三

See also: Ξ, ≡, ミ, 叁, 彡, and 丰
三 U+4E09, 三
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E09
← 丈
[U+4E08] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 上 →
[U+4E0A]
㈢ U+3222, ㈢
PARENTHESIZED IDEOGRAPH THREE
← ㈡
[U+3221] 		Enclosed CJK Letters and Months ㈣ →
[U+3223]
㊂ U+3282, ㊂
CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH THREE
← ㊁
[U+3281] 		Enclosed CJK Letters and Months ㊃ →
[U+3283]

Translingual
Stroke order
3 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

三 (Kangxi radical 1, 一+2, 3 strokes, cangjie input 一一一 (MMM), four-corner 10101, composition ⿱一二 or ⿱𠄟一)

  1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №4

Derived characters

Descendants

References
  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 76, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 12
  • Dae Jaweon: page 138, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 4, character 3
  • Unihan data for U+4E09

Further reading

Wikisource

Chinese
simp. and trad.
 三
alternative forms 叄／叁／參／参 financial
𠫰／𠬅／𠬄 less used
弎
𢦘

Glyph origin
Historical forms of the character 三
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Ancient script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script

j00545

j00546

j00547

j00548

j00549

j00550

j00551

j00552

j00553

j00554

Bronze inscriptions

b00355

b00356

b00357

b00358

b00359

b00360

b00361

b00362

b00363

b00364

b00365

b00366

b00367

b00368

b00369

b00370

b00371

b00372

b00373

b00374

b00375

Small seal script

s00097

Transcribed ancient scripts

L12758

L12759

L12760

L12761

L12762

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (三) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
三 *suːm, *suːms
弎 *suːm

Ideogram (指事) - three parallel strokes. Compare with 一, one stroke meaning “one”, 二, two strokes meaning “two”, and 亖, four strokes meaning “four”. Triplication of 一 (“one”).

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-sum.

Pronunciation 1

Note: sānr - (1) "the other woman; the other man", (2) "rfdef".
Note:
  • saⁿ - vernacular;
  • sam - literary.
    Note:
    • san1 - vernacular;
    • sam1 - literary.
      • Wu
        • (Shanghai, Suzhou)
          • Wugniu: 1se
          • MiniDict: se平
          • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): 1se
          • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /se⁵³/
          • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /se⁴⁴/
      • Xiang
        • (Changsha)
          • Wiktionary: san1
          • Sinological IPA (key): /san³³/
Rime
Character 三
Reading # 1/2
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 談 (143)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 蘇甘切
Baxter sam
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /sɑm/
Pan
Wuyun		 /sɑm/
Shao
Rongfen		 /sɑm/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /sam/
Li
Rong		 /sɑm/
Wang
Li		 /sɑm/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /sɑm/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 sān
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex		 saam1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 三
Reading # 1/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 sān
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ sam ›
Old
Chinese		 /*s.rum/ (*s.r- > s-; infl. by 四 *s-?)
English three

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 三
Reading # 1/2
No. 10963
Phonetic
component		 三
Rime
group		 侵
Rime
subdivision		 3
Corresponding
MC rime		 三
Old
Chinese		 /*suːm/

Definitions

三

  1. three
  2. (Mainland China, slang, neologism) the other woman; the other man
  3. (Mainland China, slang, neologism) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
  4. a surname
See also
Chinese numbers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 102 103 104 106 108 1012
Normal
(小寫／小写)		 〇, 零, 空 一, 蜀 二, 兩／两 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 千 萬／万,
十千 (Malaysia, Singapore)		 百萬／百万,
桶(Philippines),
面桶 (Philippines)		 億／亿 兆 (Taiwan)
萬億／万亿 (Mainland China)
Financial
(大寫／大写)		 零 壹 貳／贰 參／叁 肆 伍 陸／陆 柒 捌 玖 拾 佰 仟
Playing cards in Mandarin · 撲克牌／扑克牌 (pūkèpái) (layout · text)
尖兒／尖儿 (jiānr) 二 (èr) 三 (sān) 四 (sì) 五 (wǔ) 六 (liù) 七 (qī)
八 (bā) 九 (jiǔ) 十 (shí) 鉤兒／钩儿 (gōur) 圈兒／圈儿 (quānr), 皮蛋 (pídàn, regional) K 小王 (xiǎowáng, black), 大王 (red),
小鬼 (xiǎoguǐ, black), 大鬼 (dàguǐ, red)

Compounds

Descendants
Sino-Xenic (三):
  • → Japanese: 三(さん) (san)
  • → Korean: 삼(三) (sam)
  • → Vietnamese: tam (三)

Others:

Pronunciation 2

Rime
Character 三
Reading # 2/2
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 談 (143)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 蘇暫切
Baxter samH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /sɑmH/
Pan
Wuyun		 /sɑmH/
Shao
Rongfen		 /sɑmH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /samH/
Li
Rong		 /sɑmH/
Wang
Li		 /sɑmH/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /sɑmH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 sàn
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex		 saam3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 三
Reading # 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 sān
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ samH ›
Old
Chinese		 /*s.r[u]m-s/ (*s.r- > *s-, infl. by 四 *s-?)
English three times

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 三
Reading # 2/2
No. 10965
Phonetic
component		 三
Rime
group		 侵
Rime
subdivision		 3
Corresponding
MC rime		 三
Old
Chinese		 /*suːms/

Definitions

三 (obsolete)

  1. repeatedly; thrice
    三思  ―  sānsī  ―  to think carefully

Compounds
  • 三復／三复
  • 三復斯言／三复斯言
  • 三復白圭／三复白圭
  • 三思
  • 三思而行
  • 三思臺／三思台

References

Japanese

Kanji
三

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

  1. three

Readings

Compounds
Compounds

Alternative forms
  • (Financial/formal form): 参

Etymology 1
Japanese cardinal numbers
 <  2 3 4  > 
    Cardinal : 三
Kanji in this term
三
さん
Grade: 1
on’yomi

*/sam/ → /samu/ → /saɴ/

From Middle Chinese 三 (MC sam|samH). Compare modern Mandarin 三 (sān).

In Old Japanese, this kanji was used phonetically to transcribe さむ (samu).

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) さん [sàń] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • IPA(key): [sã̠ɴ]
  • Audio(file)

Numeral

三(さん) • (san) 

  1. three, 3
    Synonym: スリー (surī)
  2. third
Derived terms
Derived terms

Etymology 2
Kanji in this term
三
さん
Grade: 1
on’yomi

Borrowing from Chinese 三 (sān), with the pitch accent different from etymology 1. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

Numeral

三(サン) • (san) 

  1. three
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Derived terms
  • 三(サン)索(ソウ) (sansō, “three bamboo”, mahjong tile)
  • 三(サン)板(パン) (sanpan, “sampan”)
  • 三(サン)筒(ピン) (sanpin, “three circle”, mahjong tile)
  • 三(サン)萬(ワン) (sanwan, “three wan”, mahjong tile)

Etymology 3
Kanji in this term
三
み
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

⟨mi1⟩ → /mi/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *mi.

Likely an apophonic form of 六 (mu, “six”), compare 四 (yo, “four”) with 八 (ya, “eight”). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

Numeral

三(み) • (mi) 

  1. three
    一(ひ)、二(ふ)、三(み)、四(よ)、[…]
    hi, fu, mi, yo,[…]
    one, two, three, four, […]
Derived terms
Derived terms

Etymology 4
Kanji in this term
三
みい
Grade: 1
irregular

/mi/ → /miː/

Shift from mi above.[1]

Pronunciation

Numeral

三(みい) • (mī) 

  1. (colloquial) three
    一(ひい)、二(ふう)、三(みい)、四(よお)、五(いつ)、六(むう)、七(なあ)、八(やあ)、九(こお)、十(とお)
    hī, fū, mī, yō, itsu, mū, nā, yā, kō, tō
    one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Coordinate terms
Japanese numbers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Regular 零(れい) (rei)
零(ゼロ) (zero)		 一(いち) (ichi) 二(に) (ni) 三(さん) (san) 四(よん) (yon)
四(し) (shi)		 五(ご) (go) 六(ろく) (roku) 七(なな) (nana)
七(しち) (shichi)		 八(はち) (hachi) 九(きゅう) (kyū)
九(く) (ku)		 十(じゅう) (jū)
Formal 壱(いち) (ichi) 弐(に) (ni) 参(さん) (san) 拾(じゅう) (jū)
90 100 300 600 800 1,000 3,000 8,000 10,000 100,000,000
Regular 九(きゅう)十(じゅう) (kyūjū) 百(ひゃく) (hyaku)
一(いっ)百(ぴゃく) (ippyaku)		 三(さん)百(びゃく) (sanbyaku) 六(ろっ)百(ぴゃく) (roppyaku) 八(はっ)百(ぴゃく) (happyaku) 千(せん) (sen)
一(いっ)千(せん) (issen)		 三(さん)千(ぜん) (sanzen) 八(はっ)千(せん) (hassen) 一(いち)万(まん) (ichiman) 一(いち)億(おく) (ichioku)
Formal 一(いち)萬(まん) (ichiman)
1012 8×1012 1013 1016 6×1016 8×1016 1017 1018
一(いっ)兆(ちょう) (itchō) 八(はっ)兆(ちょう) (hatchō) 十(じゅっ)兆(ちょう) (jutchō) 一(いっ)京(けい) (ikkei) 六(ろっ)京(けい) (rokkei) 八(はっ)京(けい) (hakkei) 十(じゅっ)京(けい) (jukkei) 百(ひゃっ)京(けい) (hyakkei)

References
  1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology
Korean numbers (edit)
30
 ←  2 3 4  → 
    Native isol.: 셋 (set)
    Native attr.: 세 (se), (dated) 석 (seok), (archaic) 서 (seo)
    Sino-Korean: 삼 (sam)
    Hanja: 三
    Ordinal: 셋째 (setjjae)

From Middle Chinese 三 (MC sam).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448삼 (Yale: sàm)
Middle Korean
TextEumhun
Gloss (hun)Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527석〯 (Yale: sěk)삼 (Yale: sàm)

Pronunciation

Hanja

Wikisource 三 (eumhun 셋 삼 (set sam))

  1. Hanja form? of 삼 (“three”).

Compounds
Compounds

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

Vietnamese

Han character

三: Hán Việt readings: tam (蘇(tô)甘(cam)切(thiết))[1][2][3][4]
三: Nôm readings: tam[1][2][3][4][5][6], ba[1], tám[5]

  1. chữ Hán form of tam (“three”).

Compounds
Compounds

References
  1. Nguyễn (2014).
  2. Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  3. Trần (2004).
  4. Bonet (1899).
  5. Génibrel (1898).
  6. Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).
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