宇宙

Chinese

FWOTD – 5 November 2014
room; universe universe
simp. and trad.
(宇宙)
宇 宙

Etymology

Attested in several pre-Qin texts.

Meyer (2010) proposes that "eaves and roof beams" was a synecdoche for a domicile's entire space; this figure of speech would later be approrpiated by early authors and later Huainanziʼs contributors as "a metaphor for the cosmos, taking “eaves” ["宇" yǔ] and “roof beams” ["宙" zhòu] to represent the dimensions of space and time[, respectively] that compose the entire phenomenal universe."[1]

Pronunciation



Rime
Character 宇 宙
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Initial (聲) 云 (35) 澄 (11)
Final (韻) 虞 (24) 尤 (136)
Tone (調) Rising (X) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Closed Open
Division (等) III III
Fanqie 王矩切 直祐切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ɦɨoX/ /ɖɨuH/
Pan
Wuyun
/ɦioX/ /ɖiuH/
Shao
Rongfen
/ɣioX/ /ȡiəuH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ɦuə̆X/ /ɖuwH/
Li
Rong
/ɣioX/ /ȡiuH/
Wang
Li
/ɣĭuX/ /ȡĭəuH/
Bernard
Karlgren
/i̯uX/ /ȡʱi̯ə̯uH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
yǔ zhòu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
jyu5 zau6
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 宇
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
yǔ
Middle
Chinese
‹ hjuX ›
Old
Chinese
/*[ɢ]ʷ(r)aʔ/
English eaves

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 宇 宙
Reading # 1/1 1/1
No. 15719 15519
Phonetic
component
于 由
Rime
group
魚 奧
Rime
subdivision
0 2
Corresponding
MC rime
羽 胄
Old
Chinese
/*ɢʷaʔ/ /*l'ɯwɢs/

Noun

宇宙

  1. universe; cosmos; macrocosm; space
    探索宇宙的奧秘/探索宇宙的奥秘  ―  tànsuǒ yǔzhòu de àomì  ―  to explore the mysteries of the universe
  2. roof, ridgepole and beams (of a house)
  3. heaven and earth; all under heaven; country
  4. (infinite) space and time

Derived terms

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (宇宙):

References

  1. Meyer, Andrew Seth "Appendix A: Key Chinese Terms and Their Translations - Entry 'yuzhou 宇宙'" in Liu An (2010) The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China. translated and edited by Mayor, Queen, Meyer, & Roth. Series: Translations from the Asian Classics. New York: Columbia University Press

Further reading

  • 王先謙 Wang Xianqian (compiler), 《莊子集解》 Zhuangzi - Collected Explanations. Quote: 「尸子云:『 天地四方曰宇,古往今來曰宙。』」. Rough translation: "Shizi said: '(What's within) Heaven's and Earth's four directions is called yǔ ("宇"; "space"); (what lasts) from past to present is called zhòu ("宙", "time").'"

Japanese

Kanji in this term
宇 宙
う
Grade: 6
ちゅう
Grade: 6
on’yomi

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) う​ちゅう [úꜜchùù] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA(key): [ɯ̟ᵝt͡ɕɨᵝː]

Noun

宇(う)宙(ちゅう) • (uchū) 

  1. the universe
  2. outer space

Synonyms

Derived terms

Proper noun

Kanji in this term
宇 宙
ひろ
Grade: 6
し
Grade: 6

宇(ひろ)宙(し) • (Hiroshi) 

  1. a male given name

Korean

Hanja in this term
宇宙

Noun

宇宙 • (uju) (hangeul 우주)

  1. Hanja form? of 우주 (“outer space; universe; cosmos”).

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
宇宙

Noun

宇宙

  1. chữ Hán form of vũ trụ (“outer space; universe; cosmos”).
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