豆蔻

Chinese

		bean; sacrificial vessel
trad. (豆蔻/荳蔻)		豆/荳	蔻
simp. (豆蔻)		豆	蔻
alternative forms		豆寇

Etymology

Perhaps a variant of Tang-dynasty 多骨 (MC ta kwot), referring to cardamom imported from the Kakkola (伽古羅) country on the western coast of the Malaya Peninsula, which the Chinese from the eighth century thought produced both the nutmegs and the round cardamom (Amomum compactum), the latter possibly imported from Java (Donkin, 2003).

Compare Sanskrit तक्कोल (takkola, “a kind of perfume”), कक्कोल (kakkola, “a kind of plant; a perfume”), Pali takkola, Arabic قاقُلَّة (qāqulla, “cardamom”), Tibetan ཀ་ཀོ་ལ (ka ko la, “cardamom”), Javanese kapulaga.

Li Shizhen interprets this word as a compound of 豆 (“bean(-like)”) + 蔻 (“many; profusion”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dòukòu

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄡˋ ㄎㄡˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): dau⁶ kau³
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): tāu-khò͘ / tō͘-khò͘

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dòukòu
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄡˋ ㄎㄡˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dòukòu
    • Wade–Giles: tou⁴-kʻou⁴
    • Yale: dòu-kòu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dowkow
    • Palladius: доукоу (doukou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /toʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ kʰoʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: dau⁶ kau³
    • Yale: dauh kau
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dau⁶ kau³
    • Guangdong Romanization: deo⁶ keo³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɐu̯²² kʰɐu̯³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāu-khò͘ / tō͘-khò͘
    • Tâi-lô: tāu-khòo / tōo-khòo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: dauxqox, doxqox
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tau²²⁻²¹ kʰɔ²¹/, /tɔ²²⁻²¹ kʰɔ²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tau⁴¹⁻²² kʰɔ⁴¹/, /tɔ⁴¹⁻²² kʰɔ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tau²²⁻²¹ kʰɔ²¹/, /tɔ²²⁻²¹ kʰɔ²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tau³³⁻¹¹ kʰɔ¹¹/, /tɔ³³⁻¹¹ kʰɔ¹¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tau³³⁻²¹ kʰɔ²¹/, /tɔ³³⁻²¹ kʰɔ²¹/

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• Middle Chinese: duwH xuwH

Rime
Character	豆	蔻
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	定 (7)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	侯 (137)	侯 (137)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	田候切	呼漏切
Baxter	duwH	xuwH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/dəuH/	/həuH/
Pan Wuyun	/dəuH/	/həuH/
Shao Rongfen	/dəuH/	/xəuH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dəwH/	/həwH/
Li Rong	/duH/	/xuH/
Wang Li	/dəuH/	/xəuH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/dʱə̯uH/	/xə̯uH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	dòu	hòu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	dau6	hau3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*doːs  qʰoːs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	豆	豆
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	dòu	dòu
Middle Chinese	‹ duwH ›	‹ duwH ›
Old Chinese	/*[N.t]ˁo-s/	/*[d]ˁok-s/
English	bean	vessel with a neck
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	豆	蔻
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	2466	7500
Phonetic component	豆	寇
Rime group	侯	侯
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime		蔻
Old Chinese	/*doːs/	/*qʰoːs/

Noun

豆蔻

1. cardamom, especially the round cardamom (Amomum compactum)
2. Alternative name for 肉豆蔻 (ròudòukòu, “nutmeg”).
3. (figurative) girl's teenage years (especially 13–14 years of age); maidenhood; budding beauty

Derived terms

• 小豆蔻 (xiǎodòukòu)
• 白豆蔻 (báidòukòu)
• 紅豆蔻 / 红豆蔻
• 肉豆蔻 (ròudòukòu)
• 草豆蔻
• 豆蔻年華 / 豆蔻年华 (dòukòuniánhuá)
• 豆蔻梢頭 / 豆蔻梢头
• 豆蔻酸