亥

亥 (Kangxi radical 8, 亠+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 卜女竹人 (YVHO), four-corner 0080₂, composition ⿳亠𠂈人 or ⿱丶𠀔)

• 侅 咳 垓 姟 孩 峐 㤥 㧡 晐 核 烗 畡 䀭 硋 絯(𰬓) 胲 該(该) 豥 賅(赅) 䠹 輆(𬨇) 䤤(𫟺) 陔 䬵 駭(骇) 骸 㚊 餩(𱃽) 刻 劾 欬 㱾 郂 頦(颏) 痎 氦 閡(阂) 奒 荄 賌
• 𣴃 𪻞 𮁷 𥞨 𥩲 𦈲 𮌑 𧊏 𮖀 𨀖 𨠳 𮧙 𫠄 𩠚 𩰶 𪠠 𨒨 𮨫 𡲼 𠛳 𢻉 𢼵 𦐤 𠜨 𡭹 𨽷 𡱍 𭈯

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 88, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 292
• Dae Jaweon: page 186, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 283, character 5
• Unihan data for U+4EA5

Historical forms of the character 亥
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script j31471 j31472 j31473 j31474 j31475 j31476 j31477 j31478 j31479 j31480 j31481 j31482 j31483 j31484 j31485 j31486 Bronze inscriptions b21659 b21660 b21661 b21662 b21663 b21664 b21665 b21666 b21667 b21668 b21669 b21670 b21671 b21672 b21673 b21674 b21675 b21676 b21677 b21678 b21679 b21680 b21681 b21682 b21683 b21684 b21685 b21686 b21687 b21688 b21689 b21690 b21691 b21692 b21693 b21694 b21695 b21696 b21697 b21698 b21699 b21700 b21701 b21702 b21703 b21704 b21705 b21706 b21707 b21708 b21709 b21710 b21711 b21712 b21713 b21714 b21715 b21716 b21717 b21718 b21719 b21720 b21721 b21722 b21723 b21724 b21725 b21726 b21727 b21728 b21729 b21730 Small seal script s11108 Transcribed ancient scripts L34553 L34554 L34555 L34556 L34557 L34558 L34559 L15142 L15139 L15143 L15144 L15145 L15146 L15147 L15148 L15149 L15150 L15151 L15152 L15153 L15154 L15155 L15156 L15157 L15158 L15159 L15160 L15161 L15162 L15163 L15164 L15165 L15166 L15167 L15168 L15169 L15170 L15171 L15140 L15141
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).

Pictogram (象形) – depiction uncertain. Some propose it depicts a plant's roots underground, possibly as the original form of 荄 (OC *kɯː, *krɯː). Others propose it is an animal, similar in origin to 豕.

Smith (2011) groups 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ) in a word-family meaning "root, germ, generative core" along with 荄 (OC *kɯ:, “grassroot”) > 根 (OC *kɯːn, “root”), 核 (OC *ɡrɯːɡ, “germ, kernel”), 骸 (OC *ɡrɯː, “(human) bones”), and 孩 (OC *ɡɯː, “child”). He suggests the derivation 荄根 "germ, sprout, root (n.)" → 孩 "to sprout" → 亥 "sprouting stage", i.e. "the moon’s first appearance", recalling 月芽 lit. "moon sprout" > "crescent moon".

See 核 (hé) for further etymology.

Later 亥 (hài) and 豕 (shǐ, “pig”) graphically converged.

As for 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ)'s phonological association with the pig. Compare the following:

• Khmer កុរ (kol, “year of the pig”), from Angkorian Old Khmer kur.
• Proto-Vietic *guːrʔ (“pig; pork”) or *kuːrʔ (“pig; pork”):
  • Vietnamese cúi (“(archaic) pig”)
  • Muong củi (kuːj³, “pig”)
  • Chut cûl (kûːl, “pig”)
• Thai กุน (gun, “year of the pig”), a loan from Old Khmer.

Ferlus (2013) notes 亥 (OC *ɡɯːʔ) is a possible match to the Austroasiatic root, but there should be a final sonorant in Old Chinese.

亥

1. (obsolete) grass root
2. twelfth of twelve earthly branches (十二支)
3. pig (豬) of the Chinese zodiac
4. a surname

• (Chinese earthly branches) 地支 (dìzhī); 子, 丑 (chǒu), 寅 (yín), 卯 (mǎo), 辰 (chén), 巳 (sì), 午 (wǔ), 未 (wèi), 申 (shēn), 酉 (yǒu), 戌, 亥 (hài) ^{(Category: zh:Chinese earthly branches)}

• 豕 (shǐ)

• “Entry #2051”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

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

• Go-on: がい (gai)
• Kan-on: かい (kai)
• Kun: い (i, 亥)^{←ゐ (wi, 亥, historical)}

From 猪 (inoshishi, i, “boar”).

• (Tokyo) い​ [íꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) い [ì] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [i]

• Homophones: イ, 井, 胆, 猪, 豬, 堰, 藺, 伊, 夷, 衣, 医, 易, 威, 胃, 帷, 異, 偉, 意, 緯, 彝

亥(い) • (I) ^{←ゐ (wi)?}

1. the Boar, the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches

   Hypernyms: 十二支, 地支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥

From Middle Chinese 亥 (hoj^X).

亥(がい) • (Gai) 

1. the Boar, the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches

   Hypernyms: 十二支, 地支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥

亥 (eum 해 (hae))

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

亥: Hán Nôm readings: hợi

1. chữ Hán form of Hợi (“twelfth of the twelve earthly branches”).

   Hypernyms: 地支, 十二支

   Coordinate terms: 子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥