令

令 · lìng

command, order; 'commandant', magistrate; allow, cause

Entry ↗

Meanings & readings

Meaning & readings

command, order; 'commandant', magistrate; allow, cause

Mandarin
lìng
Cantonese
ling6

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

Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese

Readings recorded for 令 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

レイ

Kun’yomi · hiragana

おさしむ

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

レイ おさ しむ

Korean 한국어

Hanja readings · Hangul

령영

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
령
KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
영
KS X 1001 (0)
Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kHangul ↗ · provisional property

령:0E 영:0

Vietnamese Tiếng Việt

Character readings · Quốc ngữ

lệnh

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

lệnh

Form & structure

Writing & identity

Unicode
U+4EE4
Radical
人 · 9
Strokes
5 · Unihan
Residual
3

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

Stroke order

5 strokes
令
Strokes
5
Convention
PRC · Make Me a Hanzi

5 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

⿱⿵𠆢丶龴(G[P][V][U][B])
⿱{88}龴(H[M]TPV)
⿱{88}𰆊(JK[S])
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 令

Character connections

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

Follow this component

All 13 connected characters

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
ljen · 力延 反切 · #613
Middle Chinese
ljeng · 呂貞 反切 · #922
Middle Chinese
leng · 郎丁 反切 · #939
Middle Chinese
ljengH · 力政 反切 · #2980
Middle Chinese
lengH · 郎定 反切 · #3002

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

Source row & reading categories

CSV line 4953 · ljen = 山開三平仙來 · ljeng = 梗開三平清來 · leng = 梗開四平青來 · ljengH = 梗開三去清來 · lengH = 梗開四去青來

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
lìng
kCantonese
ling6
kDefinition
command, order; 'commandant', magistrate; allow, cause
kTotalStrokes
5
kRSUnicode
9.3
kGradeLevel
3
kTGH
2013:282

Readings across dictionaries

Hanyu Da Zidian
lìng,líng,lián,lǐng 10111.100
Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
líng 0719.070 · lǐng 0722.040 · lìng 0723.030
Tongyong Guifan · 2013
líng 225.250 · lǐng 227.070 · lìng 227.110
Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
lìng粵ling6 lǐng粵lim1 líng粵ling4
Small numbers locate dictionary entries; 粵 introduces Cantonese. Includes rare or historical readings. Source notation ↗

Reference desk

Sentences in context

Find examples using 令 ↗

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

Study this character

Structure & connections

0.10
143dictionary records using 令26forms using this shape14attributed sound links
⿱ Above / below
⿵ Open at the bottom

Shape description
(𠆢 encloses 丶 from above) above 龴 · the shape used in China, North Korea (as a variant), Vietnam (as a variant), Unicode (UTC) (as a variant), United Kingdom (as a variant)
Source notation ^⿱⿵𠆢丶龴$(G[P][V][U][B])
BabelStone · 2025-06-27. Encoded shape and region tags; graphical analysis does not establish historical function.

Decompose & trace ↗Browse all 143 word records ↗Explore sound families ↗Component search ↗
Retained descriptions & scope

^⿱⿵𠆢丶龴$(G[P][V][U][B])

^⿱{88}龴$(H[M]TPV) · preserved, not fully parsed

^⿱{88}𰆊$(JK[S]) · preserved, not fully parsed

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