# 塞

| 塞 | U+585E, &#22622; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-585E |
| ← 塝 [U+585D] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 塟 → [U+585F] |
| 塞 | U+F96C, &#63852; CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F96C |
| ← 參 [U+F96B] | CJK Compatibility Ideographs | 省 → [U+F96D] |

## Translingual
### Han character

塞 (Kangxi radical 32, 土+10, 13 strokes, cangjie input 十廿金土 (JTCG), four-corner 3010$_4$, composition ⿱𡨄土)

#### Derived characters

* 僿 噻 㩙 簺 𡑮 𤀕 𡬉 𫉲 𮪵

#### References

* Kangxi Dictionary: page 236, character 9
* Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5349
* Dae Jaweon: page 474, character 2
* Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 475, character 1
* Unihan data for U+585E
* Unihan data for U+F96C

## Chinese
### Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 塞 :
| Shang | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
| Oracle bone script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
| | Old Chinese |
| 賽 | *slɯːɡs |
| 塞 | *slɯːɡs, *slɯːɡ |
| 簺 | *slɯːɡs |
| 僿 | *hljɯɡs |
| 寨 | *zraːds, *slɯːɡ |
Oracle bone script: Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 宀 (“house”) + 工 (“two items”) + 廾 (“two hands”) – stuffing the house with items. Hence, the original version is 𡨄, a character similar but unrelated to 共 but partly related to 展.
Shuowen: Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 𡨄 + 土 (“soil”); the bottom component was added later.

### Pronunciation 1

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): sāi, sè, sēi (sai$^1$, se$^4$, sei$^1$)
    (Zhuyin): ㄙㄞ, ㄙㄜˋ, ㄙㄟ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): sak$^1$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): set
    (Meixian, Guangdong): sêd$^5$
* Eastern Min (BUC): sék / sáik
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sak / sek / siak / sat / soeh / seh
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^7$seq
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: sāi
*** Zhuyin: ㄙㄞ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: sai
*** Wade–Giles: sai$^1$
*** Yale: sāi
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sai
*** Palladius: сай (saj)
*** Sinological IPA : /saɪ̯⁵⁵/
** (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (塞兒 / 塞儿)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: sāir
*** Zhuyin: ㄙㄞㄦ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: sair
*** Wade–Giles: sai$^1$-ʼrh
*** Yale: sāir
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sal
*** Palladius: сайр (sajr)
*** Sinological IPA : /sɑɻ⁵⁵/
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: sè
*** Zhuyin: ㄙㄜˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: sè
*** Wade–Giles: sê$^4$
*** Yale: sè
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: seh
*** Palladius: сэ (sɛ)
*** Sinological IPA : /sɤ⁵¹/
** (Standard Chinese, Taiwan variant; Beijing dialect)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: sēi
*** Zhuyin: ㄙㄟ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: sei
*** Wade–Giles: sei$^1$
*** Yale: sēi
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sei
*** Palladius: сэй (sɛj)
*** Sinological IPA : /seɪ̯⁵⁵/
* sāi - vernacular (“to stuff; to be jammed; stopper”);
* sāir - “stopper”;
* sēi - low vernacular (“to stuff”);
* sè - literary.
* Middle Chinese: sok
Rime :
| Character | 塞 |
| Reading # | 2/2 |
| Initial (聲) | 心 (16) |
| Final (韻) | 德 (131) |
| Tone (調) | Checked (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 蘇則切 |
| Baxter | sok |
| Reconstructions ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /sək̚/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /sək̚/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /sək̚/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /sək̚/ |
| Li Rong | /sək̚/ |
| Wang Li | /sək̚/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /sək̚/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | se |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | sak$^1$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]ˤək/
    (Zhengzhang): /*slɯːɡ/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 塞 |
| Reading # | 3/3 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | sè |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ sok › |
| Old Chinese | /*[s]ˁək/ |
| English | stop up, block (v.) |
| 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 | 塞 |
| Reading # | 2/2 |
| No. | 10961 |
| Phonetic component | 塞 |
| Rime group | 職 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 塞 |
| Old Chinese | /*slɯːɡ/ |

#### Definitions

塞
* to stop up; to block up
* to stuff; to cram; to squeeze in
       zoeng$^1$ bou$^3$ zi$^2$ sak$^1$ lok$^6$ deoi$^3$ haai$^4$ dou$^6$ [Jyutping]
       to shove newspaper into a pair of shoes
* to be blocked; to be jammed
* to forbid; to suppress; to prohibit
* to satisfy; to fulfill
* to compensate; to remedy
* to answer; to repay
* to manage to arrange a position for someone
* to practise bribery
* to evade; to stall
* stopper; cork
* to be in a difficult position; destitute
* honest; truthful
* (historical) Saka people

##### Synonyms

* (to stop up): 堵 (dǔ)

#### Compounds

* 亞塞拜然 / 亚塞拜然
* 交通壅塞
* 但求塞責 / 但求塞责
* 優婆塞 / 优婆塞 (yōupósè)
* 充塞 (chōngsè)
* 兩豆塞耳 / 两豆塞耳
* 口塞 (kǒusāi)
* 唐塞
* 喉塞音
* 嗌塞
* 堆山塞海
* 堵塞
* 堰塞湖 (yànsèhú)
* 塞住
* 塞內加爾 / 塞内加尔
* 塞口
* 填塞
* 塞子 (sāizi)
* 塞席爾 / 塞席尔 (Sèxí'ěr)
* 塞擦化 (sècāhuà)
* 塞擦音 (sècāyīn)
* 塞淵 / 塞渊
* 塞滿 / 塞满 (sāimǎn)
* 塞爆音
* 塞爾維亞 / 塞尔维亚
* 塞牙
* 塞牙縫 / 塞牙缝
* 塞狗洞
* 塞納河 / 塞纳河
* 塞耳
* 塞耳偷鈴 / 塞耳偷铃 (sāi'ěrtōulíng)
* 塞耳盜鐘 / 塞耳盗钟
* 塞聲 / 塞声
* 塞職 / 塞职
* 填街塞巷
* 塞話 / 塞话
* 塞責 / 塞责 (sèzé)
* 塞車 / 塞车
* 塞音
* 壅塞 (yōngsè)
* 壺漿塞道 / 壶浆塞道
* 奧登塞 / 奥登塞
* 屯街塞巷
* 屯蹶否塞
* 布魯塞爾 / 布鲁塞尔
* 廞塞 / 𫷷塞
* 心肌梗塞 (xīnjī gěngsè)
* 抑塞
* 抑塞磊落
* 拍塞
* 拒塞
* 拔本塞原
* 拔本塞源
* 挨山塞海
* 推諉塞責 / 推诿塞责
* 搪塞 (tángsè)
* 擁塞 / 拥塞 (yōngsè)
* 擔雪塞井 / 担雪塞井
* 敷衍塞責 / 敷衍塞责 (fūyǎnsèzé)
* 敷衍搪塞 (fūyǎntángsè)
* 晦盲否塞 (huìmángpǐsè)
* 木塞
* 杜塞
* 栓塞 (shuānsè)
* 梗塞
* 氣塞 / 气塞
* 泥塞竹管
* 活塞 (huósāi)
* 淵塞 / 渊塞
* 淤塞 (yūsè)
* 漫天塞地
* 漫山塞野 (mànshān sè yě)
* 潦草塞責 / 潦草塞责
* 火星塞
* 無以塞責 / 无以塞责
* 理塞
* 瓶塞 (píngsāi)
* 白塞木
* 窒塞
* 耳塞
* 聊以塞責 / 聊以塞责
* 腦栓塞 / 脑栓塞 (nǎoshuānsè)
* 腸阻塞 / 肠阻塞 (chángzǔsè)
* 苟且唐塞
* 茅塞
* 茅塞頓開 / 茅塞顿开 (máosèdùnkāi)
* 葉尼塞河 / 叶尼塞河
* 蔽塞 (bìsè)
* 蔽聰塞明 / 蔽聪塞明
* 衛塞 / 卫塞 (Wèisài)
* 衛塞節 / 卫塞节
* 補垣塞穴 / 补垣塞穴
* 語塞 / 语塞 (yǔsè)
* 譽塞天下 / 誉塞天下
* 豺狼塞路
* 赭衣塞路
* 距塞
* 通塞
* 閉塞 / 闭塞 (bìsè)
* 閉明塞聰 / 闭明塞聪
* 閉目塞聽 / 闭目塞听 (bìmùsètīng)
* 閉門塞竇 / 闭门塞窦
* 閼塞 / 阏塞 (èsè)
* 阻塞
* 障塞
* 險塞 / 险塞
* 頓開茅塞 / 顿开茅塞
* 鬱塞 / 郁塞
* 鼻塞聲重 / 鼻塞声重

### Pronunciation 2

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): sài (sai$^4$)
    (Zhuyin): ㄙㄞˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): coi$^3$
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sai
* Eastern Min (BUC): sái
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sài
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^5$se
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: sài
*** Zhuyin: ㄙㄞˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: sài
*** Wade–Giles: sai$^4$
*** Yale: sài
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: say
*** Palladius: сай (saj)
*** Sinological IPA : /saɪ̯⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: coi$^3$
*** Yale: choi
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tsoi$^3$
*** Guangdong Romanization: coi$^3$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰɔːi̯³³/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sai
*** Hakka Romanization System: sai
*** Hagfa Pinyim: sai$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /sai̯⁵⁵/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: sái
*** Sinological IPA : /sɑi²¹³/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sài
*** Tâi-lô: sài
*** Phofsit Daibuun: saix
*** IPA (Xiamen): /sai²¹/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /sai⁴¹/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /sai²¹/
*** IPA (Taipei): /sai¹¹/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /sai²¹/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^5$se
*** MiniDict: se$^去$
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^2$se
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /se³⁴/
* Middle Chinese: sojH
Rime :
| Character | 塞 |
| Reading # | 1/2 |
| Initial (聲) | 心 (16) |
| Final (韻) | 咍 (41) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 先代切 |
| Baxter | sojH |
| Reconstructions ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /sʌi$^H$/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /səi$^H$/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /sɒi$^H$/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /səj$^H$/ |
| Li Rong | /sᴀi$^H$/ |
| Wang Li | /sɒi$^H$/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /sɑ̆i$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | sài |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | soi$^3$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]ˤək-s/
    (Zhengzhang): /*slɯːɡs/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 塞 |
| Reading # | 1/3 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | sài |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ soj$^H$ › |
| Old Chinese | /*[s]ˁək-s/ |
| English | frontier |
| 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 | 塞 |
| Reading # | 1/2 |
| No. | 10958 |
| Phonetic component | 塞 |
| Rime group | 代 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 賽 |
| Old Chinese | /*slɯːɡs/ |

#### Definitions

塞
* (historical) place of strategic importance; pass; fortress
* to build fortress; to construct fortifications
* frontier; border
    塞翁失馬／塞翁失马 ― sàiwēngshīmǎ ― The old man at the frontier losing a horse
* (specifically) the northern frontier of imperial China, as demarcated by the Great Wall
* Alternative form of 賽 / 赛 (sài, “to compete, contend; contest, race”)
* Alternative form of 簺 (sài, “an ancient gambling game”)

#### Compounds

* 出塞 (chūsài)
* 四塞
* 塞下曲
* 塞上曲
* 塞內 / 塞内
* 塞內加爾 / 塞内加尔
* 塞北 (Sàiběi)
* 塞外 (sàiwài)
* 塞得港 (Sàidégǎng)
* 塞拉利昂 (Sàilālì'áng)
* 塞浦路斯 (Sàipǔlùsī)
* 塞爾維亞 / 塞尔维亚
* 塞班島 / 塞班岛 (Sàibān Dǎo)
* 塞納河 / 塞纳河
* 塞維利亞 / 塞维利亚 (Sàiwéilìyà)
* 塞翁失馬 / 塞翁失马 (sàiwēngshīmǎ)
* 塞舌爾 / 塞舌尔 (Sàishé'ěr)
* 塞門 / 塞门
* 巴塞爾 / 巴塞尔 (Bāsài'ěr)
* 巴塞羅那 / 巴塞罗那 (Bāsàiluónà)
* 巴塞隆納 / 巴塞隆纳 (Bāsàilóngnà)
* 文姬入塞
* 昭君出塞
* 榆塞
* 款塞
* 玄塞
* 紫塞
* 絕塞 / 绝塞
* 要塞 (yàosài)
* 邊塞 / 边塞 (biānsài)
* 邊塞詩 / 边塞诗 (biānsàishī)
* 關塞 / 关塞 (guānsài)
* 阨塞
* 阿克塞 (Ākèsài)
* 阿克塞哈薩克族自治縣 / 阿克塞哈萨克族自治县 (Ākèsài Hāsàkèzú Zìzhìxiàn)
* 阿塞拜疆 (Āsàibàijiāng)
* 雞鹿塞 / 鸡鹿塞
* 麻薩諸塞 / 麻萨诸塞 (Másàzhūsài)

## Japanese
### Kanji

(Jōyō kanji)
* to block
* to shut off
* to close
* fort; fortress

#### Readings

* Go-on: そく (soku, Jōyō)、さい (sai, Jōyō)
* Kan-on: そく (soku, Jōyō)、さい (sai, Jōyō)
* Kun: ふさがる (fusagaru, 塞がる, Jōyō)、ふさぐ (fusagu, 塞ぐ, Jōyō)、みちる (michiru, 塞ちる)、とりで (toride, 塞)

#### Compounds

* 活塞(かっそく) (kassoku, “piston”)
* 城塞(じょうさい) (jōsai)
* 要塞(ようさい) (yōsai)

#### Idioms

* 塞(さい)翁(おう)が馬(うま) (sai ō ga uma, “The old man lost his horse”): "Good luck brings bad luck, and good luck brings bad luck"; "Luck is fickle"

## Korean
### Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 塞 (MC sojH).
* Recorded as Middle Korean ᄉᆡᆼ〮 (Yale: sóy) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
* Recorded as Middle Korean ᄉᆡ〮 (sóy) (Yale: sóy) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰɛ] ~ [sʰe̞]
* Phonetic hangul: [새/세]

#### Hanja

Wikisource 塞 (eumhun 변방(邊方) 새)
* hanja form of 새 (“frontier; border”)
* hanja form of 새 (“fortress”)

#### Compounds

* 새옹지마 (塞翁之馬, sae'ongjima)
* 요새 (要塞, yosae, “fortress”)
* 요새지 (要塞地, yosaeji)

### Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 塞 (MC sok).
* Recorded as Middle Korean 슥〮 (Yale: súk) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
* Recorded as Middle Korean ᄉᆡᆨ (soyk)$^訓$ (Yale: soyk) in Sinjeung Yuhap (新增類合 / 신증유합), 1576.

#### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [sʰɛk̚] ~ [sʰe̞k̚]
* Phonetic hangul: [색/섹]

#### Hanja

塞 (eumhun 막을 색 (mageul saek))
* hanja form of 색 (“block”)

#### Compounds

* 경색 (梗塞, gyeongsaek)
* 군색 (窘塞, gunsaek)
* 궁색 (窮塞, gungsaek, “poverty; destitution”)
* 어색 (語塞, eosaek)
* 질색 (窒塞, jilsaek)
* 폐색 (閉塞, pyesaek)

### References

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

## Vietnamese
### Han character

塞: Hán Nôm readings: tắc, tái
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.