寸すん

See also: 手て and 吋いんち

寸すん	U+5BF8, 寸 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5BF8

← 寷
[U+5BF7]

CJK Unified Ideographs

对 →
[U+5BF9]

⼨	U+2F28, ⼨ KANGXI RADICAL INCH

← ⼧
[U+2F27]

Kangxi Radicals

⼩ →
[U+2F29]

Translingual

Stroke order

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 293, character 32
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7411
Dae Jaweon: page 581, character 4
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 503, character 8
Unihan data for U+5BF8

Chinese

simp. and trad.		寸すん

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 寸すん
Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (寸すん) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
村むら	*sʰuːn
忖	*sʰuːnʔ
刌	*sʰuːnʔ
寸すん	*sʰuːns

Shuowen considered it Ideogram (指事しじ) – a position on the forearm where the pulse can be palpated by compressing the radial artery. It is called 寸すん口こう in modern Chinese, and the meaning of a unit of measurement is derived from the distance between the wrist and this position. Compare 又また, 手て, 九きゅう, 爪つめ.

However, it may be an abbreviated form of 尊みこと (zūn), borrowed to mean a unit of measurement (see: 李り轶.先さき秦しん度量どりょう单位"尺じゃく""寸すん"用字ようじ考こう[J].云うん南みなみ师范大学だいがく学がく报(哲学てつがく社会しゃかい科学かがく版ばん), 2010, 42(5).DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1000-5110.2010.05.017.)

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): cùn (cun⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄘㄨㄣˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): cen⁴

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): цун (cun, III)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cyun³

(Taishan, Wiktionary): tun¹
Gan (Wiktionary): cun³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhun

(Meixian, Guangdong): cun⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): cung³
Northern Min (KCR): cho̿ng
Eastern Min (BUC): chóng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): chhùn / chhǹg

(Teochew, Peng'im): cung³
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵tshen
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): cen⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: cùn
  - Zhuyin: ㄘㄨㄣˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cùn
  - Wade–Giles: tsʻun⁴
  - Yale: tswùn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsuenn
  - Palladius: цунь (cunʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰu̯ən⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: cen⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: cen
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰən²¹³/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: цун (cun, III)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuŋ⁴⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: cyun³
  - Yale: chyun
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsyn³
  - Guangdong Romanization: qun³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰyːn³³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: tun¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰun³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: cun³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰun²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhun
  - Hakka Romanization System: cun
  - Hagfa Pinyim: cun⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰun⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: cun⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰun⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: cung³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰũŋ⁴⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cho̿ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɔŋ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chóng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰouŋ²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhùn
  - Tâi-lô: tshùn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhuxn
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰun⁴¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰun¹¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰun²¹/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhǹg
  - Tâi-lô: tshǹg
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhngx
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰŋ̍²¹/

Note:

chhùn - literary;
chhǹg - vernacular.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: cung³
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshùng
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰuŋ²¹³/

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵tshen
  - MiniDict: tshen^去さ
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²tshen
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sʰən³⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: cen⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰən⁴⁵/

Middle Chinese: tshwonH

Rime
Character	寸すん
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲こえ)	清きよし (14)
Final (韻いん)	魂たましい (55)
Tone (調しらべ)	Departing (H)
Openness (開ひらき合あい)	Closed
Division (等ひとし)	I
Fanqie	倉くら困こま切きり
Baxter	tshwonH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰuən^H/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰuon^H/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰuən^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰwən^H/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰuən^H/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰuən^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sʰuən^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	cùn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cyun³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[tsʰ]ˤu[n]-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*sʰuːns/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	寸すん
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	cùn
Middle Chinese	‹ tshwon^H ›
Old Chinese	/*[tsʰ]ˁu[n]-s/
English	thumb; inch
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	寸すん
Reading #	1/1
No.	1913
Phonetic component	寸すん
Rime group	文ぶん
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	寸すん
Old Chinese	/*sʰuːns/

Definitions

寸すん

(units of measure) A cun or Chinese inch, a traditional unit of length of about 3 cm.
1. (Mainland China) Short for 市し寸すん (shìcùn).
2. (Hong Kong) Legally defined as the tsun of 3.71475 cm.
(informal) Short for 英えい寸すん (yīngcùn, “inch”).
(figurative) very short or little
(traditional Chinese medicine) cunkou pulse; radial artery pulse at the wrist
(Mandarin, colloquial) coincidental; unbelievable; opportune
a surname

Coordinate terms

分ぶん (fēn, “¹⁄₁₀ cun”)
尺しゃく (chǐ, “10 cun”)

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (寸すん):

→ Japanese: 寸すん(すん) (sun)
→ Korean: 촌(寸すん) (chon)
→ Vietnamese: thốn (寸すん)

Old Uyghur: tswn (tsun)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 寸すん – see 忖 (“to ponder; to speculate; to think; etc.”). (This character is a variant form of 忖).