CS Knowledge Base

舌 U+820C, 舌 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-820C ← 舋 [U+820B] CJK Unified Ideographs 舍 → [U+820D]

⾆ U+2F86, ⾆ KANGXI RADICAL TONGUE ← ⾅ [U+2F85] Kangxi Radicals ⾇ → [U+2F87]

Stroke order

Stroke order

• In Traditional Chinese (Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao), this character is written with 干 as the upper component, which is also the historical form found in the Kangxi dictionary.
• In Simplified Chinese, (mainland China and Singapore), Japanese Kanji, Korean Hanja and Vietnamese Nom script, this character is written with 千 as the upper component.

舌 (Kangxi radical 135, 舌+0, 6 strokes, Cangjie input 竹十口 (HJR) or 一十口 (MJR), four-corner 2060₄, composition ⿱千口(GJKV) or ⿱干口(HT))

1. Kangxi radical #135, ⾆.
2. Shuowen Jiezi radical number 46.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/舌
• 佸, 㓉, 咶, 姡, 恬, 括, 活, 狧, 栝, 䏦, 䄆, 甛, 䀨, 秳, 絬, 聒, 蛞, 話(话), 𧵳(䞌), 趏, 䟯, 䣶, 銛(铦), 颳, 餂, 䯏
• 刮, 㔚, 甜, 頢(𬱠), 鴰(鸹), 䒷, 筈, 髺, 䦚, 憩
• 适, 敌 (Simplified from the component 啇)
• 乱, 辞, 𦯠 (Simplified from the component 𤔔)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1006, character 22
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30277
• Dae Jaweon: page 1463, character 12
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 2941, character 1
• Unihan data for U+820C

trad.		舌
simp. #		舌

Pictogram (象形) – a snake's tongue emerging upwards from a mouth (口).

Evolution:

• Oracle bone script: Originally a mouth + a forked snake tongue. Later variants added a horizontal stroke at the base to indicate location, which often evolved into a second fork (double-forked).
• Bronze script (Late Shang / Early Western Zhou): Standardized with four dots symmetrically placed between the double forks and the mouth.
• Later: The dots disappeared, simplifying into the modern form.

Compare 舌 (OC *m-lat) and 蛇 (OC *m-laj, “snake”). See also 言, 音 and 告. Unrelated to 舍, in which it represents a hut.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/m-l(j)a-t (“tongue”); compare Western Magar मेलेट (melet, “tongue”), Jingpho shinglet (“tongue”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2009). The reconstruction of a complex initial *m(ə)-l- in Old Chinese is based on evidence from the softened initial in Proto-Min as well as Proto-Hmong-Mien *mblet (“tongue”) (Schuessler, 2007; Baxter and Sagart, 2014).

Alternatively, Schuessler (2007), reconstructing the Old Chinese minimally as *m-lat, derives it from 舐 (OC *m-leʔ, “to lick”) + *-t (“nominal suffix for natural objects”), literally “licker”.

舌

1. (anatomy) tongue
2. tongue-shaped object
3. clapper of a bell
4. (Hokkien, figurative) speech; speaking (used in certain expressions)
5. a surname

• → Proto-Hmong-Mien: *mblet

For pronunciation and definitions of 舌 – see 𠯑 (“to block the mouth”). (This character is a variant form of 𠯑).

• “舌”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

1. tongue
2. reed of a woodwind (musical instrument)
3. clapper of a bell

• Go-on: ぜち (zechi)、ぜつ (zetsu, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: せつ (setsu)
• Kun: した (shita, 舌, Jōyō)

Kanji in this term
舌
した Grade: 6
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *sita.

• IPA^(key): [ɕi̥ta̠]
• (Tokyo) した [shìtáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[1][2]

舌(した) • (shita) 

1. tongue

   Synonym: べろ (bero)

• “舌”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

From Middle Chinese 舌 (MC zyet).

Recorded as Middle Korean 쎠ᇙ〮 (Yale: ssyelq) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.

Recorded as Middle Korean 설 (sel) (Yale: sel) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰʌ̹ɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [설]

舌 (eumhun 혀 설 (hyeo seol))

1. hanja form^? of 설 (“tongue”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: しちゃー (shichā, 舌)

• IPA^(key): /ɕit͡ɕaː/

舌(しちゃー) (shichā) 

1. tongue

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: すだ (suda, 舌)

• IPA^(key): /ss̩da/

舌(すだ) (suda) 

1. tongue

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: しちゃ (shicha, 舌)

• IPA^(key): /ɕit͡ɕa/

舌(しちゃ) (shicha) 

1. tongue

舌: Hán Việt readings: thiệt^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}
舌: Nôm readings: thiệt^{[1][2][4][6][7][8]}, thịt^[1][2][3], thượt^[8]

1. chữ Nôm form of thiệt (“to suffer one's loss”)
2. chữ Nôm form of thịt (“flesh; meat”)
   • 12th or 15th century, 佛說大報父母恩重經 [Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh]‎^[4], page 29b:

     車列分索，𦛌胣昌舌吕涅珊索。

     Xe sắt phân tách, ruột dạ xương thịt rữa nát tan tác.

     The iron cart tore [their bodies] apart, [leaving their] guts, bones, and flesh rotting and scattered.

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: しぃたー (sïtā, 舌)

• IPA^(key): /sɨta/

舌(しぃたー) (sïtā) 

1. tongue

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: った (tta, 舌)

• IPA^(key): /tˀa/

舌(った) (tta) 

1. tongue