玄

See also: 亥

玄 U+7384, 玄 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7384 ← 玃 [U+7383] CJK Unified Ideographs 玅 → [U+7385]

⽞ U+2F5E, ⽞ KANGXI RADICAL PROFOUND ← ⽝ [U+2F5D] Kangxi Radicals ⽟ → [U+2F5F]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

玄 (Kangxi radical 95, 玄+0, 5 strokes, Cangjie input 卜女戈 (YVI), four-corner 0073₂, composition ⿱亠幺)

1. Kangxi radical #95, ⽞.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/玄
• 伭, 呟, 𡊨, 妶, 𪨬, 𢂄, 弦, 怰, 𢫔, 泫, 㹡, 𨸫, 𣃡, 昡, 𣐙, 𪵚, 炫, 玹, 胘, 𥙆, 眩, 𥎸, 𪿖, 𮃀, 袨, 絃, 𦍫, 舷, 蚿, 𧣙, 詃(𬣤), 䝮, 𧺻, 鉉(铉), 䩙, 𩗁, 䮄(𫠊), 𩨬, 鮌, 𪐷, 𪗰
• 𠛑, 𠡆, 𮟴, 𩑹, 䲻, 𠅋, 畜, 𦬾, 𣆂, 䍗, 𠣖, 痃, 衒, 牽, 𨴋, 𡇎

Notes

Naming taboo (避諱 / 避讳); the last dot in 玄 was omitted to avoid using the same character in the Kangxi Emperor's personal name, which was 玄燁 / 玄烨, therefore producing 𤣥 (xuán).

This was also applied to derived characters; characters like 弦 and 畜 were also missing the last dot in 玄 (xuán) during this time.

This also produced 𤍞 (yè) < 燁 / 烨 (yè).

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 725, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20814
• Dae Jaweon: page 1134, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 280, character 3
• Unihan data for U+7384

Chinese

simp. and trad.		玄
alternative forms		𤣥 Kangxi Dictionary 𢆯 𠵓

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 玄
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
弦	*ɡeːn
絃	*ɡeːn, *qʰʷeːn
舷	*ɡeːn
痃	*ɡeːn
胘	*ɡeːn, *ɡʷeːn
蚿	*ɡeːn
伭	*ɡeːn
婱	*ɡeːn
玄	*ɡʷeːn
眩	*ɡʷeːn, *ɡʷeːn
玹	*ɡʷeːn, *ɡʷeːn
玆	*ɡʷeːn
詃	*kʷeːn
泫	*ɡʷeːn
鉉	*ɡʷeːn
炫	*ɡʷeːn
袨	*ɡʷeːn
衒	*ɡʷeːn
惤	*ɡʷreːŋ

Ideogram (指事), two interwoven threads 幺 and a distinguishing mark 亠 on top. The whole character should represent a rope, as seen in 率 and 弦. However, this rope is different from 己 and 乃.

Etymology

Unknown. The oldest basic color term for "black" which was later replaced by 黑 (OC *hmlɯːɡ) (Schuessler, 2007).

One of its derivations is 袨 (OC *ɡʷeːn, “a kind of black formal wear”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): xuán (xuan²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄩㄢˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xuan²

  (Xi'an, Guanzhong Pinyin): xuán

  (Nanjing, Nanjing Pinyin): xuén

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): jyun⁴

  (Dongguan, Jyutping++): hoen⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): yon³

• Gan (Wiktionary): xyon⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): hièn / hiàn

  (Hailu, HRS): hien

  (Meixian, Guangdong): hian²

• Jin (Wiktionary): xye¹
• Northern Min (KCR): hṳ̌ing
• Eastern Min (BUC): hièng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): hoeng² / hyoeng² / hieng² / huerng²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hiân / goân

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hiang⁵

  (Leizhou, Leizhou Pinyin): hieng⁵

• Southern Pinghua (Nanning, Jyutping++): jyun⁴
• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶yi; ⁶yoe / ²yoe / ²ghoe / ²yuon / ²yoen / ²yu
  • (Jinhua): ²ioe; ²iuan
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): xyenn²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xuán
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄩㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: syuán
    • Wade–Giles: hsüan²
    • Yale: sywán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyuan
    • Palladius: сюань (sjuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy̯ɛn³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: xuan²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xuan
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕyan²¹/
  • (Xi'an)
    • Guanzhong Pinyin: xuán
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕyã²⁴/
  • (Nanjing)
    • Nanjing Pinyin: xuén
    • Nanjing Pinyin (numbered): xuen²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕyẽ²⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: jyun⁴
    • Yale: yùhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jyn⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yun⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyːn²¹/
  • (Dongguan, Guancheng)
    • Jyutping++: hoen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /høn²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: yon³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jᵘɔn²²/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: xyon⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕyɵn³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hièn
    • Hakka Romanization System: hien^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hian²
    • Sinological IPA: /hi̯en¹¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hiàn
    • Hakka Romanization System: hian^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hian²
    • Sinological IPA: /hi̯an¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: hien
    • Sinological IPA: /hien⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: hian²
    • Sinological IPA: /hian¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: xye¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɕye¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: hṳ̌ing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xyiŋ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hièng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hieŋ⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Jiangkou, Nanri)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hoeng²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: hé̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hœŋ¹³/
  • (Youyang)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hoeng²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hœŋ²⁴/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hyoeng²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hyøŋ²⁴/
  • (Fengting)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hieng²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hieŋ²⁴/
  • (Donghai)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: huerng²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /huɤŋ¹³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiân
    • Tâi-lô: hiân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hieen
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɛn²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /hiɛn²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: goân
    • Tâi-lô: guân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: goaan
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡuan²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /ɡuan²⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hiang⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hiâng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hiaŋ⁵⁵/
  • (Leizhou)
    • Leizhou Pinyin: hieng⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /hieŋ²²/
• Southern Pinghua
  • (Nanning Pinghua, Tingzi)
    • Jyutping++: jyun⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyn²¹/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶yi; ⁶yoe
    • MiniDict: yi^去; yoe^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhi; ³hhyoe
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦi²³/, /ɦyø²³/
  • (Northern: Jiading, Chongming, Suzhou, Changzhou, Jiaxing)
    • Wugniu: ²yoe
    • MiniDict: yoe^平
    • Sinological IPA (Jiading): /ɦyø³¹/
    • Sinological IPA (Chongming): /ɦyø²⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /ɦyø²²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Changzhou): /ɦiɵ¹³/
    • Sinological IPA (Jiaxing): /ɦyɤə³¹/
  • (Northern: Songjiang)
    • Wugniu: ²ghoe
    • Sinological IPA (Songjiang): /ɦø³¹/
  • (Northern: Hangzhou)
    • Wugniu: ²yuon
    • MiniDict: yuon^平
    • Sinological IPA (Hangzhou): /ɦyõ²³/
  • (Northern: Shaoxing, Zhoushan)
    • Wugniu: ²yoen
    • MiniDict: yoeon^平
    • Sinological IPA (Shaoxing): /ɦiø̃²³¹/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhoushan): /ɦỹ²²/
  • (Northern: Ningbo)
    • Wugniu: ²yu
    • MiniDict: yu^平
    • Sinological IPA (Ningbo): /ɦy³¹³/
  • (Jinhua)
    • Wugniu: ²ioe; ²iuan
    • Sinological IPA (Jinhua): /yɤ³¹³/, /yã³¹³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: xyenn²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy̯ẽ¹³/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 玄
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕyan³⁵/
	Harbin	/ɕyan²⁴/
	Tianjin	/ɕyan⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/ɕyã⁴²/
	Qingdao	/ɕyã⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ɕyan⁴²/
	Xi'an	/ɕyã²⁴/
	Xining	/ɕyã²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ɕyan⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ɕyɛ̃n⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/ɕyan⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/ɕiɛn²¹³/
	Chengdu	/ɕyan³¹/
	Guiyang	/ɕian²¹/
	Kunming	/ɕiɛ̃³¹/
	Nanjing	/ɕyen⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/ɕyĩ⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕye¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ɕye̞¹³/
	Hohhot	/ɕye³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦi²³/ /ɦyø²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦiø¹³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦyõ²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/jy³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/ɕye⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/ɕyɛ⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/ɕyẽ¹³/
	Xiangtan	/ɕyẽ¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/ɕyɵn⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/hian¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/hien¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jyn²¹/
	Nanning	/yn²¹/
	Hong Kong	/jyn²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/hian³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/hieŋ⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/xyiŋ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/hiaŋ⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/hin³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: hwen

Rime
Character	玄
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	先 (86)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	胡涓切
Baxter	hwen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦwen/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦʷen/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣuɛn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦwɛn/
Li Rong	/ɣuen/
Wang Li	/ɣiwen/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣiwen/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xuán
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jyun4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɢ]ʷˤi[n]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡʷeːn/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	玄
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xuán
Middle Chinese	‹ hwen ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɢ]ʷˁi[n]/
English	dark
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	玄
Reading #	1/1
No.	14029
Phonetic component	玄
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	玄
Old Chinese	/*ɡʷeːn/

Definitions

玄

1. deep; profound; mysterious
2. black; reddish black

   • 七月鳴鵙、八月載績。載玄載黃、我朱孔陽、為公子裳。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     七月鸣𱉐、八月载绩。载玄载黄、我朱孔阳、为公子裳。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on Bernhard Karlgren's version

     Qīyuè míng jú, bāyuè zǎi jì. Zǎi xuán zǎi huáng, wǒ zhū kǒng yáng, wèi gōngzǐ shang. [Pinyin]

     In the seventh month there is the crying shrike; in the eighth month we spin, both black and yellow; our red-dye is very bright; we make skirts for the young noblemen.

3. sky
4. a surname

Compounds

• 三玄
• 九天玄女
• 十玄門 / 十玄门
• 唐玄宗
• 大羹玄酒
• 天地玄黃 / 天地玄黄
• 太玄 (tàixuán)
• 太玄經 / 太玄经 (Tàixuánjīng)
• 好弄玄虛 / 好弄玄虚
• 故弄玄虛 / 故弄玄虚 (gùnòngxuánxū)
• 易玄光
• 暗藏玄機 / 暗藏玄机
• 正始玄風 / 正始玄风
• 法華玄義 / 法华玄义
• 玄之又玄 (xuánzhīyòuxuán)
• 玄了
• 玄兔
• 玄冥
• 玄冬
• 玄化
• 玄厲 / 玄厉
• 玄參 / 玄参 (xuánshēn)
• 玄圃
• 玄圃積玉 / 玄圃积玉
• 玄堂
• 玄塞
• 玄天
• 玄天上帝 (Xuántiān Shàngdì)
• 玄奘
• 玄奧 / 玄奥
• 玄女 (Xuánnǚ)
• 玄妙 (xuánmiào)
• 玄妙入神
• 玄妙無窮 / 玄妙无穷
• 玄妙莫測 / 玄妙莫测
• 玄妻
• 玄孫 / 玄孙 (xuánsūn)
• 玄學 / 玄学 (xuánxué)
• 玄宗
• 玄室
• 玄宮 / 玄宫
• 玄德
• 玄悟
• 玄想
• 玄教
• 玄旨
• 玄月
• 玄服
• 玄根
• 玄機 / 玄机 (xuánjī)
• 玄機妙算 / 玄机妙算
• 玄武 (Xuánwǔ)
• 玄武岩 (xuánwǔyán)
• 玄武湖
• 玄武門 / 玄武门
• 玄氣 / 玄气
• 玄津
• 玄流
• 玄海
• 玄混
• 玄湣
• 玄熊
• 玄燭 / 玄烛
• 玄狐
• 玄狐蜂
• 玄玄
• 玄玉
• 玄珠
• 玄理
• 玄真
• 玄石
• 玄石沉湎
• 玄社
• 玄祕塔碑 / 玄秘塔碑
• 玄穹 (xuánqióng)
• 玄端
• 玄策
• 玄纁 / 玄𫄸
• 玄聖 / 玄圣
• 玄英
• 玄著
• 玄菟
• 玄虛 / 玄虚 (xuánxū)
• 玄製 / 玄制
• 玄覽 / 玄览
• 玄談 / 玄谈
• 玄謀 / 玄谋
• 玄謀廟算 / 玄谋庙算
• 玄象
• 玄豹
• 玄趾
• 玄遠 / 玄远
• 玄都
• 玄酒
• 玄鍼 / 玄针
• 玄門 / 玄门 (xuánmén)
• 玄闕 / 玄阙 (xuánquè)
• 玄關 / 玄关 (xuánguān)
• 玄關妙理 / 玄关妙理
• 玄陰 / 玄阴
• 玄雲 / 玄云
• 玄青 (xuánqīng)
• 玄風 / 玄风
• 玄駒 / 玄驹
• 玄鳥 / 玄鸟
• 玄鳥氏 / 玄鸟氏
• 玄鳳 / 玄凤
• 玄鶴 / 玄鹤
• 玄黃 / 玄黄
• 玄黃翻覆 / 玄黄翻覆
• 玄鼠
• 玄龍 / 玄龙
• 精悟玄鑒 / 精悟玄鉴
• 義玄 / 义玄
• 談玄 / 谈玄
• 賣弄玄虛 / 卖弄玄虚 (màinòngxuánxū)
• 超超玄箸
• 趙玄壇 / 赵玄坛
• 通玄
• 鉤玄 / 钩玄
• 鉤玄提要 / 钩玄提要
• 陳玄 / 陈玄

References

• “玄”, 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–
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “玄”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 230.

Japanese

Kanji

玄

(Jōyō kanji)

1. mysterious
2. occultness

Readings

• Go-on: げん (gen, Jōyō)^{←げん (gen, historical)←ぐゑん (gwen, ancient)}
• Kan-on: けん (ken)
• Kun: くろ (kuro, 玄)、くろい (kuroi, 玄い)

References

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

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 玄 (MC hwen).

Historical readings

• Recorded as Middle Korean ᅘᆑᆫ (Yale: hhywuyen) in Gugeupbangeonhae (救急方諺解 / 구급방언해), 1466.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [çʌ̹n]
• Phonetic hangul: [현]

Hanja

玄 (eum 현 (hyeon))

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Chữ Hán

玄: Hán Việt readings: huyền

1. chữ Hán form of huyền (“mysterious”)

Compounds

• 玄妙 (huyền diệu)
• 玄幻 (huyền ảo)
• 玄秘 (huyền bí)
• 玄話 (huyền thoại)