淡

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

淡 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 水火火 (EFF), four-corner 3918₉, composition ⿰氵炎)

Derived characters

𠻪, 𫮡, 𢴗, 𥊗, 𧐽, 𨤵, 𦸁, 䆱, 𥲄, 𰊣, 𰝘, 𩉀

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 630, character 18
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17660
Dae Jaweon: page 1032, character 17
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1660, character 8
Unihan data for U+6DE1

Chinese

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
倓	l'oːmʔ, l'aːm, *l'aːms
緂	l̥ʰaːm, l̥ʰaːmʔ, *l̥ʰjam
毯	*l̥ʰaːmʔ
菼	*l̥ʰaːmʔ
裧	l̥ʰaːmʔ, l̥ʰjam, *l̥ʰjams
賧	*l̥ʰaːms
睒	l̥ʰaːms, hljamʔ
舕	*l̥ʰaːms
談	*l'aːm
郯	*l'aːm
惔	l'aːm, l'aːmʔ, *l'aːms
錟	*l'aːm
淡	l'aːm, l'aːmʔ, l'aːms, lamʔ
痰	*l'aːm
餤	*l'aːm
啖	l'aːmʔ, l'aːms
腅	*l'aːms
剡	ɦljamʔ, lamʔ
覢	*hljamʔ
掞	*hljams
炎	*ɦlam
琰	*lamʔ
棪	*lamʔ
扊	*lamʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *l'aːm, *l'aːmʔ, *l'aːms, *lamʔ) : semantic 氵 (“water”) + phonetic 炎 (OC *ɦlam)

Etymology 1

trad.		淡
simp. ^#		淡

Word stems from something burning hot being tempered with water (ie spicy food "watered down"). As per the characters water + burning hot (ie to make mild or bland).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): dàn (dan⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄉㄢˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): dan⁴
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): taam⁵ / daam⁶

(Taishan, Wiktionary): am⁴ / ham¹
Gan (Wiktionary): tan⁵
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): thâm / tham

(Meixian, Guangdong): tam¹ / tam⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): dan³
Eastern Min (BUC): dâng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tāⁿ / tām

(Teochew, Peng'im): dan⁶ / dam⁶
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶de
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): dan⁵ / dan⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: dàn
  - Zhuyin: ㄉㄢˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: dàn
  - Wade–Giles: tan⁴
  - Yale: dàn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dann
  - Palladius: дань (danʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tän⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: dan⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: dan
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tan²¹³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: taam⁵ / daam⁶
  - Yale: táahm / daahm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: taam⁵ / daam⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: tam⁵ / dam⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰaːm¹³/, /taːm²²/

Note:

taam5 - vernacular;
daam6 - literary.

(Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: am⁴ / ham¹
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /am²¹/, /ham³³/

Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: tan⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰan¹¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thâm / tham
  - Hakka Romanization System: tam^ˊ / tam
  - Hagfa Pinyim: tam¹ / tam⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰam²⁴/, /tʰam⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: tam¹ / tam⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰam⁴⁴/, /tʰam⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: dan³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /tæ̃⁴⁵/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: dâng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɑŋ²⁴²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāⁿ / tām
  - Tâi-lô: tānn / tām
  - Phofsit Daibuun: dva, dam
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tã²²/, /tam²²/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tã⁴¹/, /tam⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tã²²/, /tam²²/
  - IPA (Taipei): /tã³³/, /tam³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tã³³/, /tam³³/

Note:

tāⁿ - vernacular;
tām - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: dan⁶ / dam⁶
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tăⁿ / tăm
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /tã³⁵/, /tam³⁵/

Note:

dan6 - vernacular;
dam6 - literary.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶de
  - MiniDict: de^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³de
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /de²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: dan⁵ / dan⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tan²¹/, /tan⁴⁵/

Note:

dan5 - vernacular;
dan4 - literary.

Middle Chinese: damX, damH

Rime
Character	淡	淡
Reading #	2/4	4/4
Initial (聲)	定 (7)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	談 (143)	談 (143)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	徒敢切	徒濫切
Baxter	damX	damH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/dɑm^X/	/dɑm^H/
Pan Wuyun	/dɑm^X/	/dɑm^H/
Shao Rongfen	/dɑm^X/	/dɑm^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dam^X/	/dam^H/
Li Rong	/dɑm^X/	/dɑm^H/
Wang Li	/dɑm^X/	/dɑm^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/dʱɑm^X/	/dʱɑm^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	dàn	dàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	daam⁶	daam⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[l]ˤamʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*l'aːmʔ/, /*l'aːms/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	淡
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	dàn
Middle Chinese	‹ dam^X ›
Old Chinese	/*[l]ˁamʔ/
English	insipid
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	淡	淡
Reading #	2/4	3/4
No.	14300	14305
Phonetic component	炎	炎
Rime group	談	談
Rime subdivision	1	1
Corresponding MC rime	噉	憺
Old Chinese	/*l'aːmʔ/	/*l'aːms/

Definitions

淡

(of food) bland; tasteless
啲湯好淡／啲汤好淡 [Cantonese] ― di¹ tong¹ hou² taam⁵ [Jyutping] ― the soup is very bland
(of color) light; pale
Synonym: 淺／浅

Antonyms: 濃／浓 (nóng), 深 (shēn)
(of liquid or gas) thin; low in density
indifferent; cold
slack; dull
淡季 ― dànjì ― slack season; off-season
meaningless; trivial

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 淡 (“bland; tasteless; not salty”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		淡
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	淡, 口輕
	Taiwan	淡
	Harbin	淡
	Singapore	淡
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	淡, 甜, 口輕
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	善
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	甜
	Wanrong	甜
	Xi'an	甜, 淡
	Xining	甜, 淡
	Xuzhou	淡
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	淡
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	淡
	Wuhan	淡
	Guiyang	淡
	Guilin	淡
	Liuzhou	淡
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	淡
	Yangzhou	淡
	Hefei	淡
Cantonese	Guangzhou	淡
	Hong Kong	淡
	Dongguan	淡
	Yangjiang	淡
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	淡
Gan	Nanchang	淡
	Lichuan	淡
	Pingxiang	淡
Hakka	Meixian	淡
	Yudu	淡
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	淡
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	淡
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	淡
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	淡
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	淡
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	淡
	Senai (Huiyang)	淡
Jin	Taiyuan	淡, 甜
Jin	Xinzhou	甜
Northern Min	Jian'ou	䭕
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	䭕
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	䭕
	Jianyang	䭕
	Wuyishan	䭕
	Pucheng (Shibei)	䭕
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	䭕
	Fuzhou (Changle)	䭕
	Fuqing	䭕
	Yongtai	䭕
	Gutian	䭕
	Fu'an	䭕
	Ningde	䭕
	Shouning	䭕
	Zhouning	䭕
	Fuding	䭕
Southern Min	Xiamen	䭕
	Quanzhou	䭕
	Yongchun	䭕
	Zhangzhou	䭕
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	䭕
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	䭕
	Zhangpu	䭕
	Zhao'an	䭕
	Penang (Hokkien)	䭕
	Singapore (Hokkien)	䭕
	Chaozhou	䭕
	Shantou	䭕
	Shantou (Chenghai)	䭕
	Jieyang	䭕
	Haifeng	䭕
	Bangkok (Teochew)	䭕
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	䭕
	Leizhou	䭕
	Haikou	䭕
Puxian Min	Putian	䭕
Central Min	Yong'an	䭕
Central Min	Sanming (Shaxian)	䭕
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	淡
Wu	Shanghai	淡
	Shanghai (Chongming)	淡
	Suzhou	淡
	Danyang	淡
	Hangzhou	淡
	Ningbo	淡
	Wenzhou	淡
	Jinhua	淡
Xiang	Changsha	淡
	Loudi	淡
	Shuangfeng	淡

Compounds

Etymology 2

trad.		淡
simp. ^#		淡

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yǎn, yàn (yan³, yan⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄢˇ, ㄧㄢˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jim⁵

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yǎn
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yǎn
  - Wade–Giles: yen³
  - Yale: yǎn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yean
  - Palladius: янь (janʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn²¹⁴/
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yàn
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yàn
  - Wade–Giles: yen⁴
  - Yale: yàn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yann
  - Palladius: янь (janʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: jim⁵
  - Yale: yíhm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jim⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: yim⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiːm¹³/

Middle Chinese: yemX

Rime
Character	淡
Reading #	3/4
Initial (聲)	以 (36)
Final (韻)	鹽 (153)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	以冉切
Baxter	yemX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/jiᴇm^X/
Pan Wuyun	/jiɛm^X/
Shao Rongfen	/jæm^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/jiam^X/
Li Rong	/iɛm^X/
Wang Li	/jĭɛm^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/i̯ɛm^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jim⁵

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*lamʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	淡
Reading #	4/4
No.	14319
Phonetic component	炎
Rime group	談
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	琰
Old Chinese	/*lamʔ/
Notes	見宋玉賦

Definitions

淡

Only used in 淡淡 (yǎnyǎn, yànyàn).
^‡ appearance of water

Compounds

流水淡淡

Etymology 3

trad.		淡
simp. ^#		淡

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): tán (tan²)

(Zhuyin): ㄊㄢˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): taam⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tán
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: tán
  - Wade–Giles: tʻan²
  - Yale: tán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tarn
  - Palladius: тань (tanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰän³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: taam⁴
  - Yale: tàahm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: taam⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: tam⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰaːm²¹/

Middle Chinese: dam

Rime
Character	淡
Reading #	1/4
Initial (聲)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	談 (143)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	徒甘切
Baxter	dam
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/dɑm/
Pan Wuyun	/dɑm/
Shao Rongfen	/dɑm/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dam/
Li Rong	/dɑm/
Wang Li	/dɑm/
Bernhard Karlgren	/dʱɑm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tán
Expected Cantonese Reflex	taam⁴

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*l'aːm/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	淡
Reading #	1/4
No.	14296
Phonetic component	炎
Rime group	談
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	談
Old Chinese	/*l'aːm/

Definitions

淡

^† Alternative form of 痰 (tán)
^‡ appearance of water
See also: 澹

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of 淡 – see 䭕 (“(Min) tasteless; insipid”). (This character is a variant form of 䭕).

References

“淡”, 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–

Japanese

Kanji

淡

(Jōyō kanji)

diluted
pale

Readings

Go-on: だん (dan)^{←だん (dan, historical)}^{←だむ (damu, ancient)}
Kan-on: たん (tan, Jōyō)^{←たん (tan, historical)}^{←たむ (tamu, ancient)}
Kun: あわい (awai, 淡い, Jōyō)、うすい (usui, 淡い)

Compounds

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 淡 (MC damX|damH). Recorded as Middle Korean 담〯 (tǎm) (Yale: tam) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

淡

Wikisource

淡 (eumhun 맑을 담 (malgeul dam))

hanja form^? of 담 (“clean; clear; pure”)

Compounds

담수 (淡水, damsu, “fresh water”)
냉담 (冷淡, naengdam, “cold; indifferent”)
농담 (濃淡, nongdam)
담백 (淡白, dambaek)
아담 (雅淡, adam)
담담 (淡淡, damdam)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

Han character

淡: Hán Nôm readings: đạm, đượm, vạm, đặm

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