南

南 (Kangxi radical 24, 十+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十月廿十 (JBTJ), four-corner 4022₇, composition ⿱十⿵冂𢆉)

• 㑲, 㓓, 喃, 𡎜, 婻, 𪩂, 㣮, 揇, 湳, 暔, 腩, 楠, 煵, 遖, 䊖, 䋻(䌾), 蝻, 諵, 𨂾, 𨡯, 𨩇, 𠄼, 献, 𢆥, 𦣰, 萳, 罱, 䈒

• KangXi: page 157, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2750
• Dae Jaweon: page 357, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 65, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5357

Historical forms of the character 南
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Ancient script	Small seal script

This character has been explained as a pictogram (象形) of a hanging percussion instrument, originally identical to the left side of 㱿. Under this hypothesis its borrowing for the word “south” is difficult to explain.

Sagart (1988) instead proposes that it is a pictogram of the front of a house. Archaeological evidence confirms that in antiquity, at least in some regions, houses were built to face south.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-nam (“sky, sun”) (STEDT; Schuessler (2007); Benedict (1972)); the south is traditionally associated with the sun & light, compare 陽 (OC *laŋ, “light, sun-lit south-side of a hill”).

If so, cognate with Tibetan གནམ (gnam, “sky”), ནམ (nam, “night”), Tshangla ngam (“sun, noon, day, sky”), Chepang न्‍याम्‌ (nyam, “sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather”).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates this word to Old Chinese *nɨm (revised to *nˤ[ə]m in 2014) "belly, front of the body", further "south" to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nam (“rib(s)”), as one term for one body-part often shifts its meaning to another body-part nearby.

If so, 南 is cognate with 妊 (OC *njɯms, “to carry inside one's belly → to be pregnant”), 任 (OC *njɯm, *njɯms, “to carry a burden, especially in front of the body”), also 腩 (OC *nuːmʔ, “belly (of an ox)”), Southern Pumi nõ⁵⁵, Burmese နံရိုး (nam-rui:, “side of the body, rib”), and thus is a semantic counterpart to 北 (OC *pɯːɡ, “north”), which is related to 背 (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs, “back of the body”).

南

1. south; southern

• (compass points) 方位;

西北	北	東北／东北
西		東／东
西南	南	東南／东南

Others:

• → Japanese: 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind (mahjong tile)”)

南

1. Only used in 南無／南无 (nāmó).

• “南”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學／香港中文大学 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Go-on: なん (nan, Jōyō)^{←なん (nan, historical)←なむ (namu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: だん (dan)^{←だん (dan, historical)←だむ (damu, ancient)}
• Kan’yō-on: な (na, Jōyō ^†)
• Kun: みなみ (minami, 南, Jōyō)
• Nanori: あけ (ake); なみ (nami); は (ha); みな (mina); みまみ (mimami); よし (yoshi)

⟨mi₁nami₁⟩ → */mʲinamʲɨ/ → /minami/

From Old Japanese.

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) みなみ [mìnámí] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

• Kun’yomi
• (Kyoto) み​なみ [míꜜnàmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [mʲina̠mʲi]

• Kun’yomi
• (Kagoshima) みな​み [mìnáꜜmì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [mʲi̥na̠mʲi̥]

南(みなみ) • (minami) 

1. the south (cardinal point)
   • c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo[3]

     和可夜之奈比乃可波利爾波(わがやしなひのかはりには)、於保末之末須(おほまします)、美奈美(みなみ)乃末知奈流(のまちなる)奴(やつこ)乎宇氣與止(をうけよと)... [Man'yōgana]

     我(わ)が養(やしな)ひの代(かは)りには、おほ坐(ま)します、南(みなみ)の街(まち)なる奴(やつこ)を受(う)けよと... [Modern spelling]

     waga yashinai no kawari ni wa, ōmashimasu, minami no machi naru yatsuko o ukeyo to...

     (please add an English translation of this example)

   Antonym: 北 (kita)

2. a southerly, south wind

   Synonym: 南風 (minamikaze, hae)

   Antonym: 北 (kita)

• (compass points) 方角(ほうがく) (hōgaku);

西北(せいほく) (seihoku) 北西(ほくせい) (hokusei)	北(きた) (kita)	東北(とうほく) (tōhoku) 北東(ほくとう) (hokutō)
西(にし) (nishi)		東(ひがし) (higashi)
西南(せいなん) (seinan) 南西(なんせい) (nansei)	南(みなみ) (minami)	東南(とうなん) (tōnan) 南東(なんとう) (nantō)

南(みなみ) • (Minami) 

1. (historical) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo (as it was located south of Edo Castle)
2. the name of a ward in various cities throughout Japan, especially a former ward in the city of Osaka which is now part of Chūō Ward
3. a female given name
4. a surname

南(みなみ)する • (minami suru) suru (stem 南(みなみ)し (minami shi), past 南(みなみ)した (minami shita))

1. (archaic) to go south
   • 1789, Seikashū (haikai by Takai Kitō)

     紅楓(もみぢ)深(ふか)し、みなみし西(にし)す、水(みづ)の隅(すみ)

     momiji fukashi, minami shi nishi su, mizu no sumi

     (please add an English translation of this example)

/minami/ → /minːami/

Appears in The Pillow Book, completed in 1002.

Alteration of minami.[1]

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) みんなみ [mìńnámí] (Heiban – [0])[2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲĩnːa̠mʲi]

南(みんなみ) • (minnami) 

1. (archaic) the south

南(みんなみ) • (Minnami) 

1. (historical, archaic) the red-light district in modern-day Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo

/namʉ/ → /naɴ/

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nʌm).

南(なん) • (nan) 

1. the south

   Synonym: 南方 (nanpō)

2. Short for 南鐐 (nanryō): beautiful silver; a type of silver coin in the Edo period

• 南(なん)南(なん)西(せい) (nan-nansei)
• 南(なん)南(なん)東(とう) (nan-nantō)

南(なん) • (nan) 

1. south, southern
2. Used in Sanskrit transliterations

南(なん) • (Nan) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

From Mandarin 南 (nán).

南(ナン) • (nan) 

1. (mahjong) south wind (mahjong tile)

   Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)

2. (mahjong) a 役 (yaku, “winning hand”) with a triplet or quad of south wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 翻 (han, “doubles”)

   Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)

• 風(かぜ)牌(ハイ) (kazehai, “wind tiles”): 東(トン) (ton, “east wind”), 南(ナン) (nan, “south wind”), 西(シャー) (shā, “west wind”), 北(ペー) (pē, “north wind”)

Shift from standard Japanese minami, dropping the final vowel and keeping the nasal.

• /minami/ → /minaɴ/

• IPA^(key): [mʲinã̠ɴ]

南(みなん) • (minan) 

1. (dialect, Kagoshima) south (cardinal point)

From Middle Chinese 南 (MC nʌm).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠m]
• Phonetic hangul: [남]

Wikisource 南 (eumhun 남녘 남 (namnyeok nam))

1. Hanja form^? of 남 (“south; southern”).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [na̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [나]

南 (eumhun 나무 나 (namu na))

1. Hanja form^? of 나 (“Only used in 나무 (南無, namu)”).

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

• 南風

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• On: なん (nan)
• Kun: ふぇー (fē, 南)

• 南 (なん)瓜 (くゎー) (nankwā)
• 南蛮 (なんばん) (nanban)

Cognate to Yonaguni 南 (hai, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

• (Shuri-Naha) ふぇー [fèé] (Heiban - [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɸeː]

南 (hiragana ふぇー, rōmaji fē)

1. the south (cardinal point)
2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

• 南 (ふぇー)風 (かじ) (fēkaji)

• “ふぇー【南・南風】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

南 (mi₁nami₁) (kana みなみ)

1. the south (cardinal point)
2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 18, poem 4106), text here

     ...南吹雪消益而射水河流水沫能余留弊奈美...

     ...mi₁nami₁ puki₁ yuki₁ke₂ *masarite Imi₁du-gapa nagaru mi₁nawa no₂ yo₂ru pe₁ nami₁...

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Also used in the Man'yōshū (759 CE) as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨na⟩ and 借訓 (shakkun) kana for ⟨namu⟩.

• Japanese: 南 (minami)

南 (nam)

1. Nôm form of nam (“south”).

• Lục Văn Pảo; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎ (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

南: Hán Nôm readings: nam

南 • (nam)

1. south, southern

• Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)

南

• Kun: はい (hai)

Cognate to Okinawan 南 (fē, “south, southerly”) and western Japanese 南風 (hae, “southerly winds”).

• IPA^(key): [hai]

南 (hiragana はい, romaji hai)

1. the south (cardinal point)
2. a southerly (wind blowing from the south)

• “はい【南・南風】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

南

1. Sawndip form of namz