麟

麟 U+9E9F, 麟 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9E9F ← 麞 [U+9E9E] CJK Unified Ideographs 麠 → [U+9EA0]

麟 U+F9F3, 麟 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F9F3 ← 鱗 [U+F9F2] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 林 → [U+F9F4]

Translingual

Han character

麟 (Kangxi radical 198, 鹿+12, 23 strokes, cangjie input 戈心火木手 (IPFDQ), four-corner 0925₉, composition ⿰鹿粦)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1511, character 20
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 47690
• Dae Jaweon: page 2040, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4735, character 20
• Unihan data for U+9E9F

• Unihan data for U+F9F3

Chinese

trad.		麟
simp. #		麟
alternative forms		麐

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 麟
Shang	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
潾	*rriːn, *rin
膦	*renʔ
憐	*riːn
燐	*rin, *rins
鄰	*rin
轔	*rin, *rins
嶙	*rin, *rinʔ
粼	*rin, *rins
磷	*rin, *rins
疄	*rin, *rins
麟	*rin
鱗	*rin
璘	*rin
翷	*rin
瞵	*rin, *rins
獜	*rin, *reːŋ
驎	*rin
鏻	*rin, *rins, *reːŋ
繗	*rin
僯	*rinʔ
橉	*rinʔ, *rins
撛	*rinʔ, *rins
遴	*rins
粦	*rins
甐	*rins

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *rin): semantic 鹿 (“deer”) + phonetic 粦 (OC *rins).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lín (lin²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): leon⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): lìn

  (Hailu, HRS): lin^ˇ

• Eastern Min (BUC): lìng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): ling²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lîn

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ling⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lín
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lín
    • Wade–Giles: lin²
    • Yale: lín
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lin
    • Palladius: линь (linʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lin³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: leon⁴
    • Yale: lèuhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: loen⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: lên⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɵn²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lìn
    • Hakka Romanization System: lin^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lin²
    • Sinological IPA: /lin¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: lin^ˇ
    • Sinological IPA: /lin¹¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: lìng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃iŋ⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ling²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: líng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liŋ¹³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lîn
    • Tâi-lô: lîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liin
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lin²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lin²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lin¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lin²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lin²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ling⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lîng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liŋ⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: lin

Rime
Character	麟
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	力珍切
Baxter	lin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/liɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/lin/
Shao Rongfen	/ljen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lin/
Li Rong	/liĕn/
Wang Li	/lĭĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/li̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lín
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lan4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*rin/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	麟
Reading #	1/1
No.	8201
Phonetic component	粦
Rime group	眞
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	㷠
Old Chinese	/*rin/

Definitions

麟

1. Used in 麒麟 (qílín, “qilin (propitious mythological beast)”); also used as its short form.

   • 麟之趾、振振公子。于嗟麟兮。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Lín zhī zhǐ, zhènzhèn gōngzǐ. Yú jiē lín xī. [Pinyin]

     The feet of the Lin: the noble sons of our prince. Ah! They are the Lin!

   1. (historical dictionaries only) female of qilin
2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) big deer
3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) Alternative form of 鱗 / 鳞 (lín, “scale and shell”)
4. Used in 麟麟 (línlín, “bright”).

Compounds

• 舞麒麟 (wǔqílín)
• 薩摩麟 / 萨摩麟
• 鳳毛麟角 / 凤毛麟角 (fèngmáo línjiǎo)
• 麒麟 (qílín)
• 麒麟座 (Qílínzuò)
• 麒麟菜 (qílíncài)
• 麟兒 / 麟儿 (lín'ér)
• 麟史 (Línshǐ)
• 麟子鳳雛 / 麟子凤雏
• 麟洛 (Línluò)
• 麟牒 (líndié)
• 麟經 / 麟经 (Línjīng)
• 麟臺 / 麟台 (líntái)
• 麟角 (línjiǎo)
• 麟角鳳毛 / 麟角凤毛 (línjiǎo fèngmáo)
• 麟趾 (línzhǐ)
• 麟閣 / 麟阁 (língé)
• 麟鳳 / 麟凤 (línfèng)
• 麟鳳龜龍 / 麟凤龟龙
• 麟麟 (línlín)

Japanese

Kanji

麟

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

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

Readings

• Go-on: りん (rin)
• Kan-on: りん (rin)

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 麟 (MC lin). Recorded as Middle Korean 린 (lin) (Yale: lin) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

麟 (eumhun 기린 린 (girin rin), word-initial (South Korea) 기린 인 (girin in))

1. hanja form^? of 린/인 (“giraffe; qilin”)

Compounds

• 기린 (麒麟, girin)
• 기린과 (麒麟科, girin'gwa)
• 기린아 (麒麟兒, girina)
• 인제 (麟蹄, Inje, “Inje County”)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

Vietnamese

Han character

麟: Hán Nôm readings: lân

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