母
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
Translingual
| Stroke order | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Stroke order | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
Han character
母 (Kangxi radical 80, 毋+1, 5 strokes, cangjie input 田卜戈 (WYI), four-corner 77500, composition ⿻⿻𠃋𠃌⿻⺀一)
Derived characters
Related characters
- 毋 (See glyph origin)
References
- KangXi: page 588, character 25
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 16723
- Dae Jaweon: page 980, character 32
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2380, character 3
- Unihan data for U+6BCD
Chinese
| simp. and trad. |
母 | |
|---|---|---|
Glyph origin
| Historical forms of the character 母 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shang | Western Zhou | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
| Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| 脢 | *mɯːs, *mɯː, *mɯːs |
| 挴 | *mlɯːʔ, *mɯːʔ |
| 海 | *hmlɯːʔ |
| 毐 | *ʔmɯː, *ʔmɯːʔ |
| 呣 | *mɯ |
| 拇 | *mɯʔ |
| 母 | *mɯʔ |
| 胟 | *mɯʔ |
| 姆 | *mɯʔ, *mɯs, *maːʔ |
| 畮 | *mɯʔ |
| 踇 | *mɯʔ |
| 苺 | *mɯs, *mɯːʔ, *mɯːs |
| 莓 | *mɯs, *mɯː, *mɯːs |
| 敏 | *mrɯʔ, *mrɯŋʔ |
| 鰵 | *mrɯŋʔ |
| 慜 | *mrɯŋʔ |
| 毋 | *ma |
| 梅 | *mɯː |
| 酶 | *mɯː |
| 鋂 | *mɯː |
| 每 | *mɯːʔ |
| 毎 | *mɯːs |
| 痗 | *mɯːs, *hmɯːs |
| 晦 | *hmɯːs |
| 誨 | *hmɯːs |
| 悔 | *hmɯːʔ, *hmɯːs |
| 霉 | *mrɯl |
Pictogram (象形) : a woman with breasts with nipples kneeling or standing. In modern form turned on left side. Compare 女 (OC *naʔ, *nas, “woman”), which has developed similarly, but does not include dots for nipples and has lost one breast in the modern form.
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mow (“woman, female”).
Pronunciation
Definitions
母
- mother
- Used to address a female elder member of a family.
- (of animal) female
- pertaining to origin
- 母校 ― mǔxiào ― alma mater
- a surname
Synonyms
Compounds
|
|
|
Descendants
Japanese
Readings
Compounds
Usage notes
In isolation, the character 母 has 5 strokes in modern Japanese – it is not simplified. In shinjitai compound characters, such as 毎 or 海, it is simplified to 4 strokes, as 毋. In hyōgaiji characters such as 姆, however, the component is not simplified.
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 母 |
| はは Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. /haha/: */papa/ → /fafa/ → /fawa/ → /fafa/ → /haha/.
Medial /f/ [ɸ] regularly changes to /w/ [ɰᵝ], resulting in /fawa/ → /hawa/, the expected final form; see hawa below. This form first appears in the Heian period. However, likely due to spelling influence or reduplication associations, the earlier /fafa/ resurfaced in the late 16th century towards the end of the Muromachi period, with both forms seen until recent times, when hawa falls into disuse.[1] Initial /f-/ [ɸ] regularly becomes [h], resulting in modern [ha̠ha̠].
Noun
- mother
- 織田信長の母は謎が多い。
- Oda Nobunaga no haha wa nazo ga ōi.
- Oda Nobunaga's mother was a mysterious woman.
- 931–938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō (book 1, page 116)
- 母 尔雅云、母爲妣、卑履反、去聲之重、和名波々、日本紀私記云、以路波
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 196)
- Fafa. l, faua. ハハ. または、ハワ(母) 母.
- 織田信長の母は謎が多い。
Usage notes
- This term conveys neither positive nor negative connotations. However, using it to describe someone the speaker knows personally is often considered lacking respect, where more polite forms like お母さん (okāsan) are preferred.
- This term is sometimes used in objective narrations, but for this purpose, 母親 (hahaoya) is more common.
Derived terms
- 母上 (hahaue)
- 母親 (hahaoya, “mother”)
- 母方 (hahakata, “a relative on one's mother's side”)
- ⦃⦃ja-r¦母%君¦はは%ぎみ¦mother (when addressing one's own mother; more honorific than 母上)⦄⦄
- 母子 (hahako, “mother and child”)
- 母御 (hahago)
- 母御前 (hahagozen)
- 母島 (Hahajima, “the main island of the Ogasawara Islands”)
- 母者 (hahaja, “a person who is a mother: a term of endearment”)
- 母者人 (hahaja hito, “a person who is a mother: a term of endearment”)
- 母刀自 (hahatoji)
- 母の日 (Haha no Hi, “Mother's Day”)
- 母御息所 (haha miyasudokoro, “an imperial concubine or other female member of the imperial household who is also a mother”)
- 母物 (hahamono, “a book, play, or other entertainment in which motherly love is a central theme”)
- 生みの母 (umi no haha), 産みの母 (umi no haha, “birth mother”)
- 国の母 (kuni no haha)
- 代理母 (dairi haha, “foster mother”)
- 父母 (chichi haha, “one's own parents”)
- 父母 (tete haha)
- ⦃⦃ja-r¦法%師 が 母¦^ほう%し が ^はは¦the title of a 狂言 (kyōgen), a short farcical performance played as an intermission in a noh play⦄⦄
- 瞼の母 (mabuta no haha, “the image of one's mother in dreams or memory, such as when one's mother is far away or has passed away”)
- 継母 (mamahaha, “stepmother, foster mother”)
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 母 |
| はわ Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese, the phonologically expected development. See etymology for haha above for details.
Noun
- (humble) mother
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 213)
- Faua. ハワ (母) 母親.
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 196)
- Fafa. l, faua. ハハ. または、ハワ(母) 母.
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 71)
- Caca. カカ (かか) Faua (母)に同じ. 母. これは子供の言葉である. また、尊敬すべき婦人、あるいは、年長で一家の主婦のような婦人の意に取られる.
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 60)
- Bogui. ボギ (母儀) Faua (母)に同じ. 母.
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 213)
Usage notes
Obsolete in mainstream Japanese. May persist in dialects.
Etymology 3
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 母 |
| は Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. Possibly an abbreviation of haha, or possibly the original form.
Noun
母 • (ha)
- (obsolete) mother
- 931–938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō (book 1, page 116)
- 母 尔雅云、母爲妣、卑履反、去聲之重、和名波々、日本紀私記云、以路波
- 931–938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō (book 1, page 116)
Usage notes
Not found in isolation, only found in compounds. Obsolete and unused in modern Japanese.
Etymology 4
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 母 |
| あも Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. Obsolete and unused in modern Japanese. Already falling into disuse by the writing of the Man'yōshū in 759, where it is only found in pieces written in eastern dialects.[1] Possibly cognate with Korean 엄마 (eomma, “mother”), 어머니 (eomeoni, “mother”).
Derived terms
- 母父 (amoshishi)
- 母刀自 (amotoji)
Etymology 5
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 母 |
| おも Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
From Old Japanese. Obsolete and unused in modern Japanese. Appears to be an alteration from amo above.
Noun
母 • (omo)
Synonyms
- (wet nurse): 乳母 (uba)
Derived terms
- 母父 (omochichi, “one's parents”)
- 母調子 (omo chōshi)
- 母刀自 (omotoji)
- 母同胞 (omoharakara, “a sibling from the same mother”)
- 母屋 (omoya), 母家 (omoya, “main residence in a manor; main or central building in a palace; main household in an extended family; main store in a chain”)
- 母良 (omora, “in ancient times, a woman serving at the Ise Grand Shrine”)
Etymology 6
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 母 |
| かか Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
Unknown. One theory holds that this is a corrupted and abbreviated form of 御方様 (okatasama), a term to refer to or address someone else's wife (now extremely formal, but much more everyday in the Edo period), possibly influenced by children's speech:
/okatasama/ → /katasama/ → /kakasama/ → /kaka/
Noun
母 • (kaka)
- (childish) mommy, mummy
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 71)
- Caca. カカ (かか) Faua (母)に同じ. 母. これは子供の言葉である. また、尊敬すべき婦人、あるいは、年長で一家の主婦のような婦人の意に取られる.
- 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 71)
- (obsolete) wife
- Seen in the Edo period among the lower socioeconomic classes. Used to refer both to one's own wife when talking to others, and to refer to someone else's wife.[1]
Derived terms
Usage notes
Almost never seen in isolation. Most commonly seen with honorific prefix o- and honorific suffix -san, as お母さん (okāsan).
Derived terms
- 母さん (kāsan) (informal form of address; would only be used when addressing one's own mother)
- 母ちゃん (kāchan) (childish, informal form of address; used when addressing one's own mother)
- お母 (okā) (informal form of address; would only be used when addressing one's own mother)
- お母さん (okāsan) (most common term; could be used to address or refer to one's own mother, or to refer to someone else's mother)
Korean
Etymology
From Middle Chinese 母 (MC məuX).
| Historical Readings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dongguk Jeongun Reading | ||
| Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 | 무ᇢ〯 (Yale: mwǔw) | |
| Middle Korean | ||
| Text | Eumhun | |
| Gloss (hun) | Reading | |
| Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 | 어〮미〮 (Yale: émí) | 모〯 (Yale: mwǒ) |
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [mo̞(ː)]
- Phonetic hangul: [모(ː)]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Compounds
Vietnamese
References
- Nguyễn et al. (2009).
- Trần (2004).
- Bonet (1899).
- Génibrel (1898).
- Hồ (1976).