左

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左 U+5DE6, 左
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5DE6
← 工
[U+5DE5] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 巧 →
[U+5DE7]

Translingual

Stroke order
5 strokes

Han character

左 (Kangxi radical 48, 工+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 大一 (KM), four-corner 40011, composition ⿸𠂇工)

Derived characters

Descendants

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 325, character 8
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8720
  • Dae Jaweon: page 626, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 411, character 5
  • Unihan data for U+5DE6

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 左
alternative forms 𠂇
𢀡
㔫
屮
Wikipedia has articles on:

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 左
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (左) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
左 *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls
佐 *ʔsaːls
袏 *ʔslaːls
蹉 *sʰlaːl
瑳 *sʰlaːl, *sʰlaːlʔ
搓 *sʰlaːl
磋 *sʰlaːl
溠 *sʰlaːl, *sraːl, *ʔsraːls
傞 *sʰlaːl, *slaːl
醝 *zlaːl
瘥 *zlaːl, *ʔsljal, *sʰreːls
鹺 *zlaːl
嵯 *zlaːl, *sʰral
嵳 *zlaːl
蒫 *zlaːl, *ʔsljal, *ʔslɯl
艖 *zlaːl, *sʰraːl
齹 *zlaːl, *sʰral, *zral
縒 *slaːlʔ, *sʰral, *sʰlaːɡ
褨 *slaːlʔ
嗟 *ʔsljal
差 *sʰraːl, *sʰraːls, *sʰreːl, *sʰreːl, *sʰreːls, *sʰral
鎈 *sʰraːl
槎 *zraːl, *zraːlʔ
髊 *zlals

Originally written 𠂇 in the oracle bone script: Pictogram (象形) – a left hand. Compare 又 (“right hand”).

Late bronze inscription forms show an added 工 (“work; to assist?”) component, making the current form a phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls) and ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : phonetic 𠂇 (, “left hand”) + semantic 工 (“work”), representing the original form of 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist”).

Etymology

Cognate with 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist”) (< be on one's left side); mirror of the semantic relationship between 右 (OC *ɢʷɯʔ, “right”) and 佑 (OC *ɢʷɯs, “to assist”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Unrelated to Proto-Tibeto-Burman *b(w)aj (“left (hand)”) (STEDT).

“(politics) left-wing”
Semantic loan from English left, in turn a semantic loan from French gauche.

Pronunciation 1

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Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 左

  1. left (direction)
    左手  ―  zuǒshǒu  ―  left hand
  2. east; areas to the east
    江左  ―  jiāngzuǒ  ―  area east of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
  3. (historical) inferior position
  4. unorthodox; wrong
  5. erroneously; mistakingly
    你想左了。  ―  Nǐ xiǎng zuǒ le.  ―  You are mistaken.
  6. different; divided; inconsistent
    相左  ―  xiàngzuǒ  ―  to conflict with each other; to fail to agree
  7. (politics) left-wing
  8. (chemistry) levo-
    左多巴  ―  zuǒduōbā  ―  levodopa
  9. (Sichuanese, of singing) out of tune; off-key
  10. (Southwestern Mandarin, including Sichuanese) to exchange
  11. (Eastern Min) devious, dishonest
  12. (Xiang) wrong; incorrect
  13. a surname
    左宗棠  ―  Zuǒ Zōngtáng  ―  Zuo Zongtang (Qing dynasty Chinese statesman and military leader)
Usage notes

In socialist nations e.g. mainland China, 左 is usually (not necessarily) put in quotation marks when referring to the leftism further to the correct party line.

Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 左 (“left”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 左
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 左
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 左
Taiwan 左
Chengde 左
Chifeng 左
Hulunbuir (Hailar) 左
Heihe 左
Qiqihar 左
Harbin 左
Jiamusi 左
Baicheng 左
Changchun 左
Tonghua 左
Shenyang 左
Jinzhou 左
Malaysia 左
Singapore 左
Jilu Mandarin Tianjin 左
Tangshan 左
Cangzhou 左
Baoding 左
Shijiazhuang 左
Lijin 左
Jinan 左
Jiaoliao Mandarin Dalian 左
Dandong 左
Yantai 左
Qingdao 左
Zhucheng 左
Central Plains Mandarin Lingbao 左
Jining 左
Wanrong 左
Linfen 左
Shangqiu 左
Yuanyang 左
Zhengzhou 左
Xinyang 左
Baihe 左
Xi'an 左
Baoji 左
Tianshui 左
Xining 左
Xuzhou 左
Fuyang 左
Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 左
Lanzhou 左
Dunhuang 左
Hami 左
Ürümqi 左
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 左
Nanchong 左
Dazhou 左
Hanyuan 左
Xichang 左
Zigong 左
Chongqing 左
Wuhan 左
Yichang 左
Xiangyang 左
Tianmen 左
Guiyang 左
Zunyi 左
Bijie 左
Liping 左
Zhaotong 左
Dali 左
Kunming 左
Mengzi 左
Guilin 左
Liuzhou 左
Jishou 左
Changde 左
Hanzhong 左
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 左
Yangzhou 左
Lianyungang 左
Lianshui 左
Nantong 左
Anqing 左
Wuhu 左
Hefei 左
Hong'an 左
Cantonese Guangzhou 左
Hong Kong 左
Macau 左
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 左
Singapore (Guangfu) 左
Gan Nanchang 左
Lichuan 左
Huizhou Shexian 左
Jin Taiyuan 左
Yangyuan 左
Datong 左
Xinzhou 左
Lüliang (Lishi) 左
Changzhi 左
Linhe 左
Jining 左
Hohhot 左
Erenhot 左
Pingshan 左
Zhangjiakou 左
Handan 左
Linzhou 左
Suide 左
Eastern Min Fuzhou 左
Southern Min Xiamen 倒
Quanzhou 倒
Zhangzhou 倒
Taipei 倒
New Taipei (Sanxia) 倒
Kaohsiung 倒
Yilan 倒
Changhua (Lukang) 倒
Taichung 倒
Tainan 倒
Hsinchu 倒
Kinmen 倒
Penghu (Magong) 倒
Penang (Hokkien) 倒
Singapore (Hokkien) 倒
Manila (Hokkien) 倒
Chaozhou 倒
Shantou 倒
Jieyang 倒
Singapore (Teochew) 倒
Wenchang 左
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 左
Dialectal synonyms of 錯 (“wrong”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 過誤, 誤, 謬, 謬誤, 訛
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 錯, 不對, 錯誤
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 錯, 左
Taiwan 錯, 不對
Malaysia 錯, 不對
Singapore 錯, 不對
Jilu Mandarin Jinan 錯, 差
Central Plains Mandarin Xi'an 錯
Lanyin Mandarin Ürümqi 錯
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 錯, 拐
Wuhan 錯, 左
Guilin 錯
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 差
Yangzhou 錯
Hefei 錯
Cantonese Guangzhou 錯, 唔啱
Hong Kong 錯, 唔啱
Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou) 錯
Macau 錯
Guangzhou (Panyu) 錯
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) 唔啱
Guangzhou (Conghua) 錯
Guangzhou (Zengcheng) 錯
Foshan 錯
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) 錯
Foshan (Shunde) 錯
Foshan (Sanshui) 錯, 唔啱
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) 錯
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 錯
Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou) 錯
Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka) 錯
Zhuhai (Doumen) 錯
Jiangmen (Baisha) 錯
Jiangmen (Xinhui) 錯
Taishan 錯
Kaiping (Chikan) 錯
Enping (Niujiang) 錯
Heshan (Yayao) 錯
Dongguan 錯
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) 錯
Yangjiang 錯
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 唔啱, 錯
Singapore (Guangfu) 唔啱, 錯
Gan Nanchang 錯
Lichuan 錯
Hakka Meixian 差, 唔啱
Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua) 錯
Dongguan (Qingxi) 錯
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) 錯
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) 錯
Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua) 錯
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 唔著
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 唔著
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 唔著
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 唔著
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 唔著
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 唔著
Jin Taiyuan 錯, 不對, 差
Northern Min Jian'ou 錯
Eastern Min Fuzhou 賺
Matsu 賺
Southern Min Xiamen 賺, 毋著
Quanzhou 賺, 毋著
Shishi 賺
Zhangzhou 賺, 毋著
Zhao'an 毋著
Taipei 毋著
Kaohsiung 毋著
Penang (Hokkien) salah, 毋著, 賺
Singapore (Hokkien) salah, 毋著
Manila (Hokkien) 毋著, 賺
Chaozhou 賺
Shantou 賺, 唔對, 唔著
Jieyang 賺
Singapore (Teochew) salah, 唔著, 賺
Leizhou 無著
Wenchang 無著
Haikou 錯
Singapore (Hainanese) 無著
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 錯, 唔啱
Wu Shanghai 錯
Suzhou 錯
Ningbo 錯, 賺
Wenzhou 賺
Jinhua 賺
Xiang Changsha 錯, 左
Shuangfeng 造, 錯
Antonyms
  • 右 (yòu, “right”)

Pronunciation 2

Rime
Character 左 左
Reading # 1/2 2/2
Initial (聲) 精 (13) 精 (13)
Final (韻) 歌 (94) 歌 (94)
Tone (調) Rising (X) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open Open
Division (等) I I
Fanqie 臧可切 則箇切
Baxter tsaX tsaH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/t͡saX/ /t͡saH/
Li
Rong 		/t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Wang
Li 		/t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/t͡sɑX/ /t͡sɑH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		zuǒ zuò
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		zo2 zo3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 左 左
Reading # 2/3 3/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		zuǒ zuǒ
Middle
Chinese 		‹ tsaX › ‹ tsaH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*tsˁa[j]ʔ/ /*tsˁarʔ-s/
English assist assist

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 左 左
Reading # 1/2 2/2
No. 18004 18006
Phonetic
component 		左 左
Rime
group 		歌 歌
Rime
subdivision 		1 1
Corresponding
MC rime 		左 佐
Old
Chinese 		/*ʔsaːlʔ/ /*ʔsaːls/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 左

  1. † Original form of 佐 (zuǒ, “to assist”).

Compounds

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Descendants

Sino-Xenic (左):
  • → Japanese: 左(さ) (sa)
  • → Korean: 좌(左) (jwa)
  • → Vietnamese: tả (左)

Others:

References

(deprecated template usage)

Japanese

Kanji

左

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

  • Go-on: さ (sa, Jōyō)
  • Kan-on: さ (sa, Jōyō)
  • Kun: ひだり (hidari, 左, Jōyō)

Alternative forms

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
左
ひだり
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

/hidari/: *[pidari] → [ɸidari] → [çidari].

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1] From Proto-Japonic *pintari.

Might be a compound of 日 (hi, “sun”) +‎ 垂り (tari, “falling”), in reference to left as the direction where the sun sets.

Pronunciation

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Noun

左(ひだり) • (hidari) 

  1. (direction) left, the side of the left hand
    • 1603, Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam (Nippo Jisho) (in Portuguese), Nagasaki, page 229:
      Fidari. ヒダリ (左) 左手, または, 左の方
    • 1999 August 10, “[封](ふう)[印](いん)されし[者](もの)の[左](ひだり)[腕](うで)”, in 幻の召喚神, Konami:
      封(ふう)印(いん)された左(ひだり)腕(うで)。封(ふう)印(いん)を解(と)くと、無(む)限(げん)の力(ちから)を得(え)られる。
      Fūinsareta hidariude. Fūin o toku to, mugen no chikara o erareru.
      A sealed left arm. Whosoever breaks the seal shall earn infinite power.
  2. (politics) a leftist
Antonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
左
さ
Grade: 1
on'yomi

Middle Chinese 左

Pronunciation

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Noun

左(さ) • (sa) 

  1. the left in vertical writing
  2. the following (one)
    • 1905–06, Natsume Sōseki, I Am a Cat (text here):
      吾(わが)輩(はい)はまず彼(かれ)がどのくらい無(む)学(がく)であるかを試(ため)してみようと思(おも)って左(さ)の問(もん)答(どう)をして見(み)た。
      Wagahai wa mazu kare ga dono kurai mugaku de aru ka o tameshite miyō to omotte sa no mondō o shite mita.
      To judge just how uneducated he was, I posed the following question.

Prefix

左(さ) • (sa-) 

  1. to the left; on the left side
  2. (history, government) "of the left", senior or superior to 右 (u-, “of the right”)
    左(さ)衛(え)門(もん)
    Saemon
    the Gate Guard of the Left
    左(さ)大(だい)臣(じん)
    Sadaijin
    the Minister of the Left

References

  1. ^ “左”, in 日本国語大辞典‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 左 (MC tsaX).

Historical readings

Pronunciation

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [t͡ɕwa̠(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [좌(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

左 (eumhun 왼 좌 (oen jwa))

  1. hanja form? of 좌 (“left (direction)”)

Derived terms

Compounds

References

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

Okinawan

Kanji in this term
左
ひじゃい
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *pidari, from Proto-Japonic *pintari. Cognate with Japanese 左 (hidari).

Noun

左(ひじゃい) (hijai) 

  1. (direction) left

Vietnamese

Han character

左: Hán Nôm readings: tả, tá

  1. left (direction)
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