Translingual [ edit ]
Stroke order
Stroke order
Han character [ edit ]
多 (Kangxi radical 36, 夕 +3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 弓戈弓戈 (NINI ), four-corner 27207 , composition ⿱夕 夕 )
Derived characters [ edit ]
侈 , 𠀲 , 哆 , 垑 , 姼 , 㡅 , 恀 , 拸 , 陊 , 䏧 , 栘 , 㶴 , 迻 , 眵 , 移 , 䇋 , 蛥 , 袳 , 誃 , 趍 , 跢 , 䡔 , 𮠨 , 鉹 , 夥 , 䬷 , 夦 , 䮈 (𬳾 ), 黟 , 卶 , 㩼 , 夠 (够 ), 翗 , 夡 , 㷇 , 㚊 , 㚌 , 㚋 , 䫂 , 郺 , 㚍 , 㚉 , 奓 , 㝖 , 爹 , 𣆚 , 茤 , 㗬 , 袲 , 𭅚 , 㞔 , 㢁 , 扅 , 痑
Descendants [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Kangxi Dictionary: page 246 , character 11
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5756
Dae Jaweon: page 489, character 6
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 862, character 2
Unihan data for U+591A
Chinese [ edit ]
Glyph origin [ edit ]
Old Chinese
多
*ʔl'aːl
哆
*ʔl'aːlʔ, *ʔl'aːls, *ʔr'aːls, *hr'aːl, *l̥ʰjaːlʔ, *l̥ʰjalʔ, *l̥ʰjɯs
跢
*ʔl'aːls, *ʔl'aːds
痑
*ʔl'aːls, *l̥ʰaːl, *l̥ʰaːn
爹
*daːʔ, *tjaː
陊
*l'aːlʔ, *l'alʔ
橠
*naːlʔ
袲
*naːlʔ, *l̥ʰjalʔ, *lal
奓
*ʔr'aːl, *ʔr'aːls
栘
*ɦljeːl, *lal
黟
*ʔleːl, *ʔlil
趍
*sʰlo, *l'al
誃
*l'al, *l̥ʰjalʔ
簃
*l'al, *lal
眵
*ʔljjal, *l̥ʰjal
恀
*ʔljalʔ, *l̥ʰjalʔ, *ɦljalʔ
侈
*l̥ʰjalʔ
姼
*l̥ʰjalʔ, *ɦljal, *ɦljalʔ
鉹
*l̥ʰjalʔ, *lal
垑
*l̥ʰjalʔ
袳
*l̥ʰjalʔ
卶
*l̥ʰjals, *hljals
宜
*ŋral
誼
*ŋrals
竩
*ŋrals
移
*lal
迻
*lal
扅
*lal
拸
*lal, *lalʔ
熪
*lal
謻
*lal
蛥
*ɢljad
Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意 ) – two pieces of meat (肉 ). In the bronze script, 肉 was corrupted into 夕 due to visual similarity, making 多 into a duplication of 夕 . The form with 夕 was inherited in later scripts.
Chi (2010) suggests that meat is scarce in ancient times, so two pieces of meat is a lot, citing a passage from Mencius :
七十 者 可以 食 肉 矣 。 [MSC , trad. and simp. ] Qīshí zhě kěyǐ shí ròu yǐ. [Pinyin] Persons of seventy years may eat meat.
Chang Ping-chuan suggests that it is the duplicative nature of the character that gives the meaning of "many", just like in 林 (“forest”), from 木 (“tree; wood”).
Etymology 1 [ edit ]
Etymology unclear. Schuessler (2007) suggests that it is in the same word family as 諸 (OC *tjaː, *tja , “many; all”) and 庶 (OC *hljaɡs , “many”).
Hill (2014, 2019) compares it to Tibetan ཆེ ( che , “ big ” ) , མཐེ ་བོ ( mthe bo , “ thumb ” ) , Burmese တယ် ( tai , “ very ” ) . STEDT derives the latter two from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ta-j ( “ big ” ) , whose Chinese comparandum is 大 (OC *daːds , “large”) instead; Baxter (1992) has also compared it to this etymon.
Baxter and Sagart (1998) propose that there may be a prefix *t- in this word that gives a mass noun reading, which may nullify the connection to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ta-j ( “ big ” ) . However, Baxter and Sagart (2014) may have withdrawn from this theory since they no longer indicate the *t as a prefix.
Also compare Proto-Tai *ʰlaːjᴬ ( “ many, much ” ) , whence Thai หลาย ( lǎai , “ many ” ) and Zhuang lai ( “ many ” ) , and Proto-Hlai *hləːy ( “ many ” ) (Gong Qunhu, 2002 ; Schuessler, 2007 ; Baxter and Sagart, 2014 ). Schuessler (2007) considers the Chinese word to be from Kra-Dai , but others suggest that the direction of borrowing may have been the other way (Li, 1977 ; Baxter and Sagart, 1998 ; Norquest, 2007 ).
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Mandarin
(Standard )
(Pinyin ) : duō , duó (duo1 , duo2 )
(Zhuyin ) : ㄉㄨㄛ, ㄉㄨㄛˊ
(Chengdu , Sichuanese Pinyin ) : do1
(Dungan , Cyrillic and Wiktionary ) : дуә (duə, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou –Hong Kong , Jyutping ) : do1 , doe1
(Taishan , Wiktionary ) : o1
Gan (Wiktionary ) : do1
Hakka
(Sixian , PFS ) : tô
(Meixian , Guangdong ) : do1
Jin (Wiktionary ) : de1
Northern Min (KCR ) : duói / dó̤ / do̿
Eastern Min (BUC ) : dŏ̤
Southern Min
(Hokkien , POJ ) : to / to͘
(Teochew , Peng'im ) : do1
Wu (Wugniu )
Xiang (Changsha , Wiktionary ) : do1
Note : duó - colloquial variant (“so, how, what”).
Note : doe1 - colloquial variant (“few”).
Note :
duói - vernacular;
dó - literary;
do̿ - limited (e.g. 多謝 ).
Note :
(Suzhounese) 1 tou - literary;
(Suzhounese) 1 ta - vernacular.
Baxter –Sagart system 1.1 (2014 )
Character
多
Reading #
1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
duō
Middle Chinese
‹ ta ›
Old Chinese
/*[t.l]ˁaj/
English
many
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
多
Reading #
1/1
No.
2637
Phonetic component
多
Rime group
歌
Rime subdivision
1
Corresponding MC rime
多
Old Chinese
/*ʔl'aːl/
Notes
甲 金 文 從 二 肉 非 二 夕
Definitions [ edit ]
多
many ; much ; a lot of ; numerous
街上 有 很 多 人 。 ― Jiēshàng yǒu hěn duō rén. ― There is a lot of people in the street
Antonym: 少
( after an amount ) over ; and more; more than
兩 年 多 / 两 年 多 ― liǎng nián duō ― more than two years
( after an amount but before the classifier ) as much as
100 多 MB ― 100 duō MB ― as much as 100 MB
十 幾 多 年 / 十 几 多 年 [Cantonese ] ― sap6 gei2 do1 nin4 [Jyutping] ― so many decades
( before a classifier ) multiple
Antonym: 單 / 单
多 個 方面 / 多 个 方面 ― duō ge fāngmiàn ― multiple facets
( used in comparison structure 得多 , 多了 ) much more; a lot more; far more
他 比 我 高 得 多 。 ― Tā bǐ wǒ gāo de duō . ― He is a lot taller than I am.
病人 今天 好 多 了 。 [MSC , trad. and simp. ] Bìngrén jīntiān hǎo duō le. [Pinyin] The patient is much better today.
more
我 應該 多 運動 。 [MSC , trad. ] 我 应该 多 运动 。 [MSC , simp. ] Wǒ yīnggāi duō yùndòng. [Pinyin] I should exercise more .
冚 多 張 被 / 冚 多 张 被 [Cantonese ] ― kam2 do1 zoeng1 pei5 [Jyutping] ― put on one more blanket
今天 比 昨天 冷 ,得 多 穿 一 件 外套 。 [MSC , trad. and simp. ] Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng, děi duō chuān yī jiàn wàitào. [Pinyin] Today is colder than yesterday, so you have to put on one more jacket.
extra ; in excess
佢 真係 好 易 醉 ,飲 多 兩 杯 啤酒 就 冧 咗 喇 。 [Cantonese , trad. ] 佢 真系 好 易 醉 ,饮 多 两 杯 啤酒 就 冧 咗 喇 。 [Cantonese , simp. ] keoi5 zan1 hai6 hou2 ji6 zeoi3 , jam2 do1 loeng5 bui1 be1 zau2 zau6 lam3 zo2 laa3 . [Jyutping] He gets drunk really easily. He passed out after drinking a few extra glasses of beer.
( used in question ) how ; how much ; what
你 到 學校 要 走 多 遠 的 距離 ? [MSC , trad. ] 你 到 学校 要 走 多 远 的 距离 ? [MSC , simp. ] Nǐ dào xuéxiào yào zǒu duō yuǎn de jùlí? [Pinyin] How far do you have to walk to get to school?
你 多 高 ? ― Nǐ duō gāo? ― How tall are you?
( emphasis in exclamations ) so ; how ; what
看 她 多 漂亮 啊 ! ― Kàn tā duō piàoliàng a! ― Look how pretty she is!
她 戴 的 帽子 多 可愛 呀 ! [MSC , trad. ] 她 戴 的 帽子 多 可爱 呀 ! [MSC , simp. ] Tā dài de màozǐ duō kě'ài ya! [Pinyin] What an adorable hat she is wearing! / The hat she is wearing is so adorable!
to have a lot
to have more; to have too much; to have too many
他 買 了 四 張 票 ,多 了 一 張 。 [MSC , trad. ] 他 买 了 四 张 票 ,多 了 一 张 。 [MSC , simp. ] Tā mǎi le sì zhāng piào, duō le yī zhāng. [Pinyin] He bought four tickets, which was one too many.
屋企 多 咗 一 個 人 。 [Cantonese , trad. ] 屋企 多 咗 一 个 人 。 [Cantonese , simp. ] uk1 kei2 do1 zo2 jat1 go3 jan4 . [Jyutping] The household has a new member.
( Cantonese ) few ; little
咁多 多 [Cantonese ] ― gam3 doe1 doe1 [Jyutping] ― just this much (meaning “just very few”)
Usage notes [ edit ]
( over, more than ) : When the number is smaller or equal to 10, 多 can be put after the measure word. If it is bigger than ten, 多 has to be put before the measure word.
( more ) : In Mandarin, 多 is usually placed before the verb, but in Cantonese, it is usually placed after the verb.
Synonyms [ edit ]
Dialectal synonyms of
多 (“many; much”)
[map]
( after an amount ) : 幾 / 几 (jǐ ); ( Hokkien, Teochew ) 外
Dialectal synonyms of
多 (“how (to what degree)”)
[map]
Dialectal synonyms of
多麼 (“how; what; so; such”)
[map]
Variety
Location
Words
Classical Chinese
何等 , 何其 , 一何 , 何哉 , 何等也 , 何則
Formal (Written Standard Chinese )
多麼 , 何等 , 何其
Mandarin
Beijing
多麼 , 多
Taiwan
多麼 , 多
Jinan
多麼 , 多
Xi'an
多
Wuhan
幾 , 幾樣 , 好
Chengdu
好 , 多
Guilin
好
Yangzhou
多
Hefei
好
Malaysia
多
Singapore
多麼 , 多
Cantonese
Guangzhou
幾 , 幾咁
Hong Kong
幾 , 幾咁
Yangjiang
幾
Gan
Nanchang
幾
Hakka
Meixian
幾
Jin
Taiyuan
多麼 , 多來
Northern Min
Jian'ou
幾多
Eastern Min
Fuzhou
若夥 , 若
Southern Min
Xiamen
偌 , 偌爾仔 , 活 , 活欲
Quanzhou
偌 , 活 , 活欲
Zhangzhou
偌 , 偌爾仔 , 偌仔爾 , 活 , 活欲
Taipei
偌爾 , 偌仔爾
Kaohsiung
偌爾 , 偌仔爾
Penang (Hokkien)
偌
Singapore (Hokkien)
偌
Manila (Hokkien)
偌
Chaozhou
若
Singapore (Teochew)
若
Zhongshan Min
Shaxi (Longdu)
幾
Wu
Shanghai
多少 , 幾化
Suzhou
幾化
Wenzhou
幾倈 , 幾恁
Xiang
Changsha
幾 , 幾多 , 好
Shuangfeng
幾 , 好
Compounds [ edit ]
Descendants [ edit ]
Others :
Etymology 2 [ edit ]
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Southern Min
(Hokkien : Xiamen , Quanzhou , Jinjiang , Taipei , Lukang , Kinmen , Magong , Hsinchu , Philippines , Singapore )
(Hokkien : Zhangzhou , Kaohsiung , Tainan , Yilan , Taichung )
(Hokkien : Lukang )
(Hokkien : Sanxia )
(Teochew )
Definitions [ edit ]
多
( Southern Min ) Alternative form of 濟 / 济 ( “ many ” )
Etymology 3 [ edit ]
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Definitions [ edit ]
多
( Cantonese ) Short for 多士 (“toast ”).
奶油多 [Cantonese ] ― naai5 jau4 do1 [Jyutping] ― toast with condensed milk and butter
Japanese [ edit ]
多
(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji )
many , much
Readings [ edit ]
Compounds [ edit ]
多( た ) • (ta- )
multi-
多( た ) 言( げん ) 語( ご ) 辞( じ ) 書( しょ ) ta gengojishomulti lingual dictionary
多 (eumhun 많을 다 ( maneul da ) )
Hanja form? of 다 ( “ many , a lot of ” ) .
Compounds [ edit ]
다국적 (多國籍 , dagukjeok )
다구 (多口 , dagu )
다력 (多力 , daryeok )
다분 (多分 , dabun )
다세 (多勢 , dase )
다부 (多夫 , dabu )
다처 (多妻 , dacheo )
다행 (多幸 , dahaeng )
다사 (多思 , dasa )
다겁 (多怯 , dageop )
다수 (多數 , dasu )
다수결 (多數決 , dasugyeol )
다양 (多樣 , dayang )
다복 (多福 , dabok )
Okinawan [ edit ]
多
(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji )
Readings [ edit ]
Vietnamese [ edit ]
Han character [ edit ]
多 : Hán Nôm readings: đa , nhật
chữ Hán form of đa ( “ multi- , poly- ” ) .
Nôm form of đi ( “ to go , to walk ” ) .
Nôm form of đa ( “ banyan ” ) .
Nôm form of da ( “ banyan ” ) .
Nôm form of da ( “ skin ” ) .
Nôm form of đưa ( “ to hand , to give ” ) .