singapore (Guangfu)	辣
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	辣
Gan	Nanchang	辣
	Lichuan	辣
	Pingxiang	辣
Hakka	Meixian	辣
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	辣
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	辣
	Wengyuan	辣
	Liannan	辣
	Jiexi	辣
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	辣
	Changting	辣
	Wuping (Yanqian)	辣
	Ninghua	辣
	Yudu	辣
	Ningdu	辣
	Tonggu (Sandu)	辣
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	辣
	Dayu	辣
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	辣
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	辣
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	辣
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	辣
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	辣
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	薟
	Hong Kong	辣
	Mengshan (Xihe)	辣
	Luchuan	辣
	Senai (Huiyang)	辣
Huizhou	Jixi	辣
	Shexian	辣
Jin	Taiyuan	辣
	Xinzhou	辣
	Linhe	辣
	Jining	辣
	Hohhot	辣
	Zhangjiakou	辣
	Handan	辣
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	辣
Southern Min	Xiamen	辣
	Quanzhou	辣
	Zhangzhou	辣
	Zhao'an	薟
	Dongshan	薟
	Taipei	薟
	Taipei (Wanhua)	薟
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	薟
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	薟
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	薟
	Kaohsiung	薟
	Yilan	薟
	Changhua (Lukang)	薟
	Taichung	薟
	Taichung (Wuqi)	薟
	Tainan	辣, 薟
	Taitung	薟
	Hsinchu	薟
	Kinmen	辣
	Penghu (Magong)	辣
	Penang (Hokkien)	薟, 辣
	Singapore (Hokkien)	薟, 辣
	Manila (Hokkien)	風, 辣
	Chaozhou	薟
	Shantou	薟
	Shantou (Chenghai)	薟
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	薟
	Jieyang	薟
	Haifeng	薟
	Bangkok (Teochew)	薟
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	薟
	Singapore (Teochew)	薟
	Pontianak (Teochew)	薟
	Wenchang	辣
	Haikou	辣
	Qionghai	辣
	Singapore (Hainanese)	辣
Puxian Min	Putian	辣
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	辣
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	辣
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	辣
	Xianyou	辣
	Xianyou (Fengting)	辣
	Xianyou (Youyang)	辣
Central Min	Yong'an	辣
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	辣
Shehua	Fu'an	辣
	Fuding	辣
	Luoyuan	辣
	Sanming	辣
	Shunchang	辣
	Hua'an	辣
	Guixi (Zhangping)	辣
	Cangnan	辣
	Jingning (Hexi)	辣
	Lishui	辣
	Longyou	辣
	Chaozhou	辣
	Fengshun	辣
Wu	Shanghai	辣
	Shanghai (Chongming)	辣
	Suzhou	辣
	Danyang	辣
	Hangzhou	辣
	Ningbo	辣
	Wenzhou	辣
	Jinhua	辣
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	辣農
Xiang	Changsha	辣
	Loudi	辣

Compounds

• 下辛 (Xiàxīn)
• 下辛店 (Xiàxīndiàn)
• 不辭辛勞 / 不辞辛劳
• 備嘗辛苦 / 备尝辛苦
• 千辛百苦
• 千辛萬苦 / 千辛万苦 (qiānxīnwànkǔ)
• 后辛
• 吃辛受苦
• 吃辛吃苦
• 含辛茹苦 (hánxīnrúkǔ)
• 悲辛 (bēixīn)
• 攞苦嚟辛 / 𫽋苦嚟辛
• 熬辛吃苦
• 白辛樹 / 白辛树
• 萬苦千辛 / 万苦千辛
• 秘辛 (mìxīn)
• 細辛 / 细辛 (xìxīn)
• 艱辛 / 艰辛 (jiānxīn)
• 芥辛絲子 / 芥辛丝子
• 芥辛菜
• 苦辛 (kǔxīn)
• 茹苦含辛
• 葷辛 / 荤辛
• 辛勞 / 辛劳 (xīnláo)
• 辛勤 (xīnqín)
• 辛夷 (xīnyí)
• 辛寒
• 辛榨 (Xīnzhà)
• 辛盤 / 辛盘
• 辛苦 (xīnkǔ)
• 辛螫
• 辛辛苦苦 (xīnxīnkǔkǔ)
• 辛辣 (xīnlà)
• 辛酸 (xīnsuān)
• 酸辛 (suānxīn)
• 馬腳細辛 / 马脚细辛
• 高辛氏

Etymology 2

Smith (2011) proposes that the name for the heavenly stem is based on the Boötes constellation, which resembles an awl; it may be related to Etymology 1 with the “sharp” semantics connecting the two.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): xīn (xin¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄣ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xin¹

• Cantonese (Jyutping): san¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): sîn

  (Meixian, Guangdong): xin¹

• Northern Min (KCR): séng
• Eastern Min (BUC): sĭng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sin

  (Teochew, Peng'im): sing¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹shin

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sin
    • Wade–Giles: hsin¹
    • Yale: syīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shin
    • Palladius: синь (sinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: xin¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xin
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: san¹
    • Yale: sān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sîn
    • Hakka Romanization System: xin^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xin¹
    • Sinological IPA: /sin²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: xin¹
    • Sinological IPA: /ɕin⁴⁴/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: séng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /seiŋ⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sĭng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sin
    • Tâi-lô: sin
    • Phofsit Daibuun: syn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /sin⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sin³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /sin⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /sin⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /sin⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: sing¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹shin
    • MiniDict: shin^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹xin
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕin⁵³/

---

• Middle Chinese: sin

Rime
Character	辛
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	息鄰切
Baxter	sin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/sin/
Shao Rongfen	/sjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sin/
Li Rong	/siĕn/
Wang Li	/sĭĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/si̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xīn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	san1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*si[n]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*siŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	辛
Reading #	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xīn
Middle Chinese	‹ sin ›
Old Chinese	/*si[n]/
English	8th heavenly stem
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	辛
Reading #	1/1
No.	13810
Phonetic component	辛
Rime group	眞
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	新
Old Chinese	/*siŋ/
Notes	甲文象黥刺刀具， 𠞂（皮傷）初文

Definitions

辛

1. eighth of the ten heavenly stems
2. (in a list) eighth; number 8; VIII
3. (organic chemistry) octa-

Coordinate terms

• (Chinese heavenly stems) 天干 (tiāngān); 甲 (jiǎ), 乙 (yǐ), 丙 (bǐng), 丁 (dīng), 戊 (wù), 己 (jǐ), 庚 (gēng), 辛 (xīn), 壬 (rén), 癸 (guǐ) ^{(Category: zh:Chinese heavenly stems)}

Compounds

• 庚辛
• 辛丑和約 / 辛丑和约
• 辛亥革命 (Xīnhài Gémìng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (辛):

• → Japanese: 辛(しん) (shin)
• → Korean: 신(辛) (sin)
• → Vietnamese: tân (辛)

Others:

• → Zhuang: sin

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English symplectic.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xīn (xin¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): san¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sin
    • Wade–Giles: hsin¹
    • Yale: syīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shin
    • Palladius: синь (sinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: san¹
    • Yale: sān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn⁵⁵/

Definitions

辛

1. (mathematics, attributive) symplectic

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xīn (xin¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): san¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sin
    • Wade–Giles: hsin¹
    • Yale: syīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shin
    • Palladius: синь (sinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: san¹
    • Yale: sān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn⁵⁵/

Definitions

辛

1. Used in transcription.

Compounds

• 戴奧辛 / 戴奥辛 (dài'àoxīn)
• 赫爾辛基 / 赫尔辛基 (Hè'ěrxīnjī)
• 辛巴威 (Xīnbāwēi)
• 辛巴達 / 辛巴达
• 辛辛那提 (Xīnxīnnàtí)