# 獅

| 獅 | U+7345, &#29509; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7345 |
| ← 獄 [U+7344] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 獆 → [U+7346] |

## Translingual
### Han character

獅 (Kangxi radical 94, 犬+10, 13 strokes, cangjie input 大竹竹口月 (KHHRB), four-corner 4122$_7$, composition ⿰犭師)

#### Derived characters

* 𥵍

#### References

* Kangxi Dictionary: page 717, character 10
* Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20609
* Dae Jaweon: page 1128, character 25
* Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1363, character 4
* Unihan data for U+7345

## Chinese
### Glyph origin

| | Old Chinese |
| 篩 | *sreːl, *srel, *sri |
| 師 | *sri |
| 鰤 | *sri |
| 蒒 | *sri |
| 獅 | *sri |
| 螄 | *sri |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *sri): semantic 犭 (“dog; beast”) + phonetic 師 (OC *sri).

### Etymology

Originally written as 師. Earliest written attestations in the Eastern Han era include the Book of Han [before 111], the surviving portion of the Dongguan Hanji [c. 150], and Lokakṣema's translation of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā [179]. The term is possibly of Iranian origin. In the Book of Han, the lion was described as indigenous to the historical 烏弋山離 (OC *qaː lɯɡ sreːn rel, “Alexandria”), possibly Alexandria Prophthasia (Yu, 1998), which was part of the Parthian Empire at the time. The Dongguan mentions a lion as a gift from the Shule Kingdom in the year 133, where a Saka language was spoken then. Earlier definite dates associated with the lion mentioned in the Book of the Later Han include the year 87, when a gift lion from the Yuezhi was recorded.
Compare Proto-Iranian *cárguš (“lion”). Possibly related to 狻猊 (OC *sloːn ŋeː).
Meanwhile, Adams (2013) postulates possible Tocharian connections; cf. Tocharian B ṣecake and etymologies.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): shī (shi$^1$)
    (Zhuyin): ㄕ
* Cantonese
    (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): si$^1$
    (Taishan, Wiktionary): lhu$^1$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): sṳ̂
    (Hailu, HRS): sii$^ˋ$
* Jin (Wiktionary): si$^1$
* Northern Min (KCR): sú
* Eastern Min (BUC): săi
* Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): sai$^1$ / so$^1$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): sai / su / sir
    (Teochew, Peng'im): sai$^1$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^1$sy
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: shī
*** Zhuyin: ㄕ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: shih
*** Wade–Giles: shih$^1$
*** Yale: shr̄
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shy
*** Palladius: ши (ši)
*** Sinological IPA : /ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: si$^1$
*** Yale: sī
*** Cantonese Pinyin: si$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: xi$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /siː⁵⁵/
** (Taishanese, Taicheng)
*** Wiktionary: lhu$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /ɬu³³/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ̂
*** Hakka Romanization System: sii$^ˊ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: si$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /sɨ²⁴/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: sii$^ˋ$
*** Sinological IPA: /sɨ⁵³/
* Jin
** (Taiyuan)
*** Wiktionary: si$^1$
*** Sinological IPA (old-style): /sz̩¹¹/
* Northern Min
** (Jian'ou)
*** Kienning Colloquial Romanized: sú
*** Sinological IPA : /su⁵⁴/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: săi
*** Sinological IPA : /sai⁵⁵/
* Puxian Min
** (Putian, Xianyou)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: sai$^1$
*** Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: sai
*** Sinological IPA : /ɬai⁵³³/
** (Putian)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: so$^1$
*** Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: seo
*** Sinological IPA : /ɬo⁵³³/
** (Xianyou)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: so$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /ɬɵ⁵³³/
* sai1 - vernacular;
* so1 - literary.
* Dialectal data
| Variety | Location | edit獅 |
| Mandarin | Beijing | /ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Harbin | /ʂʐ̩⁴⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Tianjin | /sz̩²¹/ |
| Mandarin | Jinan | /ʂʐ̩²¹³/ |
| Mandarin | Qingdao | /ʂʐ̩²¹³/ |
| Mandarin | Zhengzhou | /ʂʐ̩²⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Xi'an | /sz̩²¹/ |
| Mandarin | Xining | /sz̩⁴⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Yinchuan | /ʂʐ̩⁴⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Lanzhou | /ʂʐ̩³¹/ |
| Mandarin | Ürümqi | /sz̩⁴⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Wuhan | /sz̩⁵⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Chengdu | /sz̩⁵⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Guiyang | /sz̩⁵⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Kunming | /sz̩⁴⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Nanjing | /sz̩³¹/ |
| Mandarin | Hefei | /sz̩²¹/ |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /sz̩¹¹/ |
| Jin | Pingyao | /sz̩¹³/ |
| Jin | Hohhot | /sz̩³¹/ |
| Wu | Shanghai | /sz̩⁵³/ |
| Wu | Suzhou | /sz̩⁵⁵/ |
| Wu | Hangzhou | /sz̩³³/ |
| Wu | Wenzhou | /sz̩³³/ |
| Hui | Shexian | /sz̩³¹/ |
| Hui | Tunxi | /sz̩¹¹/ |
| Xiang | Changsha | /sz̩³³/ |
| Xiang | Xiangtan | /sz̩³³/ |
| Gan | Nanchang | /sz̩⁴²/ |
| Hakka | Meixian | /sz̩⁴⁴/ |
| Hakka | Taoyuan | /sï²⁴/ |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /si⁵³/ |
| Cantonese | Nanning | /sz̩⁵⁵/ |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | /si⁵⁵/ |
| Min | Xiamen (Hokkien) | /su⁵⁵/ /sai⁵⁵/ |
| Min | Fuzhou (Eastern Min) | /sai⁴⁴/ |
| Min | Jian'ou (Northern Min) | /su⁵⁴/ |
| Min | Shantou (Teochew) | /sai³³/ |
| Min | Haikou (Hainanese) | /si²³/ |
* Middle Chinese: srij
Rime :
| Character | 獅 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 生 (21) |
| Final (韻) | 脂 (17) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | III |
| Fanqie | 疏夷切 |
| Baxter | srij |
| Reconstructions ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /ʃˠiɪ/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ʃᵚi/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ʃiɪ/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ʂji/ |
| Li Rong | /ʃji/ |
| Wang Li | /ʃi/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ʂi/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | shī |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | si$^1$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Zhengzhang): /*sri/
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 獅 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 11437 |
| Phonetic component | 師 |
| Rime group | 脂 |
| Rime subdivision | 2 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 師 |
| Old Chinese | /*sri/ |
| Notes | 古作師 |

### Definitions

獅
* lion

#### Synonyms

| Variety | Location | Words |
| Classical Chinese | Classical Chinese | 獅子, 獅 |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Beijing | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Ulanhot | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Tongliao | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Chifeng | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Hulunbuir (Hailar) | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Harbin | 獅子 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 獅子 |
| Jilu Mandarin | Jinan | 獅子 |
| Jiaoliao Mandarin | Yantai (Muping) | 獅子 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Wanrong | 獅子 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Zhengzhou | 獅子 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Xi'an | 獅子 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Xining | 獅子 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Xuzhou | 獅子 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan) | 獅子 |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Yinchuan | 獅子 |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Bayanhot | 獅子 |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Lanzhou | 獅子 |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Ürümqi | 獅子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Chengdu | 獅子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Chongqing | 獅子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Wuhan | 獅子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Guiyang | 獅子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Liuzhou | 獅子 |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Nanjing | 獅子 |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Yangzhou | 獅子 |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Hefei | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (Ting Kok) | 獅仔 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Macau | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Panyu) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Conghua) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Zengcheng) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Foshan | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Shunde) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Sanshui) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Zhongshan (Shiqi) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Zhuhai (Doumen) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Jiangmen (Baisha) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Jiangmen (Xinhui) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Taishan | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Kaiping (Chikan) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Enping (Niujiang) | 獅 |
| Cantonese | Heshan (Yayao) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Dongguan | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) | 獅 |
| Cantonese | Yangjiang | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Danzhou | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Singapore (Guangfu) | 獅子 |
| Cantonese | Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu) | 獅子 |
| Gan | Nanchang | 獅子 |
| Gan | Lichuan | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Xingning | 獅哩 |
| Hakka | Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua) | 獅 |
| Hakka | Dongguan (Qingxi) | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) | 獅子 |
| Hakka | Wuhua (Huacheng) | 獅哩 |
| Hakka | Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua) | 獅子 |
| Hakka | Jiexi | 獅 |
| Hakka | Luhe | 獅 |
| Hakka | Yudu | 獅子 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 獅 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 獅仔 |
| Hakka | Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 獅 |
| Hakka | Hong Kong | 獅子 |
| Hakka | Senai (Huiyang) | 獅子 |
| Huizhou | Jixi | 獅 |
| Jin | Taiyuan | 獅子 |
| Jin | Xinzhou | 獅子 |
| Jin | Taibus (Baochang) | 獅子 |
| Jin | Linhe | 獅子 |
| Jin | Jining | 獅子 |
| Jin | Hohhot | 獅子 |
| Jin | Baotou | 獅子 |
| Jin | Dongsheng | 獅子 |
| Jin | Haibowan | 獅子 |
| Northern Min | Jian'ou | 獅子 |
| Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 獅, 獅仔 |
| Southern Min | Quanzhou | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Zhangzhou | 獅, 獅仔 |
| Southern Min | Zhao'an | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Kaohsiung | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Yilan | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Changhua (Lukang) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Taichung | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Taichung (Wuqi) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Tainan | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Taitung | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Hsinchu | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Penghu (Magong) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Penang (Hokkien) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hokkien) | 獅, 獅仔 |
| Southern Min | Manila (Hokkien) | 獅, 獅仔 |
| Southern Min | Chaozhou | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Shantou | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Jieyang | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Bangkok (Teochew) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Johor Bahru (Teochew) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Teochew) | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Wenchang | 獅 |
| Southern Min | Haikou | 獅 |
| Puxian Min | Putian | 獅 |
| Puxian Min | Xianyou | 獅 |
| Central Min | Yong'an | 獅子 |
| Zhongshan Min | Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) | 獅子 |
| Southern Pinghua | Nanning (Tingzi) | 獅子 |
| Wu | Shanghai | 獅子 |
| Wu | Shanghai (Chongming) | 獅子 |
| Wu | Suzhou | 獅子 |
| Wu | Danyang | 獅子 |
| Wu | Hangzhou | 獅子 |
| Wu | Ningbo | 獅子 |
| Wu | Wenzhou | 獅子 |
| Wu | Jinhua | 獅子 |
| Xiang | Changsha | 獅子 |
| Xiang | Shuangfeng | 獅子 |
| Xiang | Hengyang | 獅子 |

### Compounds

* 人中獅子 / 人中狮子 (rén zhōng shīzi)
* 北獅 / 北狮 (běishī)
* 南獅 / 南狮 (nánshī)
* 好鼻獅 / 好鼻狮 (hó-phīⁿ-sai) (Min Nan)
* 小獅座 / 小狮座 (Xiǎoshīzuò)
* 弄獅 / 弄狮
* 河東獅吼 / 河东狮吼 (hédōng-shīhǒu)
* 河東獅子 / 河东狮子 (hédōngshīzi)
* 海獅 / 海狮 (hǎishī)
* 獅南 / 狮南 (Shīnán)
* 獅城 / 狮城 (Shīchéng)
* 獅子 / 狮子 (shīzi)
* 獅子口 / 狮子口 (Shīzikǒu)
* 獅子吼 / 狮子吼 (shīzihǒu)
* 獅子山 / 狮子山 (Shīzǐshān)
* 獅子座 / 狮子座 (Shīzizuò)
* 獅子搏兔 / 狮子搏兔
* 獅子會 / 狮子会
* 獅子狗 / 狮子狗 (shīzigǒu)
* 獅子頭 / 狮子头 (shīzitóu)
* 獅嶼 / 狮屿 (Shīyǔ)
* 獅潭 / 狮潭 (Shītán)
* 獅舞 / 狮舞
* 獅蠻 / 狮蛮 (shīmán)
* 獅鷲 / 狮鹫 (shījiù)
* 珞獅路 / 珞狮路 (Luòshīlù)
* 睡獅 / 睡狮
* 石獅子 / 石狮子 (shíshīzi)
* 舞獅 / 舞狮 (wǔshī)
* 蟻獅 / 蚁狮
* 雌獅 / 雌狮
* 風獅爺 / 风狮爷 (Fēngshīyé)

### Descendants

* → Japanese: 獅(し) (shi)
* → Korean: 사(獅) (sa)
* → Vietnamese: sư (獅)

### References

* Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A02534
* “獅”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
* “Entry #14529”, in 臺灣客語辭典 [Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka] (overall work in Chinese and Hakka), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2022.
* 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “狮”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 210.

## Japanese
### Kanji

(Jinmeiyō kanji)
* a lion

#### Readings

* Go-on: し (shi)
* Kan-on: し (shi)

### Etymology

From Middle Chinese 獅 (MC srij).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɕi]

### Noun

獅(し) • (shi)
* lion

#### Usage notes

Very rarely used on its own. The shishi reading is almost always spelled as 獅子.

## Korean
### Etymology

From Middle Chinese 獅 (MC srij). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄉᆞ (so) (Yale: so) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

### Hanja

Wikisource 獅 (eumhun 사자 사 (saja sa))
* hanja form of 사 (“lion”)

#### Compounds

* 사자 (獅子, saja)
* 사자무 (獅子舞, sajamu)
* 사자좌 (獅子座, sajajwa)

### 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

獅: Hán Việt readings: sư
獅: Nôm readings: sư
* chữ Hán form of sư (“lion”).

#### References

* ↑ Trần (1999).
* ↑ Nguyễn (1974).
* ↑ Thiều Chửu (1942).
* ↑ Nguyễn (2014).
* ↑ Trần (2004).
* ↑ Vũ (1998).