左

左 U+5DE6, 左
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5DE6
← 工
[U+5DE5] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 巧 →
[U+5DE7]

Translingual
Stroke order
5 strokes

Han character

左 (Kangxi radical 48, 工+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 大一 (KM), four-corner 40011, composition ⿸𠂇工)

Derived characters

Descendants

References
  • KangXi: page 325, character 8
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8720
  • Dae Jaweon: page 626, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 411, character 5
  • Unihan data for U+5DE6

Chinese
simp. and trad.
 左
alternative forms 𠂇
𢀡
㔫
屮

Glyph origin
Historical forms of the character 左
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (左) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
左 *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls
佐 *ʔsaːls
袏 *ʔslaːls
蹉 *sʰlaːl
瑳 *sʰlaːl, *sʰlaːlʔ
搓 *sʰlaːl
磋 *sʰlaːl
溠 *sʰlaːl, *sraːl, *ʔsraːls
傞 *sʰlaːl, *slaːl
醝 *zlaːl
瘥 *zlaːl, *ʔsljal, *sʰreːls
鹺 *zlaːl
嵯 *zlaːl, *sʰral
嵳 *zlaːl
蒫 *zlaːl, *ʔsljal, *ʔslɯl
艖 *zlaːl, *sʰraːl
齹 *zlaːl, *sʰral, *zral
縒 *slaːlʔ, *sʰral, *sʰlaːɡ
褨 *slaːlʔ
嗟 *ʔsljal
差 *sʰraːl, *sʰraːls, *sʰreːl, *sʰreːl, *sʰreːls, *sʰral
鎈 *sʰraːl
槎 *zraːl, *zraːlʔ
髊 *zlals

Originally written 𠂇 in the oracle bone script: Pictogram (象形) – a left hand. Compare 又 (“right hand”).

Late bronze inscription forms show an added 工 (“work; to assist?”) component, making the current form a phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls) and ideogrammic compound (會意) : phonetic 𠂇 (“left hand”) + semantic 工 (“work”), representing the original form of 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist”).

Etymology

Cognate with 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist”) (< be on one's left side); mirror of the semantic relationship between 右 (OC *ɢʷɯʔ, “right”) and 佑 (OC *ɢʷɯs, “to assist”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Unrelated to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *b(w)aj (“left (hand)”) (STEDT).

“(politics) left-wing”
Semantic loan from English left, in turn a semantic loan from French gauche.

Pronunciation 1

Note:
  • Quanzhou:
    • chó - vernacular;
    • chó͘ - literary.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 左
Mandarin Beijing /t͡suo²¹⁴/
Harbin /t͡suo²¹³/
Tianjin /t͡suo¹³/
Jinan /t͡suə²¹/
Qingdao /t͡suə²¹³/
Zhengzhou /t͡suo⁵³/
Xi'an /t͡suo⁵³/
Xining /t͡su⁵³/
Yinchuan /t͡suə⁵³/
Lanzhou /t͡suə⁴⁴²/
Ürümqi /t͡suɤ⁵¹/
Wuhan /t͡suo⁴²/
Chengdu /t͡so⁵³/
Guiyang /t͡so⁴²/
Kunming /t͡so⁵³/
Nanjing /t͡so²¹²/
Hefei /t͡sʊ²⁴/
Jin Taiyuan /t͡sɤ⁵³/
Pingyao /t͡ɕie̞³⁵/
Hohhot /t͡suɤ⁵³/
Wu Shanghai /t͡su³⁵/
Suzhou /t͡səu⁵¹³/
Hangzhou /t͡so⁵³/
Wenzhou /t͡sɤu³⁵/
Hui Shexian /t͡so³⁵/
Tunxi /t͡so³¹/
Xiang Changsha /t͡so⁴¹/
Xiangtan /t͡so⁴²/
Gan Nanchang /t͡so²¹³/
Hakka Meixian /t͡so³¹/
Taoyuan /t͡so³¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /t͡sɔ³⁵/
Nanning /t͡sɔ³⁵/
Hong Kong /t͡sɔ³⁵/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /t͡so⁵³/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /t͡so³²/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /t͡sɔ²¹/
Shantou (Min Nan) /t͡so⁵³/
Haikou (Min Nan) /to²¹³/
Rime
Character 左
Reading # 1/2
Initial (聲) 精 (13)
Final (韻) 歌 (94)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 臧可切
Baxter tsaX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /t͡sɑX/
Pan
Wuyun		 /t͡sɑX/
Shao
Rongfen		 /t͡sɑX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /t͡saX/
Li
Rong		 /t͡sɑX/
Wang
Li		 /t͡sɑX/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /t͡sɑX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 zuǒ
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex		 zo2
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 左
Reading # 1/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 zuǒ
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ tsaX ›
Old
Chinese		 /*tsˁa[j]ʔ/
English left (side)

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 左
Reading # 1/2
No. 18004
Phonetic
component		 左
Rime
group		 歌
Rime
subdivision		 1
Corresponding
MC rime		 左
Old
Chinese		 /*ʔsaːlʔ/

Definitions

左

  1. left (direction)
    左手  ―  zuǒshǒu  ―  left hand
  2. east; areas to the east
    江左  ―  jiāngzuǒ  ―  area east of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
  3. (historical) inferior position
  4. unorthodox; wrong
  5. erroneously; mistakingly
    你想左了。  ―  Nǐ xiǎng zuǒ le.  ―  You are mistaken.
  6. different; divided; inconsistent
    相左  ―  xiàngzuǒ  ―  to conflict with each other; to fail to agree
  7. (politics) left-wing
  8. (chemistry) levo-
    左多巴  ―  zuǒduōbā  ―  levodopa
  9. (Sichuanese, of singing) out of tune; off-key
  10. (Southwestern Mandarin, including Sichuanese) to exchange
  11. (Min Dong) devious, dishonest
  12. (Xiang) wrong; incorrect
  13. a surname
    左宗棠  ―  Zuǒ Zōngtáng  ―  Zuo Zongtang (Qing dynasty Chinese statesman and military leader)
Usage notes

In socialist nations e.g. mainland China, 左 is usually (not necessarily) put in quotation marks when referring to the leftism further to the correct party line.

Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 左 (“left”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 左
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 左
Mandarin Beijing 左
Taiwan 左
Tianjin 左
Chengde 左
Tangshan 左
Cangzhou 左
Baoding 左
Shijiazhuang 左
Chifeng 左
Hulunbuir (Hailar) 左
Heihe 左
Qiqihar 左
Harbin 左
Jiamusi 左
Baicheng 左
Changchun 左
Tonghua 左
Shenyang 左
Dandong 左
Jinzhou 左
Dalian 左
Yantai 左
Qingdao 左
Lijin 左
Zhucheng 左
Jinan 左
Jining 左
Wanrong 左
Shangqiu 左
Yuanyang 左
Zhengzhou 左
Lingbao 左
Xinyang 左
Baihe 左
Hanzhong 左
Xi'an 左
Baoji 左
Yinchuan 左
Tianshui 左
Lanzhou 左
Dunhuang 左
Xining 左
Hami 左
Ürümqi 左
Wuhan 左
Yichang 左
Xiangyang 左
Tianmen 左
Hong'an 左
Chengdu 左
Nanchong 左
Dazhou 左
Hanyuan 左
Xichang 左
Zigong 左
Chongqing 左
Guiyang 左
Zunyi 左
Bijie 左
Liping 左
Zhaotong 左
Dali 左
Kunming 左
Mengzi 左
Guilin 左
Liuzhou 左
Jishou 左
Changde 左
Anqing 左
Xuzhou 左
Fuyang 左
Wuhu 左
Yangzhou 左
Lianyungang 左
Lianshui 左
Nanjing 左
Hefei 左
Nantong 左
Malaysia 左
Singapore 左
Cantonese Guangzhou 左
Hong Kong 左
Macau 左
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 左
Singapore (Guangfu) 左
Gan Nanchang 左
Lichuan 左
Huizhou Shexian 左
Jin Taiyuan 左
Yangyuan 左
Datong 左
Xinzhou 左
Lishi 左
Linfen 左
Changzhi 左
Linhe 左
Jining 左
Hohhot 左
Erenhot 左
Pingshan 左
Zhangjiakou 左
Handan 左
Linzhou 左
Suide 左
Min Dong Fuzhou 左
Min Nan Xiamen 倒
Quanzhou 倒
Zhangzhou 倒
Taipei 倒
New Taipei (Sanxia) 倒
Kaohsiung 倒
Yilan 倒
Changhua (Lukang) 倒
Taichung 倒
Tainan 倒
Hsinchu 倒
Kinmen 倒
Penghu (Magong) 倒
Penang (Hokkien) 倒
Singapore (Hokkien) 倒
Manila (Hokkien) 倒
Chaozhou 倒
Shantou 倒
Jieyang 倒
Singapore (Teochew) 倒
Wenchang 左
Dialectal synonyms of 錯 (“wrong”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 過誤, 誤, 謬, 謬誤, 訛
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 錯, 不對, 錯誤
Mandarin Beijing 錯, 左
Taiwan 錯, 不對
Jinan 錯, 差
Xi'an 錯
Ürümqi 錯
Wuhan 錯, 左
Chengdu 錯, 拐
Guilin 錯
Yangzhou 錯
Nanjing 差
Hefei 錯
Malaysia 錯, 不對
Singapore 錯, 不對
Cantonese Guangzhou 錯, 唔啱
Hong Kong 錯, 唔啱
Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou) 錯
Macau 錯
Guangzhou (Panyu) 錯
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) 唔啱
Guangzhou (Conghua) 錯
Guangzhou (Zengcheng) 錯
Foshan 錯
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) 錯
Foshan (Shunde) 錯
Foshan (Sanshui) 錯, 唔啱
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) 錯
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 錯
Zhuhai (Qianshan) 錯
Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka) 錯
Zhuhai (Doumen) 錯
Jiangmen (Baisha) 錯
Jiangmen (Xinhui) 錯
Taishan 錯
Kaiping (Chikan) 錯
Enping (Niujiang) 錯
Heshan (Yayao) 錯
Dongguan 錯
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) 錯
Yangjiang 錯
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 唔啱, 錯
Singapore (Guangfu) 唔啱, 錯
Gan Nanchang 錯
Lichuan 錯
Hakka Meixian 差, 唔啱
Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua) 錯
Dongguan (Qingxi) 錯
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) 錯
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) 錯
Conghua (Lütian) 錯
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 唔著
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 唔著
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 唔著
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 唔著
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 唔著
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 唔著
Jin Taiyuan 錯, 不對, 差
Min Bei Jian'ou 錯
Min Dong Fuzhou 賺
Matsu 賺
Min Nan Xiamen 賺, 毋著
Quanzhou 賺, 毋著
Shishi 賺
Zhangzhou 賺, 毋著
Zhao'an 毋著
Taipei 毋著
Kaohsiung 毋著
Penang (Hokkien) salah, 毋著, 賺
Singapore (Hokkien) salah, 毋著
Manila (Hokkien) 毋著, 賺
Chaozhou 賺
Shantou 賺, 唔對, 唔著
Jieyang 賺
Singapore (Teochew) salah, 唔著, 賺
Wenchang 無著
Haikou 錯
Singapore (Hainanese) 無著
Zhongshan Min Shaxi (Longdu) 錯
Wu Shanghai 錯
Suzhou 錯
Danyang 賺
Ningbo 錯, 賺
Wenzhou 賺
Xiang Changsha 錯, 左
Shuangfeng 造, 錯
Antonyms
  • 右 (yòu, “right”)

Pronunciation 2

Rime
Character 左 左
Reading # 1/2 2/2
Initial (聲) 精 (13) 精 (13)
Final (韻) 歌 (94) 歌 (94)
Tone (調) Rising (X) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open Open
Division (等) I I
Fanqie 臧可切 則箇切
Baxter tsaX tsaH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Pan
Wuyun		 /t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Shao
Rongfen		 /t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /t͡saX/ /t͡saH/
Li
Rong		 /t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Wang
Li		 /t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 zuǒ zuò
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex		 zo2 zo3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 左 左
Reading # 2/3 3/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 zuǒ zuǒ
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ tsaX › ‹ tsaH ›
Old
Chinese		 /*tsˁa[j]ʔ/ /*tsˁarʔ-s/
English assist assist

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 左 左
Reading # 1/2 2/2
No. 18004 18006
Phonetic
component		 左 左
Rime
group		 歌 歌
Rime
subdivision		 1 1
Corresponding
MC rime		 左 佐
Old
Chinese		 /*ʔsaːlʔ/ /*ʔsaːls/

Definitions

左

  1. † Original form of 佐 (zuǒ, “to assist”).

Compounds
Derived terms from 左

Descendants
Sino-Xenic (左):
  • → Japanese: 左(さ) (sa)
  • → Korean: 좌(左) (jwa)
  • → Vietnamese: tả (左)

Others:

  • → Ahom: 𑜏𑜩 (say, “left”)
  • → Bouyei: soix (“left”)
  • → English: Tso, Zuo
  • → Lao: ຊ້າຍ (sāi, “left”)
  • → Shan: သၢႆႉ (sâ̰ai, “left”)
  • → Thai: ซ้าย (sáai, “left”)
  • → Zhuang: swix (“left”)

References

Japanese

Kanji
左

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Alternative forms

Compounds

Etymology 1
Kanji in this term
左
ひだり
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

/hidari/: *[pidari] → [ɸidari] → [çidari].

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1] From Proto-Japonic *pintari.

Pronunciation

Noun

左(ひだり) • (hidari) 

  1. (direction) left, the side of the left hand
    • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 229)
      Fidari. ヒダリ (左) 左手, または, 左の方
    • 1999 August 10, “封(ふう)印(いん)されし者(もの)の左(ひだり)腕(うで) [Left Arm of the Sealed One]”, in 幻の召喚神 [Phantom God], Konami:
      封(ふう)印(いん)された左(ひだり)腕(うで)。封(ふう)印(いん)を解(と)くと、無(む)限(げん)の力(ちから)を得(え)られる。
      Fūinsareta hidariude. Fūin o toku to, mugen no chikara o erareru.
      A sealed left arm. Whosoever breaks the seal shall earn infinite power.
  2. (politics) a leftist
Antonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2
Kanji in this term
左
さ
Grade: 1
on’yomi

Middle Chinese 左

Pronunciation

Noun

左(さ) • (sa) 

  1. the left in vertical writing
  2. the following (one)
    • 1905–06, Natsume Sōseki, I Am a Cat (text here):
      吾(わが)輩(はい)はまず彼(かれ)がどのくらい無(む)学(がく)であるかを試(ため)してみようと思(おも)って左(さ)の問(もん)答(どう)をして見(み)た。
      Wagahai wa mazu kare ga dono kurai mugaku de aru ka o tameshite miyō to omotte sa no mondō o shite mita.
      To judge just how uneducated he was, I posed the following question.

Prefix

左(さ) • (sa-) 

  1. to the left; on the left side
  2. (history, government) "of the left", senior or superior to 右 (u-, “of the right”)
    左(さ)衛(え)門(もん)
    Saemon
    the Gate Guard of the Left
    左(さ)大(だい)臣(じん)
    Sadaijin
    the Minister of the Left

References
  1. “左”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 左 (MC t͡sɑX).

Historical readings

Pronunciation
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [t͡ɕwa̠(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [좌(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

Wikisource 左 (eumhun 왼 좌 (oen jwa))

  1. Hanja form? of 좌 (“left (direction)”).

Derived terms
Compounds
  • 좌파 (左派, jwapa)
  • 좌우 (左右, jwau)
  • 좌익 (左翼, jwaik)
  • 좌천 (左遷, jwacheon)
  • 좌측 (左側, jwacheuk)
  • 좌향좌 (左向左, jwahyangjwa)
  • 좌수사 (左水使, jwasusa)
  • 좌승지 (左承旨, jwaseungji)
  • 좌익수 (左翼手, jwaiksu)
  • 좌의정 (左議政, jwauijeong)
  • 좌우지간 (左右之間, jwaujigan)
  • 좌지우지 (左之右之, jwajiuji)

References
  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Okinawan
Kanji in this term
左
ひじゃい
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pidari, from Proto-Japonic *pintari. Cognate with Japanese 左 (hidari).

Noun

左 (hiragana ひじゃい, rōmaji hijai)

  1. (direction) left

Vietnamese

Han character

左: Hán Nôm readings: tả, tá

  1. left (direction)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.