Definify.com

Definition 2025

		river	lake
simp. and trad. (江湖)		江	湖

江湖

(literally) rivers and lakes
(figuratively) all corners of the country; (around) the whole country
(figuratively) wandering life; private and plebian domain beyond the control of the government; underworld
(figuratively) place of residence of a hermit; reclusive place
(figuratively) vagrant; itinerant (entertainer, quack doctor, swindler etc.)
(figuratively) old experienced person; man of experience

Sino-Xenic (江湖):

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
  - Pinyin: jiānghú → jiānghu (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄤㄏㄨˊ → ㄐㄧㄤㄏㄨ˙ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiang.hwu
  - IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ xu³⁵/ → /t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ xu²/
  - Note: Toneless - usually the sense of “man of experience”.
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: gong¹ wu⁴
  - Yale: gōng wùh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gong¹ wu⁴
  - IPA ^(key): /kɔːŋ⁵⁵ wuː²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kông-fù
  - Hakka Romanization System: gong´ fuˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gong¹ fu²
  - IPA: /koŋ²⁴ fu¹¹/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kang-ô͘
  - Tâi-lô: kang-ôo
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kang'oo
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kaŋ⁴⁴⁻²² ɔ²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kaŋ³³ ɔ²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kaŋ⁴⁴⁻²² ɔ¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ ɔ²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ ɔ²³/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: kaan hhu (T1)
  - IPA ^(key): /kɑ̃⁵⁵ ɦv̩ʷ²¹/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	江	湖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jiāng	hú
Middle Chinese	‹ kæwng ›	‹ hu ›
Old Chinese	/*kˤroŋ/	/*[ɡ]ˤa/
English	(Yangzi) river	lake
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.