Chinese

Noun

旗艦

1. flagship (ship carrying the commanding admiral)

Adjective

旗艦

1. (figuratively, attributive) flagship; chief; showcase

Derived terms

Japanese

Etymology

Possibly coined in Japan as a compound of Middle Chinese-derived elements 旗 ‎(ki, “flag”) +‎ 艦 ‎(kan, “warship, navy ship”), from the way that a fleet commander's signal flags would be flown from the mast of the flagship.^[1]

Alternately, possibly from Middle Chinese compound 旗艦 ‎(*ghiə *ɣam). Compare modern Chinese traditional 旗艦 and simplified 旗舰 ‎(qíjiàn).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) きかん [kìkáń] (Heiban - [0])^[2][3][4]
• (Tokyo) きか​ん [kìkáꜜǹ] (Nakadaka - [2])^[2][3][4]
• (Tokyo) き​かん [kíꜜkàǹ] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [kʲi̥kã̠ɴ]

Noun

旗艦 ‎(hiragana きかん, romaji kikan)

1. flagship

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. 1 2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
4. 1 2 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0