鮮

See also: 尟 and 鲜

鮮 U+9BAE, 鮮 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9BAE ← 鮭 [U+9BAD] CJK Unified Ideographs 鮯 → [U+9BAF]

Translingual

Han character

鮮 (Kangxi radical 195, 魚+6, 17 strokes, cangjie input 弓火廿手 (NFTQ), four-corner 2835₁, composition ⿰魚羊)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1470, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46133
• Dae Jaweon: page 2002, character 25
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4688, character 6
• Unihan data for U+9BAE

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 鮮
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
鮮	*sen, *senʔ, *sens
廯	*sen, *senʔ
癬	*senʔ
蘚	*senʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sen, *senʔ, *sens): semantic 魚 (“fish”) + abbreviated phonetic 羴 (OC *qʰreːn, *qʰljen).

Alternatively, may be ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 魚 (“fish”) + 羊 (“sheep”) – delicious.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sar (“new; fresh”). Cognate with Proto-Tibeto-Burman *g-sar (“new; fresh”), whence Tibetan གསར་བ (gsar ba, “new; fresh”), Rawang angsar (“new”), Drung aksal (“new”), Mizo tʰarᴴ (“new”) (Schuessler, 2007); cognate with Tibetan གསར་ (gsar, “new”), Burmese ဆန်း (hcan:, “new, fresh”) (Hill, 2019).

Pronunciation

trad.		鮮
simp.		鲜
alternative forms		鱻／𱈜 䲆 觧 ⿰⿱⺈冂羊 𱆮 鱻／𱈜 䲆 觧 ⿰⿱⺈冂羊 𱆮 ⿰𩵋羊

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): xiān (xian¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xuan¹

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sin¹
• Gan (Wiktionary): xien¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): siên

  (Meixian, Guangdong): xiên¹

• Jin (Wiktionary): xie¹
• Northern Min (KCR): síng
• Eastern Min (BUC): chiĕng / siĕng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): cing¹ / seng¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chhiⁿ / chhíⁿ / sian / sián

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cin¹ / siang¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹shi
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): sienn¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiān
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sian
    • Wade–Giles: hsien¹
    • Yale: syān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shian
    • Palladius: сянь (sjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: xuan¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xuan
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕyan⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: sin¹
    • Yale: sīn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sin¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: xin¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːn⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: xien¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕiɛn⁴²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: siên
    • Hakka Romanization System: xien^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xian¹
    • Sinological IPA: /si̯en²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: xiên¹
    • Sinological IPA: /ɕiɛn⁴⁴/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: xie¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɕie¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: síng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: chiĕng / siĕng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰieŋ⁵⁵/, /sieŋ⁵⁵/

Note:

• chiĕng - vernacular;
• siĕng - literary.

• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Jiangkou, Nanri)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cing¹
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: ching
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiŋ⁵³³/
  • (Xianyou, Youyang, Fengting)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: cing¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiŋ⁵⁴⁴/
  • (Putian, Jiangkou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: seng¹
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: seng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬɛŋ⁵³³/
  • (Nanri)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: seng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬe̞ŋ⁵³³/
  • (Xianyou, Fengting)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: seng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬɛŋ⁵⁴⁴/
  • (Youyang)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: seng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /θɛŋ⁵⁴⁴/
Note:
• cing1 - vernacular;
• seng1 - literary.
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tshinn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chvy
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /t͡sʰĩ³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰĩ⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhíⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tshínn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chvie
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰĩ⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰĩ⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian
    • Tâi-lô: sian
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siefn
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /siɛn⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /siɛn³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sián
    • Tâi-lô: sián
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siern
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /siɛn⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɛn⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /siɛn⁵³/
Note:
• chhiⁿ - vernacular (“fresh”);
• chhíⁿ - vernacular (“fresh; sky blue”);
• sian - literary;
• sián - alternative literary, used in some compounds (e.g. 鮮美).
• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cin¹ / siang¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshiⁿ / siang
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰĩ³³/, /siaŋ³³/
Note:
• cin1 - vernacular;
• siang1 - literary (used in 鮮卑).
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹shi
    • MiniDict: shi^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹xi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕi⁵³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: sienn¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /si̯ẽ³³/
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /ɕi̯ẽ³³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 鮮
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕian⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/ɕian⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/ɕian²¹/
	Jinan	/ɕiã²¹³/
	Qingdao	/siã²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/sian²⁴/
	Xi'an	/ɕiã²¹/
	Xining	/ɕiã⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/ɕian⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/ɕiɛ̃n³¹/
	Ürümqi	/ɕian⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/ɕiɛn⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/ɕyan⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/ɕian⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/ɕiɛ̃⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/ɕyen³¹/
	Hefei	/ɕyĩ²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕie¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ɕie̞¹³/
	Hohhot	/ɕie³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɕi⁵³/
	Suzhou	/siɪ⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ɕiẽ̞³³/
	Wenzhou	/ɕiɛ³³/
Hui	Shexian	/ɕie³¹/ /ɕye³¹/
	Tunxi	/siɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/siẽ³³/
	Xiangtan	/siẽ³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/ɕiɛn⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/sien⁴⁴/
	Taoyuan	/sien³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/sin⁵³/
	Nanning	/ɬin⁵⁵/ /ɬin³⁵/
	Hong Kong	/sin⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/sian⁵⁵/ /t͡sʰĩ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/t͡sʰieŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/siŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡sʰĩ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/sin³¹/ 朝～ /si²³/ 新～

---

• Middle Chinese: sjen

Rime
Character	鮮
Reading #	1/3
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	相然切
Baxter	sjen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siᴇn/
Pan Wuyun	/siɛn/
Shao Rongfen	/sjæn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sian/
Li Rong	/siɛn/
Wang Li	/sĭɛn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/si̯ɛn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sin1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s][a]r/, /*s[a]r/

  (Zhengzhang): /*sen/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	鮮	鮮
Reading #	1/3	2/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xiān	xiān
Middle Chinese	‹ sjen ›	‹ sjen ›
Old Chinese	/*[s][a]r/	/*s[a]r/
English	fresh; good	鮮卑 *s[a]r.pe Xiānbēi
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	鮮
Reading #	1/3
No.	13490
Phonetic component	鮮
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	仙
Old Chinese	/*sen/
Notes	說文羴省聲

Definitions

鮮

1. seafood; aquatic food

   海鮮／海鲜  ―  hǎixiān  ―  seafood

2. delicious food; fresh food

   嘗鮮／尝鲜  ―  chángxiān  ―  to taste fresh food

3. fresh; not stale

   鮮魚／鲜鱼  ―  xiānyú  ―  fresh fish

4. brightly colored; gaily colored

   那塊布的顏色很鮮。 [MSC, trad.]
   那块布的颜色很鲜。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nà kuài bù de yánsè hěn xiān. [Pinyin]

   The color of that piece of cloth is very bright.

5. delicious; tasty

   媽媽煮的湯的味道很鮮。 [MSC, trad.]
   妈妈煮的汤的味道很鲜。 [MSC, simp.]

   Māmā zhǔ de tāng de wèidào hěn xiān. [Pinyin]

   The soup that mother cooked tastes delicious.

6. not yet withered; not yet wilted (of flowers, grass, etc.)

   鮮花／鲜花  ―  xiānhuā  ―  fresh flower

7. special; peculiar; strange and interesting

   屢見不鮮／屡见不鲜  ―  lǚjiànbùxiān  ―  common occurrence

   小孩說的話很鮮。 [MSC, trad.]
   小孩说的话很鲜。 [MSC, simp.]

   Xiǎohái shuō de huà hěn xiān. [Pinyin]

   The words of the child were peculiar.

8. (Hakka) thin; dilute
9. (Zhangzhou Hokkien) sky blue; azure

   鮮色／鲜色 [Hokkien]  ―  chheⁿ-sek [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  sky blue

10. a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 新鮮 (“fresh (food)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		新鮮
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	新鮮
	Taiwan	新鮮
	Malaysia	新鮮
	Singapore	新鮮
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	新鮮
	Wanrong	新鮮
Southwestern Mandarin	Wuhan	新新
	Guiyang	新鮮
	Guilin	新鮮
Cantonese	Guangzhou	新鮮
	Hong Kong	新鮮
	Taishan	生鮮
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	新鮮
	Penang (Guangfu)	新鮮
	Singapore (Guangfu)	新鮮
Gan	Pingxiang	新新, 新鮮
Hakka	Meixian	新鮮
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	萋, 新鮮
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	萋, 新鮮
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	萋, 新鮮
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	萋, 新鮮
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	萋, 新鮮
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	萋
Southern Min	Xiamen	鮮, 鮮尺
	Quanzhou	鮮, 鮮尺, 鮮臊
	Jinjiang	鮮尺
	Zhangzhou	鮮, 鮮尺, 鮮臊
	Zhao'an	鮮
	Dongshan	鮮
	Tainan	鮮, 鮮尺
	Penang (Hokkien)	鮮
	Singapore (Hokkien)	鮮, 鮮尺
	Manila (Hokkien)	鮮尺
	Chaozhou	鮮, 新鮮
	Shantou	鮮
	Singapore (Teochew)	鮮
	Wenchang	新鮮
	Haikou	生鮮
	Qionghai	新鮮
Wu	Shanghai (Chongming)	新鮮
	Suzhou	新鮮, 鮮鮮 dated
Xiang	Loudi	新新

Dialectal synonyms of 稀 (“dilute; thin”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		稀
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	稀
	Taiwan	稀
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	稀
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	稀
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	清, 稀
	Wuhan	稀, 清
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	稀, 消
	Hefei	稀, 消
Cantonese	Guangzhou	稀, 削
	Hong Kong	稀, 削
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	稀
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	清
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	鮮
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	稀
	Macau	稀
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	稀
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	稀
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	稀
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	清
	Foshan	稀
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	稀
	Foshan (Shunde)	稀
	Foshan (Sanshui)	稀
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	稀
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	稀
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	稀
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	稀
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	稀
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	稀
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	稀
	Taishan	稀
	Kaiping (Chikan)	稀
	Enping (Niujiang)	稀
	Heshan (Yayao)	稀
	Dongguan	清
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	清
	Yangjiang	清
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	稀
Gan	Nanchang	清, 稀
	Jianning	清
	Taining	清
Hakka	Meixian	鮮
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	稀
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	鮮
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	鮮
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	稀
	Changting	鮮
	Shanghang	鮮
	Longyan (Yongding)	鮮
	Wuping	鮮
	Liancheng	鮮
	Ninghua	鮮
	Qingliu	鮮
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	鮮
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	鮮
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	鮮
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	鮮
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	鮮
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	鮮
	Hong Kong	鮮
	Senai (Huiyang)	鮮
Jin	Taiyuan	稀
Northern Min	Jian'ou	增
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	增
	Nanping (Xiayang, Yanping)	增
	Songxi	增
	Zhenghe	增
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	增
	Shunchang (Yangdun)	增
	Jianyang	增
	Wuyishan	增
	Pucheng (Shibei)	增
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	清
	Fuzhou (Changle)	清
	Lianjiang	清
	Fuqing	漖, 清
	Pingtan	稀
	Yongtai	清
	Minqing	清
	Gutian	淺
	Pingnan	淺
	Luoyuan	淺
	Fu'an	清
	Ningde	清, 淺, 稀
	Xiapu	稀
	Zherong	清
	Shouning	清
	Zhouning	淺, 清
	Fuding	清
	Youxi	清
Southern Min	Xiamen	漖, 飲
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	飲
	Quanzhou	漖
	Jinjiang	漖
	Nan'an	漖, 飲
	Shishi	漖
	Hui'an	漖, 飲
	Anxi	漖
	Yongchun	漖
	Dehua	漖
	Zhangzhou	漖, 飲
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	飲
	Hua'an	飲
	Nanjing	飲
	Pinghe	漖
	Zhangpu	飲
	Yunxiao	漖
	Zhao'an	漖
	Dongshan	漖
	Tainan	漖
	Kinmen	漖
	Longyan	鬻
	Zhangping	鬻
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	鬻
	Datian	鬻
	Datian (Guangping)	增
	Chaozhou	漖, 𬓤
	Shantou	𬓤
	Shantou (Chenghai)	𬓤
	Jieyang	漖, 𬓤
	Bangkok (Teochew)	𬓤
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	𬓤
	Leizhou	浮
Puxian Min	Putian	漖
	Xianyou	漖
Central Min	Yong'an	增
	Sanming (Sanyuan)	增
	Sanming (Shaxian)	增
Shaojiang Min	Shaowu	清
	Guangze	清
	Jiangle	清
	Mingxi	清
	Shunchang	清
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	稀
Wu	Suzhou	薄
	Yuyao	薄, 朗
	Wenzhou	薄
	Pucheng	清
Xiang	Changsha	清, 稀
	Shuangfeng	清, 稀

Compounds

• 一朵鮮花插在牛糞上 / 一朵鲜花插在牛粪上 (yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng)
• 三鮮 / 三鲜 (sānxiān)
• 保鮮 / 保鲜 (bǎoxiān)
• 保鮮盒 / 保鲜盒
• 保鮮膜 / 保鲜膜 (bǎoxiānmó)
• 光鮮 / 光鲜 (guāngxiān)
• 如烹小鮮 / 如烹小鲜
• 小鮮 / 小鲜
• 小鮮肉 / 小鲜肉 (xiǎoxiānròu)
• 屢見不鮮 / 屡见不鲜 (lǚjiànbùxiān)
• 嵐翠鮮明 / 岚翠鲜明
• 數見不鮮 / 数见不鲜 (shuòjiànbùxiān)
• 新鮮 / 新鲜 (xīnxiān)
• 新鮮事 / 新鲜事
• 新鮮人 / 新鲜人 (xīnxiānrén)
• 時鮮 / 时鲜 (shíxiān)
• 朝鮮 / 朝鲜
• 海鮮 / 海鲜 (hǎixiān, “seafood”)
• 甘鮮 / 甘鲜
• 生鮮 / 生鲜 (shēngxiān)
• 白羊鮮 / 白羊鲜
• 碧鮮 / 碧鲜
• 空水澄鮮 / 空水澄鲜
• 肥鮮 / 肥鲜
• 貓兒見了魚鮮飯 / 猫儿见了鱼鲜饭
• 送鮮 / 送鲜
• 魚鮮 / 鱼鲜 (yúxiān)
• 鮮乳 / 鲜乳 (xiānrǔ)
• 鮮亮 / 鲜亮 (xiānliàng)
• 鮮卑 / 鲜卑 (Xiānbēi)
• 鮮味 / 鲜味 (xiānwèi)
• 鮮奶 / 鲜奶 (xiānnǎi)
• 鮮奶油 / 鲜奶油 (xiānnǎiyóu)
• 鮮妍 / 鲜妍
• 鮮嫩 / 鲜嫩 (xiānnèn)
• 鮮明 / 鲜明 (xiānmíng)
• 鮮果 / 鲜果 (xiānguǒ)
• 鮮榮 / 鲜荣
• 鮮沢 / 鲜沢 (chhiⁿ-chhioh) (Min Nan)
• 鮮活 / 鲜活 (xiānhuó)
• 鮮潤 / 鲜润
• 鮮眉亮眼 / 鲜眉亮眼
• 鮮紅 / 鲜红 (xiānhóng)
• 鮮美 / 鲜美 (xiānměi)
• 鮮翠 / 鲜翠 (xiāncuì)
• 鮮肉 / 鲜肉 (xiānròu)
• 鮮花 / 鲜花 (xiānhuā)
• 鮮血 / 鲜血 (xiānxuè)
• 鮮血淋漓 / 鲜血淋漓 (xiānxuèlínlí)
• 鮮衣美食 / 鲜衣美食
• 鮮豔 / 鲜艳 (xiānyàn)
• 鮮豔奪目 / 鲜艳夺目
• 鮮貨 / 鲜货
• 鮮車怒馬 / 鲜车怒马
• 鮮食 / 鲜食
• 鮮飾 / 鲜饰
• 鮮麗 / 鲜丽 (xiānlì)

Descendants

• → Vietnamese: tươi

Etymology 2

Etymology not clear (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

trad.		鮮
simp.		鲜
alternative forms		鱻 尟 赻 尠

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiǎn (xian³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sin²
• Eastern Min (BUC): siēng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sián

  (Teochew, Peng'im): siang²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵shi

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siǎn
    • Wade–Giles: hsien³
    • Yale: syǎn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shean
    • Palladius: сянь (sjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: sin²
    • Yale: sín
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sin²
    • Guangdong Romanization: xin²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːn³⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: siēng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sieŋ³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sián
    • Tâi-lô: sián
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siern
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /siɛn⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɛn⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /siɛn⁵³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: siang²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siáng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siaŋ⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵shi
    • MiniDict: shi^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²xi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕi³⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: sjenX

Rime
Character	鮮
Reading #	2/3
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	息淺切
Baxter	sjenX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siᴇnX/
Pan Wuyun	/siɛnX/
Shao Rongfen	/sjænX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sianX/
Li Rong	/siɛnX/
Wang Li	/sĭɛnX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/si̯ɛnX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sin2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s][e]rʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*senʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	鮮
Reading #	3/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xiǎn
Middle Chinese	‹ sjenX ›
Old Chinese	/*[s][e]rʔ/
English	rare, few
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	鮮
Reading #	2/3
No.	13492
Phonetic component	鮮
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	獮
Old Chinese	/*senʔ/
Notes	說文羴省聲

Definitions

鮮

1. rare; little; few

   • 量力而動，其過鮮矣。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     量力而动，其过鲜矣。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translation from Zuozhuan: Commentary on the "Spring and Autumn Annals" (2017), by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg

     Liànglì ér dòng, qí guò xiǎn yǐ. [Pinyin]

     If one weighs one’s strength and then acts, one’s errors will be few.

2. rarely; infrequently

   • 子曰：「巧言令色，鮮矣仁！」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     子曰：「巧言令色，鲜矣仁！」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

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

     Zǐyuē: “Qiǎoyánlìngsè, xiǎn yǐ rén!” [Pinyin]

     The Master said, "Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue!"

3. to lack; to be short of
4. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 巘 / 𪩘 (yǎn, “the top of a mountain; cliff; small mountain”)

   • 度其鮮原，居岐之陽 [MSC, trad.]
     度其鲜原，居岐之阳 [MSC, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE

     dù qí xiǎn yuán, jū qí zhī yáng [Pinyin]

     He determined the small mountains and hills, settling in the south of Qi

Compounds

• 倨傲鮮腆 / 倨傲鲜腆
• 寡廉鮮恥 / 寡廉鲜耻 (guǎliánxiǎnchǐ)
• 寡見鮮聞 / 寡见鲜闻
• 巧言令色，鮮矣仁 / 巧言令色，鲜矣仁 (qiǎoyánlìngsè, xiǎnyǐrén)
• 德薄能鮮 / 德薄能鲜
• 朝鮮 / 朝鲜
• 淺鮮 / 浅鲜
• 靡不有初，鮮克有終 / 靡不有初，鲜克有终
• 鮮少 / 鲜少 (xiǎnshǎo)
• 鮮民 / 鲜民
• 鮮為人知 / 鲜为人知 (xiǎnwéirénzhī)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

trad.		鮮
simp.		鲜

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiàn (xian⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sin³
• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵shi

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siàn
    • Wade–Giles: hsien⁴
    • Yale: syàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiann
    • Palladius: сянь (sjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: sin³
    • Yale: sin
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sin³
    • Guangdong Romanization: xin³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːn³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵shi
    • MiniDict: shi^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²xi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕi³⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: sjenH

Rime
Character	鮮
Reading #	3/3
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	私箭切
Baxter	sjenH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siᴇnH/
Pan Wuyun	/siɛnH/
Shao Rongfen	/sjænH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sianH/
Li Rong	/siɛnH/
Wang Li	/sĭɛnH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/si̯ɛnH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sin3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*sens/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	鮮
Reading #	3/3
No.	13496
Phonetic component	鮮
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	線
Old Chinese	/*sens/

Definitions

鮮

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 獻 / 献 (“to offer; to present”)

Compounds

• 惠鮮 / 惠鲜

Further reading

• “鮮”, 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.
• “鮮”, 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), “鲜（新～）”, 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 214.

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 鮮

鮮

(Jōyō kanji)

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

Readings

• Go-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
• Kun: あざやか (azayaka, 鮮やか, Jōyō)、すくない (sukunai, 鮮い)、あたらしい (atarashii, 鮮しい)

Compounds

• 新鮮(しんせん) (shinsen)
• 鮮衣(せんい) (sen'i)
• 鮮花(せんか) (senka)
• 鮮華(せんか) (senka)
• 鮮暉(せんき) (senki)
• 鮮輝(せんき) (senki)
• 鮮魚(せんぎょ) (sengyo)
• 鮮血(せんけつ) (senketsu)
• 鮮潔(せんけつ) (senketsu)
• 鮮妍(せんけん) (senken)
• 鮮好(せんこう) (senkō)
• 鮮少(せんしょう) (senshō)
• 鮮色(せんしょく) (senshoku)
• 鮮食(せんしょく) (senshoku)
• 鮮飾(せんしょく) (senshoku)
• 鮮新(せんしん) (senshin)
• 鮮盛(せんせい) (sensei)
• 鮮腆(せんてん) (senten)
• 鮮白(せんびゃく) (senbyaku)
• 鮮美(せんび) (senbi)
• 鮮媚(せんび) (senbi)
• 鮮肥(せんぴ) (senpi)
• 鮮卑(せんぴ) (Senpi)
• 鮮明(せんめい) (senmei)
• 鮮耀(せんよう) (sen'yō)
• 鮮麗(せんれい) (senrei)
• 朝鮮(ちょうせん) (Chōsen)
• 白鮮(ハクセン) (hakusen)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
鮮
せん Grade: S
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 鮮 (MC sjen|sjenX|sjenH).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sẽ̞ɴ]

Affix

鮮(せん) • (sen) ^{←せん (sen)?}

1. fresh
2. vivid
3. (Empire of Japan) Korea

   全(ぜん)鮮(せん) ― zensen ― the entirety of Korea

   内(ない)鮮(せん)一体(いったい) ― naisen ittai ― unification of the mainland and Korea

Korean

Hanja

鮮 (eumhun 고울 선 (goul seon))

1. hanja form^? of 선 (“smooth; fish”)

Compounds

• 조선 (朝鮮, joseon, “Joseon; Korea”)
• 생선 (生鮮, saengseon, “fish”)
• 선혈 (鮮血, seonhyeol, “recently spilled blood”)

Vietnamese

Han character

鮮: Hán Nôm readings: tiên, tắn

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