典

典 · diǎn

law, canon; documentation; classic, scripture

Entry ↗

Meanings & readings

Meaning & readings

law, canon; documentation; classic, scripture

Mandarin
diǎn
Cantonese
din2

Unihan definitions and selected character readings. Read the word to establish its pronunciation in context.

Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese

Readings recorded for 典 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.

Japanese 日本語

Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.

On’yomi · katakana

テン

Kun’yomi · hiragana

つかさどるのりふみさかん

Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property

テン つかさどる のり ふみ さかん

Korean 한국어

Hanja readings · Hangul

전

Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.

Reading sources explained
전
KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kHangul ↗ · provisional property

전:0E

Vietnamese Tiếng Việt

Character readings · Quốc ngữ

điển

Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kVietnamese ↗ · provisional property

điển

Form & structure

Writing & identity

Unicode
U+5178
Radical
八 · 12
Strokes
8 · Unihan
Residual
6

Source record · Unihan 17.0. Individual senses and historical claims have not yet been reviewed by zimai.

Stroke order

8 strokes
典
Strokes
8
Convention
PRC · Make Me a Hanzi

8 strokes in writing order. Play to watch them, or Step through one at a time.

Modern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. Stroke medians: Make Me a Hanzi via HanziLookupJS, drawn as an even pen line.

Graphical structure

⿱⿻𠀇⿰丨丨八(GHTJKPV)
How to read these symbols

⿰ left–right · ⿱ above–below · ⿻ overlap. Dotted boxes indicate positions, not missing characters. Each symbol describes the components that follow it; nested symbols describe a component in more detail. Source codes identify alternative analyses, not a writing sequence or an etymology.

BabelStone IDS · 2025-06-27. Region tags are preserved; 〾 marks approximation and {n} identifies an unencoded source component. These describe graphical structure, not historical derivation.

Words & connections

Words using 典

Character connections

2 catalogue records include this shape in their first retained IDS. Graphical containment does not imply shared etymology.

Follow this component

Reverse links to attributed component analyses. Open each character for its role, source and words. Shared components do not establish word ancestry.

History & distinctions

Related forms

No simplified/traditional variant property is retained for this record.

Historical readings

Middle Chinese
tenX · 多殄 反切 · #1604

Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.

Source row & reading categories

CSV line 10700 · tenX = 山開四上先端

Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗

Sources & reference

Evidence & next depth

Source editions & exact scope ↗
Retained Unihan properties
kMandarin
diǎn
kCantonese
din2
kDefinition
law, canon; documentation; classic, scripture
kTotalStrokes
8
kRSUnicode
12.6
kGradeLevel
4
kTGH
2013:1092

Readings across dictionaries

Hanyu Da Zidian
diǎn,tiǎn 10247.010
Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
diǎn 0241.010
Small numbers locate dictionary entries; 粵 introduces Cantonese. Includes rare or historical readings. Source notation ↗

Reference desk

Sentences in context

Find examples using 典 ↗

The attributed sentence collection is still small; this spelling has no retained example yet.

Study this character

Structure & connections

0.10
88dictionary records using 典4forms using this shape1attributed sound links
⿱ Above / below
⿻ Overlaid
⿰ Left / right

Shape description
(𠀇 overlaps (丨 beside 丨)) above 八 · the same shape in all seven regional standards (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam)
Source notation ^⿱⿻𠀇⿰丨丨八$(GHTJKPV)
BabelStone · 2025-06-27. Encoded shape and region tags; graphical analysis does not establish historical function.

Decompose & trace ↗Browse all 88 word records ↗Explore sound families ↗Component search ↗
Retained descriptions & scope

^⿱⿻𠀇⿰丨丨八$(GHTJKPV)

All alternatives are retained. Only the first description drives component search and graphical links. Counts describe this snapshot, not frequency. Evidence and method.