癌

癌 U+764C, 癌 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-764C ← 癋 [U+764B] CJK Unified Ideographs 癍 → [U+764D]

Translingual

Han character

癌 (Kangxi radical 104, 疒+12, 17 strokes, cangjie input 大口口山 (KRRU), four-corner 0017₂, composition ⿸疒嵒)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 781, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 22538
• Dae Jaweon: page 1190, character 23
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2697, character 4
• Unihan data for U+764C

Chinese

simp. and trad.		癌

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声) : semantic 疒 + phonetic 嵒 (OC *ŋrɯːm, *ŋjab); 嵒 / 岩 (yán) is a variant of 岩 (yán).

Etymology

From 岩 (yán, “cliff; rock, stone”), since some cancers present as lumps or outgrowths on the body.

In Mandarin, this character used to be pronounced identically as 岩 (yán). Its pronunciation was changed to ái in December 1962 to avoid the homophony between 癌 (yán, “cancer”) and 炎 (yán, “inflammation”) (compare 肺炎 (fèiyán, “pneumonia”) and 肺癌 (fèi'ái, “lung cancer”)). The new pronunciation ái stems from dialectal pronunciations of 岩 (“rock; cliff”) /ŋai/, influenced by 崖 (yá, yái, “cliff”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): ái, yán

  (Zhuyin): ㄞˊ, ㄧㄢˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ngai²

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): ngaam⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): ngam³

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): ngàm

  (Meixian, Guangdong): ngam²

• Jin (Wiktionary): ghai¹
• Northern Min (KCR): ngâng
• Eastern Min (BUC): ngàng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): gâm

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ngam⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶nge

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland and Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: ái
    • Zhuyin: ㄞˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ái
    • Wade–Giles: ai²
    • Yale: ái
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: air
    • Palladius: ай (aj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀaɪ̯³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, variant in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yán
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yán
    • Wade–Giles: yen²
    • Yale: yán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yan
    • Palladius: янь (janʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ngai²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ngai
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋai²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ngaam⁴
    • Yale: ngàahm
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngaam⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngam⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaːm²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: ngam³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ᵑɡam²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngàm
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngam^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngam²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋam¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: ngam²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋam¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: ghai¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɣai¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ngâng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaŋ³³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ngàng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an, Yongchun, Changtai, Zhangpu, General Taiwanese, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gâm
    • Tâi-lô: gâm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gaam
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an, Yongchun, Changtai, Taipei, Philippines): /ɡam²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡam²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡam¹³/
    • IPA (Zhangpu): /ɡam²¹³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ngam⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ngâm
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋam⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶nge
    • MiniDict: nge^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³nge
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ŋe²³/

Definitions

癌

1. cancer; carcinoma

   癌症  ―  áizhèng  ―  cancer

   致癌  ―  zhì'ái  ―  to cause cancer

   肺癌  ―  fèi'ái  ―  lung cancer

   直男癌  ―  zhínán'ái  ―  male chauvinism (literally, “straight men's cancer”)

Compounds

• 乳癌 (rǔ'ái)
• 乳腺癌 (rǔxiàn'ái)
• 前列腺癌 (qiánlièxiàn'ái)
• 卵巢癌 (luǎncháo'ái)
• 口腔癌 (kǒuqiāng'ái)
• 喉癌 (hóu'ái)
• 大腸癌 / 大肠癌 (dàcháng'ái)
• 子宮癌 / 子宫癌 (zǐgōng'ái)
• 子宮頸癌 / 子宫颈癌 (zǐgōngjǐng'ái)
• 宮頸癌 / 宫颈癌 (gōngjǐng'ái)
• 患癌 (huàn'ái)
• 抗癌 (kàng'ái)
• 淋巴癌 (línbā'ái)
• 癌症 (áizhèng)
• 癌瘤 (áiliú)
• 癌細胞 / 癌细胞 (áixìbāo)
• 癌腫 / 癌肿 (áizhǒng)
• 癌變 / 癌变 (áibiàn)
• 皮膚癌 / 皮肤癌 (pífū'ái)
• 直男癌 (zhínán'ái)
• 直腸癌 / 直肠癌 (zhícháng'ái)
• 肝癌 (gān'ái)
• 肺癌 (fèi'ái)
• 胃癌 (wèi'ái)
• 胰腺癌 (yíxiàn'ái)
• 腎癌 / 肾癌 (shèn'ái)
• 腎臟癌 / 肾脏癌 (shènzàng'ái)
• 腸癌 / 肠癌 (cháng'ái)
• 腺癌 (xiàn'ái)
• 腦癌 / 脑癌 (nǎo'ái)
• 膀胱癌 (pángguāng'ái)
• 致癌 (zhì'ái)
• 血癌 (xuè'ái)
• 防癌 (fáng'ái)
• 食道癌 (shídào'ái)
• 骨癌 (gǔ'ái)
• 鼻咽癌 (bíyān'ái)

 

References

• “癌”, 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–
• 普通話異讀詞審音表初稿(第三編) [Third List of Pronunciation Standards for Words with Multiple Readings in Putonghua, Draft] (in Chinese), 文字改革 [Script Reform], Issue 85, December 1962, page 1

Japanese

Kanji

癌

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. cancer

Readings

• Go-on: げん (gen)
• Kan-on: がん (gan)

Compounds

Compounds

• 胃(い)癌(がん) (igan): stomach cancer
• 咽(いん)頭(とう)癌(がん) (intōgan)
• 癌(がん)遺(い)伝(でん)子(し) (gan'idenshi)
• 癌(がん)ウイルス (gan'uirusu)
• 癌(がん)化(か) (ganka)
• 癌(がん)細(さい)胞(ぼう) (gansaibō)
• 肝(かん)細(さい)胞(ぼう)癌(がん) (kansaibōgan)
• 癌(がん)腫(しゅ) (ganshu): carcinoma
• 肝(かん)臓(ぞう)癌(がん) (kanzōgan)
• 癌(がん)抑(よく)制(せい)遺(い)伝(でん)子(し) (gan'yokuseīdenshi)
• 結(けっ)腸(ちょう)癌(がん) (ketchōgan)
• 抗(こう)癌(がん)剤(ざい) (kōganzai)
• 口(こう)腔(くう)癌(がん) (kōkūgan)
• 甲(こう)状(じょう)腺(せん)癌(がん) (kōjōsengan)
• 硬(こう)性(せい)癌(がん) (kōseigan)
• 喉(こう)頭(とう)癌(がん) (kōtōgan)
• 子(し)宮(きゅう)癌(がん) (shikyūgan)
• 子(し)宮(きゅう)頸(けい)癌(がん) (shikyūkeigan): cervical cancer
• 子(し)宮(きゅう)体(たい)癌(がん) (shikyūtaigan)
• 小(しょう)児(に)癌(がん) (shōnigan)
• 食(しょく)道(どう)癌(がん) (shokudōgan): esophageal cancer
• 腎(じん)臓(ぞう)癌(がん) (jinzōgan)
• 水(すい)癌(がん) (suigan): noma
• 膵(すい)臓(ぞう)癌(がん) (suizōgan)
• 制(せい)癌(がん)剤(ざい) (seiganzai)
• 制(せい)癌(がん)物(ぶっ)質(しつ) (seiganbusshitsu)
• 舌(ぜつ)癌(がん) (zetsugan)
• 腺(せん)癌(がん) (sengan): adenocarcinoma
• 前(ぜん)癌(がん)状(じょう)態(たい) (zenganjōtai)
• 前(ぜん)立(りつ)腺(せん)癌(がん) (zenritsusengan)
• 早(そう)期(き)癌(がん) (sōkigan)
• タール癌(がん) (tārugan)
• 大(だい)腸(ちょう)癌(がん) (daichōgan)
• 胆(たん)管(かん)癌(がん) (tankangan)
• 胆(たん)囊(のう)癌(がん) (tannōgan)
• 腸(ちょう)癌(がん) (chōgan)
• 直(ちょく)腸(ちょう)癌(がん) (chokuchōgan)
• 乳(にゅう)癌(がん) (nyūgan): breast cancer
• 粘(ねん)膜(まく)内(ない)癌(がん) (nenmakunaigan)
• 肺(はい)癌(がん) (haigan): lung cancer
• 発(はつ)癌(がん) (hatsugan): carcinogenesis
• 皮(ひ)膚(ふ)癌(がん) (hifugan): skin cancer
• 扁(へん)平(ぺい)上(じょう)皮(ひ)癌(がん) (henpeijōhigan)
• 膀(ぼう)胱(こう)癌(がん) (bōkōgan): bladder cancer
• 未(み)分(ぶん)化(か)癌(がん) (mibunkagan)
• 卵(らん)巣(そう)癌(がん) (ransōgan)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
癌
がん Hyōgai
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 癌.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) がん [gáꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡã̠ɴ]

Noun

癌(がん) or 癌(ガン) • (gan) 

1. (medicine, oncology, pathology) cancer

   彼(かれ)の祖(そ)母(ぼ)は癌(がん)で死(し)んだ。

   Kare no sobo wa gan de shinda.

   His grandmother died of cancer.

   • 1997 September 1 [1996 October 10], Fujiko F. Fujio, “くたばれ評(ひょう)論(ろん)家(か)　の巻(まき) [The Drop-Dead Critic]”, in エスパー魔美 [Esper Mami], 4th edition, volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 151:

     え？剣(つるぎ)鋭(えい)介(すけ)がガン⁉

     E? Tsurugi Eisuke ga gan⁉

     What? Eisuke Tsurugi has cancer!?

     文(ぶん)化(か)部(ぶ)の立(たち)原(はら)さんにきいたの、再(さい)発(はつ)ですって。ガン細(さい)胞(ぼう)があちこち転(てん)移(い)してて、こんどはダメだろうと………

     Bunkabu no Tachihara-san ni kiita no, saihatsu desu tte. Gan saibō ga achi kochi ten'i shite te, kondo wa dame darō to………

     I heard that from Mr. Tachihara of the Department of Culture, sounds like it’s a recurrence. The cancer cells have been spreading, seems like there’s not much hope this time around...

2. (figurative) cancer

   中(ちゅう)央(おう)集(しゅう)権(けん)体(たい)制(せい)は社(しゃ)会(かい)の癌(がん)になっている。

   Chūō shūken taisei wa shakai no gan ni natte iru.

   The centralized administrative system has become a cancer of society.

Usage notes

• This term is often spelled in katakana, especially in medical contexts, as ガン.

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 癌.

Hanja

Wikisource

癌 (eumhun 암 암 (am am))

1. hanja form^? of 암 (“cancer”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 뇌암 (腦癌, noeam)
• 설암 (舌癌, seoram)
• 수암 (水癌, suam)
• 암유 (癌乳, amyu)
• 암종 (癌腫, amjong)
• 간암 (肝癌, ganam)
• 위암 (胃癌, wiam)
• 폐암 (肺癌, pyeam)
• 발암 (發癌, baram)
• 항암 (抗癌, hang'am)
• 암적 (癌的, amjeok)
• 췌암 (膵癌, chweam)
• 유방암 (乳房癌, yubang'am)
• 대장암 (大腸癌, daejang'am)
• 피부암 (皮膚癌, pibuam)
• 암세포 (癌細胞, amsepo)
• 자궁암 (子宮癌, jagung'am)
• 후두암 (喉頭癌, huduam)
• 항암제 (抗癌劑, hang'amje)
• 방광암 (膀胱癌, banggwang'am)
• 직장암 (直腸癌, jikjang'am)
• 폐장암 (肺臟癌, pyejang'am)
• 궤양암 (潰瘍癌, gweyang'am)
• 발암물질 (發癌物質, barammuljil)

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

癌: Hán Việt readings: nham
癌: Nôm readings: nham

1. chữ Hán form of nham (“cancer, mainly in compounds”).