# 單于
## Chinese

* 單于 (Written Standard Chinese)
* 單于 (Cantonese)

### Etymology

From Xiongnu. Earliest extant attestations of this title (reconstructed as *darƣʷa) are in Chinese language inscriptions found in ruins of Xiongnu's capital 龍城／龙城 (Lóngchéng), in modern Mongolia.
Cognate with Mongolian ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (darug-a) / дарга (darga, “chief; head; governor”), Persian داروغه (dâruğe, “governor”), Old Turkic 𐱃𐰺𐰴𐰣 (tarqan, “commander”).
Related to 答剌罕 (dálàhǎn, “tarkhan”), 達魯噶／达鲁噶 (“darugha”), 達魯花赤／达鲁花赤 (“darughachi”).

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): chányú
    (Zhuyin): ㄔㄢˊ ㄩˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): sim$^4$ jyu$^4$ / sin$^4$ jyu$^4$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): siân-û / siân-u / siân-î
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: chányú
*** Zhuyin: ㄔㄢˊ ㄩˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: chányú
*** Wade–Giles: chʻan$^2$-yü$^2$
*** Yale: chán-yú
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: charnyu
*** Palladius: чаньюй (čanʹjuj)
*** Sinological IPA : /ʈ͡ʂʰän³⁵ y³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: sim$^4$ jyu$^4$ / sin$^4$ jyu$^4$
*** Yale: sìhm yùh / sìhn yùh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: sim$^4$ jy$^4$ / sin$^4$ jy$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: xim$^4$ yu$^4$ / xin$^4$ yu$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /siːm²¹ jyː²¹/, /siːn²¹ jyː²¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siân-û
*** Tâi-lô: siân-û
*** Phofsit Daibuun: sien'uu
*** IPA (Xiamen): /siɛn²⁴⁻²² u²⁴/
** (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siân-u
*** Tâi-lô: siân-u
*** Phofsit Daibuun: sien'w
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /siɛn²⁴⁻²² u³³/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siân-î
*** Tâi-lô: siân-î
*** Phofsit Daibuun: sien'ii
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /siɛn¹³⁻²² i¹³/
* Middle Chinese: dzyen hju
Rime :
| Character | 單 | 于 |
| Reading # | 2/4 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 常 (25) | 云 (35) |
| Final (韻) | 仙 (77) | 虞 (24) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Closed |
| Division (等) | III | III |
| Fanqie | 市連切 | 羽俱切 |
| Baxter | dzyen | hju |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /d͡ʑiᴇn/ | /ɦɨo/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /d͡ʑiɛn/ | /ɦio/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /d͡ʑjæn/ | /ɣio/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /d͡ʑian/ | /ɦuə̆/ |
| Li Rong | /ʑiɛn/ | /ɣio/ |
| Wang Li | /ʑĭɛn/ | /ɣĭu/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʑi̯ɛn/ | /i̯u/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | chán | yú |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | sin$^4$ | jyu$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*dar ɦʷa/
    (Zhengzhang): /*djan ɢʷa/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 單 | 于 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | chán | yú |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ dzyen › | ‹ hju › |
| Old Chinese | /*dar/ (< *[d]ar) | /*ɦʷa/ (< *ɢʷ(r)a) |
| English | 單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn) | 單于 chányú: Xiōngnú ruler (W. Hàn) |
| 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 | 單 | 于 |
| Reading # | 2/4 | 1/1 |
| No. | 2027 | 15706 |
| Phonetic component | 單 | 于 |
| Rime group | 元 | 魚 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 鋋 | 于 |
| Old Chinese | /*djan/ | /*ɢʷa/ |
| Notes | | 王筠雲籲初文 |

### Noun

單于
* (historical) chanyu (a supreme ruler of one or more nomadic tribes of Inner Asian peoples, at some point between the 4th century BCE and the 4th century CE; most notably a ruler of the Xiongnu)
    From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
    Yúshì Xiōngnú guìrén dàchén jiē fú, yǐ Mòdùn chányú wéi xián. [Pinyin]
    Therefore, all Xiongnu nobles and high officials were won over and considered Modun chanyu to be worthy.

### Proper noun

單于
* a surname, Chanyu

### References

* ↑ Vovin, A. (2020). “Two Newly Found Xiōng-nú Inscriptions and Their Significance for the Early Linguistic History of Central Asia”, International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2(2), 315-322. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/25898833-12340036

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 單 | 于 |
| ぜん Jinmeiyō | う Hyōgai |
| goon | on'yomi |
Kanji in this term :
| 單 | 于 |
| せん Jinmeiyō | う Hyōgai |
| kan'on | on'yomi |

### Noun

單(ぜん)于(う) or 單(せん)于(う) • (zen'u or sen'u)
* Kyūjitai form of 単于 (“chanyu”)

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 單 | 于 |

### Noun

單于 • (seonu) (hangeul 선우)
* hanja form of 선우 (“chanyu”)

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 單 | 于 |

### Noun

單于
* chữ Hán form of thiền vu (“chanyu”).