Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
2 senses · 6 wordsEast or an eastern direction. Direction words combine conventionally; northeast is 東北 / 东北.
Words with established non-directional meanings. 房東 is a landlord; 東道主 is a host. 東西 means things when its second syllable has a neutral tone.
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 東 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
Kun’yomi · hiragana
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.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 동
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
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.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- complex
- Index radical
- 木 · 75 · 4 residual strokes
木-like strokes and a 日-like center can be highlighted as overlapping modern shapes. This is a visual reading aid only, not a historical decomposition. It must not create historical edges claiming that 東 was formed from sun plus tree. Simplified 东 has visibly different strokes while representing the same directional word.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
8 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences太陽從東方升起。
太阳从东方升起。
The sun rises in the east.
我的東西都在包裡。
我的东西都在包里。
All my things are in the bag.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
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
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsThe consulted interpretation
CUHK describes the oracle-bone and bronze graph as a filled bag tied at both ends, and treats its use for the direction east as a borrowing. It cites early directional uses and discusses graphic relationships with other bag- or binding-related forms. The present portrait attributes that account to CUHK rather than labeling it an independently settled origin.
What remains to compare
The attractive modern sun-in-tree explanation is not adopted as historical evidence here. A second independent specialist treatment has not yet been consulted, so this portrait does not claim to adjudicate the full scholarly history of the graph.
Reading this character · explanatory note
東 is the traditional character for east; 东 is its standard simplified counterpart. It appears in directions such as 東方 / 东方 and 東北 / 东北, and in words whose meanings need to be learned separately, such as 房東 / 房东, landlord. The modern form visually overlaps a 日-like center with 木-like strokes, but that is not sufficient historical evidence for a sun-in-a-tree origin. CUHK instead interprets the early graph as a tied bag and its directional use as a borrowing. That is the attributed account presented here, with independent comparison still needed.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
Use 東 in traditional text and 东 in standard simplified text for these words. The mapping is straightforward in the selected vocabulary. Word-level pronunciation still matters: 東西 / 东西 dōngxī can mean east and west, whereas dōngxi with neutral xi means things. A form converter cannot infer pronunciation merely by replacing 東.
The second syllable distinguishes dōngxī, east and west, from dōngxi, things, in the cited dictionary. Meaning and word context must accompany the written pair.
A visible overlap in the modern form is not proof of historical assembly from tree and sun. Keep the graphical and historical layers separate.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- tuwng · 德紅 反切 · #1
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 2 · tuwng = 通開一平東端
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
Sources & research
4 sourcesLocator & rights
Character entry; 形義通解, 繁簡對應, and cited Shuowen discussion where present · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 2 items
- Independent scholarly comparison of the early graph’s interpretation is pending; no popular account is labeled definitively refuted.
- Historical specimen images and their item-level dating have not been licensed or independently checked; follow the source link to inspect its evidence.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- dōng 21165.040
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- dōng 0257.021
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- dōng(1601)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- dōng粵dung1