貅

貅 U+8C85, 貅 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8C85 ← 貄 [U+8C84] CJK Unified Ideographs 貆 → [U+8C86]

Translingual

Han character

貅 (Kangxi radical 153, 豸+6, 13 strokes, cangjie input 月竹人木 (BHOD), four-corner 2429₀, composition ⿰豸休)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1201, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36542
• Dae Jaweon: page 1663, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3911, character 6
• Unihan data for U+8C85

Chinese

simp. and trad.		貅

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
茠	*qʰuː
烋	*qʰruː, *qʰru
恘	*kʰu
休	*qʰu
貅	*qʰu
咻	*qʰu, *qʰoʔ
庥	*qʰu
鵂	*qʰu
髤	*qʰu
髹	*qʰu

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qʰu) : semantic 豸 + phonetic 休 (OC *qʰu).

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiū (xiu¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄡ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jau¹
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): hiu¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hiu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hiun¹ / hiu¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹shieu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiū
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄡ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siou
    • Wade–Giles: hsiu¹
    • Yale: syōu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiou
    • Palladius: сю (sju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: jau¹
    • Yale: yāu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jau¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yeo¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐu̯⁵⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hiu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hiu⁵³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiu
    • Tâi-lô: hiu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hiw
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hiu⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hiu³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hiu⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hiu⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiu⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hiun¹ / hiu¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hiuⁿ / hiu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hĩũ³³/, /hiu³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹shieu
    • MiniDict: shieu^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹xieu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕiɤ⁵³/

---

• Middle Chinese: xjuw

Rime
Character	貅
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	許尤切
Baxter	xjuw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/hɨu/
Pan Wuyun	/hiu/
Shao Rongfen	/xiəu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/huw/
Li Rong	/xiu/
Wang Li	/xĭəu/
Bernard Karlgren	/xi̯ə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiū
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jau1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*qʰu/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	貅
Reading #	1/1
No.	13920
Phonetic component	休
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	休
Old Chinese	/*qʰu/

Definitions

貅

1. ^† (Chinese mythology) female panther-like feline; female counterpart of 貔 (pí)

   • 貔貅，形似虎，或曰似熊，毛色灰白。遼東人謂之白羆。雄者曰貔，雌者曰貅，故古人多連舉之。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     貔貅，形似虎，或曰似熊，毛色灰白。辽东人谓之白罴。雄者曰貔，雌者曰貅，故古人多连举之。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1917, 徐珂 (Xu Ke), 《清稗類鈔》 (Categorized anthology of petty matters from the Qing period).

     Píxiū, xíng sì hǔ, huò yuē sì xióng, máo sè huībái. Liáodōng rén wèi zhī báipí. Xióngzhě yuē pí, cízhě yuē xiū, gù gǔrén duō lián jǔ zhī. [Pinyin]

     The pixiu: they look like tigers; some say they look like bears; their furs are colored ashen white. People in Liaodong call them white brown bears. The male is called pí, and the female xiū; that was why ancient people many times mentioned them together.

Compounds

• 貔貅 (píxiū)

 

References

• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “貅”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 266.

Japanese

Kanji

貅

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. brave heraldic beast

Readings

• On (unclassified): きゅう (kyū)

Korean

Hanja

貅 • (hyu) (hangeul 휴, revised hyu, McCune–Reischauer hyu, Yale hyu)

1. brave, fierce, courageous

Vietnamese

Han character

貅: Hán Nôm readings: hươu, hưu

1. deer (hươu)
2. pixiu 貔貅 (tỳ hưu)