蚤

蚤 U+86A4, 蚤 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-86A4 ← 蚣 [U+86A3] CJK Unified Ideographs 蚥 → [U+86A5]

Translingual

Han character

蚤 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+4, 10 strokes, cangjie input 水戈中一戈 (EILMI), four-corner 1713₆, composition ⿱㕚虫(TJKV) or ⿱叉虫(G))

Derived characters

• 𠋺, 𠹏, 𢔳, 慅, 搔(掻), 溞, 𤠘, 𣉔, 㮻, 𤔢, 瑵, 𦞣, 糔, 𦃐, 𧎇, 𨃣, 𧒕, 騷(骚), 鰠(鳋)
• 㲧, 颾(𩙫), 𦻩, 𥰱, 𩮚, 鼜, 瘙

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1078, character 20
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32893
• Dae Jaweon: page 1547, character 19
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2836, character 3
• Unihan data for U+86A4

Chinese

trad.		蚤
simp. #		蚤

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 蚤
Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
蚤	*ʔsuːʔ
慅	*sʰuːʔ, *suː
騷	*suː
搔	*suː
鰠	*suː
溞	*suː
颾	*suː
瘙	*suːs
瑵	*ʔsruːʔ
糔	*suʔ
鼜	*sʰɯːwɢ

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 虫 (“insect”) + 㕚 (“claw”) – a scratching insect/pest.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zǎo (zao³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄗㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zou²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): cháu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): zao²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄗㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zǎo
    • Wade–Giles: tsao³
    • Yale: dzǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzao
    • Palladius: цзао (czao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɑʊ̯²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zou²
    • Yale: jóu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzou²
    • Guangdong Romanization: zou²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sou̯³⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: cháu
    • Tâi-lô: tsáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zao
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sau⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sau⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sau⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sau⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sau⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: zao²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsáu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sau⁵²/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsawX

Rime
Character	蚤
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	子晧切
Baxter	tsawX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sɑuX/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sɑuX/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sɑuX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sawX/
Li Rong	/t͡sɑuX/
Wang Li	/t͡sɑuX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡sɑuX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zǎo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zou2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*tsˤuʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsuːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	蚤
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zǎo
Middle Chinese	‹ tsawX ›
Old Chinese	/*tsˁuʔ/
English	flea
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	蚤
Reading #	1/1
No.	16552
Phonetic component	蚤
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	早
Old Chinese	/*ʔsuːʔ/

Definitions

蚤

1. flea
2. ^† Alternative form of 早

   • 蚤起，施從良人之所之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     蚤起，施从良人之所之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Zǎo qǐ, yí cóng liángrén zhī suǒ zhī. [Pinyin]

     Accordingly, she got up early in the morning, and privately followed wherever her husband went.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 跳蚤 (“flea”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		蚤
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		跳蚤
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	虼子, 跳蚤
	Taiwan	跳蚤
	Harbin	虼蚤, 虼子
	Olginsky (Mikhaylovka)	跳兒蚤, 跳子
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	虼蚤
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	虼蚤
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	虼蚤
	Xi'an	虼蚤
	Xining	虼蚤
	Xuzhou	虼子, 跳蚤
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	虼蚤
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	虼子
	Ürümqi	虼蚤
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	虼蚤
	Wuhan	虼蚤
	Guiyang	虼蚤, 跳蚤
	Guilin	跳蚤
	Liuzhou	跳蚤, 狗蝨
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	虼蚤
	Yangzhou	虼蚤
	Hefei	虼蚤
Cantonese	Guangzhou	狗蝨
	Hong Kong	跳蝨, 狗蝨
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	跳蚤
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	狗蝨
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	狗蝨
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	狗蝨
	Macau	狗蝨
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	狗蝨
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	狗蝨
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	狗蝨
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	狗蝨
	Foshan	狗蝨
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	狗蝨
	Foshan (Shunde)	狗蝨
	Foshan (Sanshui)	狗蝨
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	狗蝨
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	狗蝨
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	狗蝨
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	狗蝨
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	狗蝨
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	狗蝨
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	狗蝨
	Taishan	狗蝨
	Kaiping (Chikan)	狗蝨
	Enping (Niujiang)	狗蝨
	Heshan (Yayao)	狗蝨
	Dongguan	狗蝨
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	狗蝨
	Qingyuan	狗蝨
	Fogang	狗蝨
	Yingde (Hanguang)	狗蝨
	Yangshan	狗蝨
	Lianshan (Butian)	狗蝨
	Lianzhou (Qingshui; Sihui)	狗蝨
	Shaoguan	狗蝨
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	狗蝨
	Renhua	狗蝨
	Lechang	狗蝨
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	狗蝨, 沙蝨 small
	Sihui	狗蝨
	Guangning	狗蝨
	Deqing	狗蝨
	Huaiji	狗蝨
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	狗蝨
	Yunfu	狗蝨
	Xinxing	狗蝨
	Luoding	狗蝨
	Yunan (Pingtai)	狗蝨
	Yangjiang	狗蝨
	Xinyi	狗蝨
	Maoming (Xinpo)	狗蝨
	Lianjiang	狗蝨
	Nanning	跳蝨, 狗蝨
	Wuzhou	跳蝨, 狗蝨
	Yulin	狗蝨
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	狗蝨
	Guiping	狗蝨
	Mengshan (Xihe)	狗蝨
	Guigang (Nanjiang)	狗蝨
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	狗蝨
	Baise	狗蝨
	Bobai	狗蝨
	Lingshan	狗蝨
	Pubei	狗蝨
Qinzhou	狗蝨
Beihai	狗蝨
Ningming	狗蝨
Hengzhou	狗蝨
Hezhou (Pumen, Babu)	狗蝨
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	狗蝨
Gan	Nanchang	虼蚤
	Lichuan	跳蚤
	Pingxiang	狗蚤
Hakka	Meixian	狗蝨
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	狗蝨
	Huiyang	狗蝨
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	狗蝨
	Boluo (Bendihua)	狗蝨
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	狗蝨
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	狗蝨
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	狗蝨
	Longchuan (Tuocheng; Bendihua)	狗蝨
	Heping (Linzhai; Bendihua)	狗蝨
	Lianping (Longjie; Bendihua)	狗蝨
	Wengyuan	狗蝨
	Liannan	狗蝨
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	狗蝨
	Jiexi	狗蝨
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	狗蝨
	Changting	跳蚤
	Wuping (Yanqian)	狗蝨
	Wuping (Pingyu)	狗蝨
	Ninghua	跳蚤
	Yudu	狗蚤
	Ningdu	跳蚤
	Tonggu (Sandu)	狗蚤
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	狗蚤
	Dayu	狗蚤
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	跳蚤
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	跳蚤
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	跳蚤
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	跳蚤
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	跳蚤
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	蝨嫲
	Hong Kong	狗蝨
	Yangxi (Tangkou)	狗蝨
	Yangchun (Sanjia)	狗蝨
	Xinyi (Sihe)	狗蝨
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	狗蝨
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	狗蝨
	Maoming (Shalang, Dianbai)	狗蝨
	Huazhou (Xin'an)	狗蝨
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	狗蝨
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	狗蝨
	Mengshan (Xihe)	狗蝨
	Luchuan	狗蝨
	Senai (Huiyang)	狗蝨
Huizhou	Jixi	虼蚤
Jin	Taiyuan	虼蚤
Northern Min	Jian'ou	虼蚤
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	虼蚤
Southern Min	Xiamen	虼蚤
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	虼蚤
	Quanzhou	虼蚤
	Jinjiang	虼蚤
	Zhangzhou	虼蚤
	Taipei	虼蚤
	Kaohsiung	虼蚤
	Manila (Hokkien)	虼蚤, 狗蝨
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	狗蝨
	Chaozhou	虼蚤, 跳蚤
	Shantou	虼蚤, 跳蚤
	Shantou (Chenghai)	虼蚤
	Jieyang	虼蚤, 跳蚤
	Haifeng	虼蚤
	Bangkok (Teochew)	狗蝨
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	蝨
	Pontianak (Teochew)	跳蚤
	Leizhou	虼蚤
	Haikou	虼蚤
Puxian Min	Putian	虼蚤
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	虼蚤
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	虼蚤
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	虼蚤
	Xianyou	虼蚤
	Xianyou (Fengting)	虼蚤
	Xianyou (Youyang)	虼蚤
	Fuding (Aoyao)	虼蚤
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	狗蝨
Wu	Shanghai	蚤蝨, 跳蝨, 鑽佬
	Shanghai (Chongming)	跳蝨
	Suzhou	跳蝨
	Ningbo	跳蚤
	Wenzhou	跳蚤, 蚤
Xiang	Changsha	虼蚤, 狗蝨, 虼蚤子
	Loudi	狗子
	Shuangfeng	狗子
	Hengyang	狗蚤

Compounds

• 劍水蚤 / 剑水蚤 (jiànshuǐzǎo)
• 水蚤 (shuǐzǎo)
• 狗蚤
• 米蚤
• 花蚤
• 虼蚤 (gèzao)
• 蚤達 / 蚤达
• 跳蚤
• 跳蚤市場 / 跳蚤市场

 

Japanese

Kanji

蚤

(Hyōgai kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: そう (sō)
• Kan-on: そう (sō)
• Kun: のみ (nomi, 蚤)、はやい (hayai)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
蚤
のみ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

蚤 (nomi): an illustration of a flea.

Possibly derived from 飲み (nomi), the nominalized 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 飲む (nomu, “to drink”), from the way that fleas drink the host's blood.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) のみ [nòmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [no̞mʲi]

Noun

蚤(のみ) or 蚤(ノミ) • (nomi) 

1. flea (parasitic insect)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ノミ.

Derived terms

• 蚤(のみ)の市(いち) (nomi no ichi): a flea market
• 蚤(ノミ)の衾(フスマ) (nomi no fusuma)

Idioms

Idioms

• 蚤(のみ)が茶臼(ちゃうす) (nomi ga chausu): “[like] a flea [carrying] a tea mortar” → a metaphor for an unreasonable or infeasible hope

Korean

Hanja

蚤 (eum 조 (jo))

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Okinawan

Kanji

蚤

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. flea

Readings

• Kun: ぬみ (numi, 蚤)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
蚤
ぬみ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Cognate with Japanese 蚤 (nomi).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /numi/

Noun

蚤(ぬみ) (numi) 

1. flea

Vietnamese

Han character

蚤: Hán Nôm readings: tao

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.