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Definition 2024
約
約
See also: 约
Translingual
Han character
約 (radical 120 糸+3, 9 strokes, cangjie input 女火心戈 (VFPI) or 女火心一 (VFPM), four-corner 27920, composition ⿰糹勺)
Derived characters
References
- KangXi: page 915, character 21
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 27242
- Dae Jaweon: page 1343, character 7
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 5, page 3364, character 15
- Unihan data for U+7D04
Chinese
| trad. | 約 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp. | 约 | |
Glyph origin
| Historical forms of the character 約
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Bamboo and silk script | Large seal script | Small seal script |
 |
 |
 |
| Characters in the same phonetic series (勺) (Zhengzhang, 2003) | |
|---|---|
| Old Chinese | |
| 豹 | *preːwɢs |
| 趵 | *preːwɢs, *preːwɢ |
| 尥 | *breːw, *b·reːwɢs |
| 箹 | *ʔreːwɢs, *ʔreːwɢ |
| 杓 | *plew, *pʰlew, *bljewɢ, *pleːwɢ |
| 約 | *ʔlewɢs, *ʔlewɢ |
| 扚 | *pleːwʔ, *pleːwɢ |
| 釣 | *pleːwɢs |
| 瘹 | *teːwɢs |
| 芍 | *ɡleːwʔ, *spʰlewɢ, *pl'ewɢ, *bljewɢ, *pleːwɢ |
| 酌 | *pljewɢ |
| 灼 | *pljewɢ |
| 勺 | *pljewɢ, *bljewɢ |
| 彴 | *pljewɢ |
| 犳 | *pljewɢ |
| 妁 | *pljewɢ, *bljewɢ |
| 汋 | *bljewɢ, *sbreːwɢ |
| 仢 | *bljewɢ |
| 葯 | *qlewɢ, *qreːwɢ |
| 礿 | *lewɢ |
| 肑 | *preːwɢ, *pleːwɢ |
| 瓝 | *breːwɢ |
| 的 | *pleːwɢ |
| 靮 | *pleːwɢ |
| 馰 | *pleːwɢ |
| 玓 | *pleːwɢ |
| 魡 | *pleːwɢ |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ʔlewɢs, *ʔlewɢ) : semantic 糸 (“rope”) + phonetic 勺 (OC *pljewɢ, *bljewɢ).
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): joek3
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yok
- Min Dong (BUC): iók / ióh
- Min Nan (POJ): iok / iak / ioh
- Wu (Wiktionary): iaq (T4)
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄩㄝ
- Wade-Giles: yüeh1
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iue
- IPA (key): /y̯œ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄧㄠ
- Wade-Giles: yao1
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iau
- IPA (key): /i̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/
- Note: yāo - only the sense of “to weigh on a balance or scale”.
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: joek3
- Yale: yeuk
- Cantonese Pinyin: joek8
- IPA (key): /jœːk̚³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yok
- Hakka Romanization System: iog`
- Hagfa Pinyim: yog5
- IPA: /i̯ok̚²/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yok
- Hakka Romanization System: (r)iog`
- Hagfa Pinyim: yog5
- IPA: /(j)i̯ok̚²/
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
- Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: iók / ióh
- IPA (key): /yɔʔ²⁴/, /yɔʔ²⁴/
- Note: iók - literary; ióh - vernacular.
- (Fuzhou)
- Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese, Xiamen)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iok
- Tâi-lô: iok
- Phofsit Daibuun: iog
- IPA (Quanzhou): /iɔk̚⁵/
- IPA (Taipei): /iɔk̚³²/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /iɔk̚³²/
- IPA (Xiamen): /iɔk̚³²/
- (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan, Zhangzhou)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iak
- Tâi-lô: iak
- Phofsit Daibuun: iag
- IPA (Taipei): /iak̚³²/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /iak̚³²/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /iak̚³²/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ioh
- Tâi-lô: ioh
- Phofsit Daibuun: ioiq
- IPA (Quanzhou): /iɤʔ⁵/
- IPA (Taipei): /ioʔ³²/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /iɤʔ³²/
- IPA (Xiamen): /iɤʔ³²/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /iɤʔ³²/
- Note: iok/iak - literary; ioh - vernacular.
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese, Xiamen)
- Wu
- (Shanghainese)
- Wiktionary: iaq (T4)
- IPA (key): /iᴀʔ⁵⁵/
- (Shanghainese)
- Dialectal data▼
| Variety | Location | 約 |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | Beijing | /yɛ⁵⁵/ |
| Harbin |
/iau⁴⁴/ /yɛ⁴⁴/ |
|
| Tianjin | /ye²¹/ | |
| Jinan | /yə²¹³/ | |
| Qingdao | /yə⁵⁵/ | |
| Zhengzhou | /yo²⁴/ | |
| Xi'an | /yo²¹/ | |
| Xining | /yu⁴⁴/ | |
| Yinchuan | /ye¹³/ | |
| Lanzhou | /yə¹³/ | |
| Ürümqi | /yɤ²¹³/ | |
| Wuhan | /io²¹³/ | |
| Chengdu | /yo³¹/ | |
| Guiyang | /io²¹/ | |
| Kunming | /io³¹/ | |
| Nanjing | /ioʔ⁵/ | |
| Hefei | /yɐʔ⁵/ | |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /yəʔ²/ |
| Pingyao | /yʌʔ¹³/ | |
| Hohhot |
/yaʔ⁴³/ 大～ /iɔ³¹/ ～一～ |
|
| Wu | Shanghai | /iaʔ⁵/ |
| Suzhou | /iɑʔ⁵/ | |
| Hangzhou | /ʔiɑʔ⁵/ | |
| Wenzhou | /j̠a²¹³/ | |
| Hui | Shexian | /iɔʔ²¹/ |
| Tunxi | /io⁵/ | |
| Xiang | Changsha | /io²⁴/ |
| Xiangtan | /io²⁴/ | |
| Gan | Nanchang | /iɔʔ⁵/ |
| Hakka | Meixian | /iok̚¹/ |
| Taoyuan | /ʒok̚⁵⁵/ | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /jœk̚²/ |
| Nanning | /jœk̚³³/ | |
| Hong Kong | /jœk̚²/ | |
| Min | Xiamen (Min Nan) |
/iɔk̚³²/ /ioʔ³²/ |
| Fuzhou (Min Dong) | /yɔʔ²³/ | |
| Jian'ou (Min Bei) | /iɔ²⁴/ | |
| Shantou (Min Nan) |
/iak̚²/ /ioʔ²/ |
|
| Haikou (Min Nan) | /iɔk̚⁵/ |
| Rime | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 約 | 約 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Initial (聲) | 影 (34) | 影 (34) |
| Final (韻) | 宵 (91) | 藥 (107) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) | Checked (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | III |
| Fanqie | 於笑切 | 於略切 |
| Reconstructions | ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang |
/ʔiᴇuH/ | /ʔɨɐk̚/ |
| Pan Wuyun |
/ʔiɛuH/ | /ʔiɐk̚/ |
| Shao Rongfen |
/ʔjæuH/ | /ʔiɑk̚/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank |
/ʔiawH/ | /ʔɨak̚/ |
| Li Rong |
/ʔiɛuH/ | /ʔiak̚/ |
| Wang Li |
/ĭɛuH/ | /ĭak̚/ |
| Bernard Karlgren |
/ʔi̯ɛuH/ | /ʔi̯ak̚/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex |
yào | yue |
| Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 約 | 約 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) |
yào | yuē |
| Middle Chinese |
‹ ʔjiewH › | ‹ ʔjak › |
| Old Chinese |
/*[q]ewk-s/ | /*[q](r)ewk/ |
| English | bond, agreement (n.) | bind (v.), make an agreement |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter-Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | ||
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 約 | 約 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| No. | 11181 | 11201 |
| Phonetic component |
勺 | 勺 |
| Rime group |
豹 | 藥 |
| Rime subdivision |
2 | 2 |
| Corresponding MC rime |
要 | 約 |
| Old Chinese |
/*ʔlewɢs/ | /*ʔlewɢ/ |
Definitions
約
- † to bundle up; to bind
- †rope; cord
- † to restrain; to limit; to keep under control
- to make an appointment; to arrange
- appointment; meeting; arrangement
- treaty; agreement; covenant; pact
- to invite or ask in advance
- † to hinder; to block
- † to save; to economise
- †frugal; economical; thrifty
- †brief; concise; succinct
- †poor; humble; low-ranking
- (mathematics) to reduce (a fraction)
- † to prepare; to equip
- † to seek; to pursue
- † to estimate; to approximate; to reckon
- (colloquial) to weigh; to weigh on a balance or scale
- approximately; about
Compounds
Derived terms from 約
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Japanese
Kanji
約
- Approximately
Readings
Compounds
Adverb
- about, approximately
- 約一ヶ月
- yaku ikkagetsu
- approximately one month
- 宇宙の直径は約930億光年だ。
- Uchū no chokkei wa yaku 930 oku kōnen da.
- The diameter of the universe is some ninety-three billion light years.
- 約一ヶ月