臣

See also: 巨, 𦣝, and 𦣞

臣	U+81E3, 臣 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-81E3

← 臢
[U+81E2]

CJK Unified Ideographs

臤 →
[U+81E4]

⾂	U+2F82, ⾂ KANGXI RADICAL MINISTER

← ⾁
[U+2F81]

Kangxi Radicals

⾃ →
[U+2F83]

Translingual

Stroke order (Chinese)

Stroke order (Japan)

Stroke order (cursive)

Han character

See images of
Radical 131 臣

臣 (Kangxi radical 131, 臣+0, 6 strokes in Chinese, 7 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 尸中尸中 (SLSL), four-corner 7171₇, composition ⿺𠃊⿳丅𠃍丅 or ⿷匚⿳丨コ丨 or ⿻巨⿱丨丨)

Kangxi radical #131, ⾂.

Derived characters

Appendix:Chinese radical/臣
𠈄, 𠱸, 𭎏, 姫, 弫, 挋, 𭰍, 栕, 烥, 𦚠, 𤱥, 𮀁, 䋗, 𧊺, 𧧰, 𨦍, 𩠝
卧, 𠙉, 𠡗, 𭘍, 䢻, 𢼧, 𣂜, 䛗, 頣, 𩠞, 𢙞, 𤇸, 𠽺, 宦, 茞, 䆠, 𡇖, 嚚

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 999, character 13
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30068
Dae Jaweon: page 1450, character 4
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2801, character 1
Unihan data for U+81E3

Chinese

simp. and trad.		臣
alternative forms		𢘑𮍌

Glyph origin

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

Characters in the same phonetic series (臣) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
臤	kʰaːn, kʰriːn, ɡiːn, kʰins
掔	kʰriːn, kʰiːn
慳	*kʰriːn
藖	ɡriːn, ɡriːns
堅	*kiːn
鋻	kiːn, kiːns
鰹	*kiːn
蜸	*kʰiːnʔ
菣	kʰiːns, kʰins
賢	*ɡiːn
礥	ɡiːn, ɢrin
臔	*ɡiːnʔ
挋	*kiŋs
臣	*ɡiŋ
茞	*ɡiŋ
腎	*ɡjinʔ
頣	*hŋiŋʔ
緊	*kinʔ
嚚	*ŋɡriŋ
鏗	*kʰreːŋ
摼	*kʰreːŋ
硻	*kʰreːŋ

Pictogram (象形) – A vertical eye of a man looking downwards. As an individual character it has taken on the meanings “slave; servant; minister”, while the meaning relating to eyes appears when used as a radical, such as in 臨 (“to look down at”) and 監 (“to inspect”).

Compare 目. Unrelated to 𦣞.

Etymology

In Old Chinese, nominalization with nasal suffix of the verb 視 (OC *ɡljilʔ, *ɡljils, *ɢljils, “to watch”), hence literally "watcher; supervisor" (Schuessler 2007). In the archaic language of the Shang oracle bones (late second millennium BCE), this word referred to "royal officers, many of whose individual names were recorded, who served in the royal court, received the king's orders to launch military expeditions and other tasks, and received royal gifts" (Keightley 2012).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): chén (chen²)

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄣˊ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): san⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): sin³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): sṳ̀n

(Hailu, HRS): shin

(Meixian, Guangdong): sen²
Eastern Min (BUC): sìng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): sing²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): sîn

(Teochew, Peng'im): cing⁵ / cêng⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zen

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chén
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chén
  - Wade–Giles: chʻên²
  - Yale: chén
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chern
  - Palladius: чэнь (čɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: san⁴
  - Yale: sàhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: san⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: sen⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: sin³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sin²²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ̀n
  - Hakka Romanization System: siin^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: sin²
  - Sinological IPA: /sɨn¹¹/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: shin
  - Sinological IPA: /ʃin⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: sen²
  - Sinological IPA: /sən¹¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: sìng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siŋ⁵³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: sing²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɬiŋ¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sîn
  - Tâi-lô: sîn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: siin
  - IPA (Xiamen): /sin²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /sin²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /sin¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /sin²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /sin²³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: cing⁵ / cêng⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshîng / tshêng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiŋ⁵⁵/, /t͡sʰeŋ⁵⁵/

Note: cêng5 - Jieyang.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zen
  - MiniDict: zen^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zen
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zən²³/

Middle Chinese: dzyin

Rime
Character	臣
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	植鄰切
Baxter	dzyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑiɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑin/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑin/
Li Rong	/ʑiĕn/
Wang Li	/ʑĭĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʑi̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	san⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]i[ŋ]/

(Zhengzhang): /*ɡiŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	臣
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chén
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyin ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]i[ŋ]/
English	slave, subject
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.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	臣
Reading #	1/1
No.	1342
Phonetic component	臣
Rime group	眞
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	辰
Old Chinese	/*ɡiŋ/
Notes	甲文臧象以戈刺目爲奴，省戈表不刺者則爲臣，專指役使於家內者

Definitions

臣

(obsolete) slave; servant; captive
minister; statesman; official (in feudal society)
- 己亥卜，貞。令吳小耤臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  己亥卜，贞。令吴小耤臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Oracle bone, late second millennium BCE, quoted and translated in Working for His Majesty: Research Notes on Labor Mobilization in Late Shang China (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.) by David N. Keightley
  Jǐhài bǔ, zhēn. Lìng Wú xiǎo jí chén. [Pinyin]
  Making cracks on jihai, divined: "[We] order Wu [?] to be the Junior Servitor for Cultivation.
- 帝曰：「臣作朕股肱耳目。……。」 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE
  Dì yuē: “Chén zuò zhèn gǔgōng ěrmù........” [Pinyin]
  The Thearch said, 'My ministers constitute my legs and arms, my ears and eyes. [...]."
- 定公問：「君使臣，臣事君，如之何？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  定公问：「君使臣，臣事君，如之何？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Dìng gōng wèn: “Jūn shǐ chén, chén shì jūn, rúzhīhé?” [Pinyin]
  The duke Ding asked how a prince should employ his ministers, and how ministers should serve their prince.
- 九日龍山飲，黃花笑逐臣。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
  九日龙山饮，黄花笑逐臣。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
  From: 《九日龍山飲/九日龙山饮》 by Li Bai, 762 CE
  Jiǔrì Lóngshān yǐn, huánghuā xiào zhúchén. [Pinyin]
  Drinking at Longshan on the Double Ninth, the yellow blossoms mock the exiled minister.
(more broadly) subjects of a monarch
- 溥天之下，莫非王土。率土之濱，莫非王臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  溥天之下，莫非王土。率土之滨，莫非王臣。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Pǔ tiān zhī xià, mòfēi wáng tǔ. Shuàitǔ zhī bīn, mòfēi wáng chén. [Pinyin]
  Under the wide heaven, all is the king's land. Within the sea-boundaries of the land, all are the king's servants.
to make a subject
- 王若負人徒之眾，仗兵革之彊，乘毀魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有後患也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  王若负人徒之众，仗兵革之强，乘毁魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有后患也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
  Wáng ruò fù réntú zhī zhòng, zhàng bīnggé zhī qiáng, chéng huǐ Wèi zhī wēi, ér yù yǐ lì chén tiānxià zhī zhǔ, chén kǒng qí yǒu hòuhuàn yě. [Pinyin]
  Should Your Majesty rely on the multitude of your subjects and depend on the strength of your weapons, making use of the might with which you laid waste to Wei, with a desire to subjugate the lords of the world by brute force, your servant fears that there may be trouble later on.
(humble, historical or archaic) I, me; your servant (humble pronoun, especially when speaking to a monarch)
- 王若負人徒之眾，仗兵革之彊，乘毀魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有後患也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  王若负人徒之众，仗兵革之强，乘毁魏之威，而欲以力臣天下之主，臣恐其有后患也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
  Wáng ruò fù réntú zhī zhòng, zhàng bīnggé zhī qiáng, chéng huǐ Wèi zhī wēi, ér yù yǐ lì chén tiānxià zhī zhǔ, chén kǒng qí yǒu hòuhuàn yě. [Pinyin]
  Should Your Majesty rely on the multitude of your subjects and depend on the strength of your weapons, making use of the might with which you laid waste to Wei, with a desire to subjugate the lords of the world by brute force, your servant fears that there may be trouble later on.
- 自壬辰至于五六年間，賊不敢直突於兩湖者，以舟師之扼其路也。今臣戰船尙有十二，出死力拒戰，則猶可爲也。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]
  From: Admiral Yi Sun-sin, 1597, quoted in《李忠武公全書》 (Collected Works of Yi, Duke of Loyalty and Martiality), 1795
  자 임진^(으로) 지우 오륙년 간^(에) 적^(이) 불감직돌어양호자^(는) 이주사지액기로야^(니이다). 금 신 전선^(이) 상유십이^(하니) 출사력거전^(이면) 즉 유가위야^(니이다).
  Ja Imjin[-euro] jiu o ryuk nyeon gan[-e], jeog[-i] bulgam jik dol eo Yangho ja[-neun], i jusa ji aek gi ro ya[-niida]. Geum sin jeonseon[-i] sang yu sibi[-hani], chul saryeok geojeon[-imyeon], jeuk yu ga wi ya[-niida]. [Sino-Korean]
  Through the five or six years after 1592, the enemy have not dared directly attack Jeolla and Chungcheong because our fleet guarded their route. Your servant still has twelve battleships today. If we defend with our dying strength, it can still be done.
a surname
(chiefly Cantonese) A respelling of the English patronymic son
羅便臣／罗便臣 ― Luóbiànchén ― Robinson

乃路臣 ― Nǎilùchén ― Nelson

Synonyms

(minister): 臣子 (chénzǐ)

Derived terms

Sino-Xenic (臣):

→ Korean: 신(臣) (sin)
→ Vietnamese: thần (臣)