寅

Han character

寅 (Kangxi radical 40, 宀+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 十一中金 (JMLC), four-corner 3080₆, composition ⿱宀⿳一由八)

Glyph origin

More information Historical forms of the character 寅, Shang ...

Historical forms of the character 寅
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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Originally an ideogram (指事): an arrow 矢 with a distinguishing mark (now 日).

In the modern form the arrowhead has corrupted into 宀.

Etymology

3rd earthly branch

Smith (2011) suggests that this branch denoted the "bending, stretching, drawn out" moon phase, i.e. the waning half-moon with a concave flat edge. Smith points to

• the possible relation between 寅 (OC *lin) and 引 (OC *linʔ, “to stretch, to draw (a bow)”) (noted earlier by James Mellon Menzies); and
• that both graphs 寅 and 引 were used interchangeably as phonophorics for 螾 (OC *lin, *linʔ) and 蚓 (OC *linʔ), meaning "worm".

Association with the tiger was possibly arbitrary, just like 辰 (chén) with the dragon (see Ferlus, 2013)

Pronunciation

Definitions

寅

1. (Classical) to revere, respect

   • 同寅協恭和衷哉！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     同寅协恭和衷哉！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE

     Tóng yín xié gōng hé zhōng zāi! [Pinyin]

     When (sovereign and ministers show) a common reverence and united respect for these, lo! the moral nature (of the people) is made harmonious.

2. third of twelve earthly branches (十二支)
3. tiger (虎) of Chinese zodiac

Compounds

References

• “寅”, 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–
• “寅”, 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.

Kanji

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

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

Etymology 1

From 虎 (tora, “tiger”).

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 寅 (yin).

Hanja

寅 • (in, i) (hangeul 인, 이, revised in, i, McCune–Reischauer in, i)

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

Han character

寅: Hán Nôm readings: dần

1. chữ Hán form of Dần (“third of the twelve earthly branches”).

   Hypernyms: 地支, 十二支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥