仙

See also: 仚

仙	U+4ED9, 仙 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4ED9

← 付
[U+4ED8]

CJK Unified Ideographs

仚 →
[U+4EDA]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

仙 (radical 9, 人+3, 5 strokes, cangjie input 人山 (OU), four-corner 2227₀, composition ⿰亻山)

Derived characters

𣳈, 苮, 𥬍, 𬏣

Related characters

僊 (archaic form of 仙)

References

KangXi: page 92, character 13
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 374
Dae Jaweon: page 196, character 3
Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 114, character 3
Unihan data for U+4ED9

Chinese

simp. and trad.		仙
alt. forms		僊仚屳銑／铣 Min Nan “cent”

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 仙

**Transcribed ancient scripts**
L31826	L31827	L31828	L06560	L06561	L06562	L06563	L06564
L06565

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 (山) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
山	*sreːn
疝	sreːn, sraːns
邖	*sreːn
汕	sreːnʔ, sraːns
訕	sraːn, sraːns
仙	*sen
秈	*sen
苮	*sen
屾	*srin

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 亻 (“person”) + 山 (“mountain”) — a person moving into a mountain to practise becoming immortal.

Originally 僊. The current form is first attested in the clerical script of the Han dynasty.

Etymology

“immortal”

“cent”: Borrowed from English cent.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xiān (xian¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢ
Cantonese (Jyutping): sin¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): siên
Min Bei (KCR): síng
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): sian / sián

(Teochew, Peng'im): siêng¹ / siang¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: xiān
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢ
  - Wade–Giles: hsien¹
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shian
  - IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: sin¹
  - Yale: sīn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: sin¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: xin¹
  - IPA ^(key): /siːn⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: siên
  - Hakka Romanization System: xien´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: xian¹
  - IPA: /ɕi̯en²⁴/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: síng
  - IPA ^(key): /siŋ⁵⁴/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian
  - Tâi-lô: sian
  - Phofsit Daibuun: siefn
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɕiɛn³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /ɕiɛn⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sián
  - Tâi-lô: sián
  - Phofsit Daibuun: siern
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /ɕiɛn⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɕiɛn⁴¹/

Note: sián - “cent”.

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: siêng¹ / siang¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sieng / siang
  - IPA ^(key): /sieŋ³³/, /siaŋ³³/

Dialectal data▼

Variety	Location	edit 仙
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕian⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/ɕian⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/ɕian²¹/
	Jinan	/ɕiã²¹³/
	Qingdao	/siã²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/sian²⁴/
	Xi'an	/ɕiã²¹/
	Xining	/ɕiã⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ɕian⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/ɕiɛ̃n³¹/
	Ürümqi	/ɕian⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/ɕiɛn⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/ɕian⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/ɕian⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/ɕiɛ̃⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/sien³¹/
	Hefei	/ɕyĩ²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕie¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ɕie̞¹³/
	Hohhot	/ɕie³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɕi⁵³/
	Suzhou	/siɪ⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ɕiẽ̞³³/
	Wenzhou	/ɕi³³/
Hui	Shexian	/se³¹/
Hui	Tunxi	/siɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/siẽ³³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/siẽ³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/ɕiɛn⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/sien⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/sien²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/sin⁵⁵/
	Nanning	/ɬin⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/sin⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/sian⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/sieŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/siŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/siaŋ³³/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/tin²³/

Middle Chinese: /siᴇn/▼

Rime
Character	仙
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	仙 (77)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	相然切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/siᴇn/
Pan Wuyun	/siɛn/
Shao Rongfen	/sjæn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sian/
Li Rong	/siɛn/
Wang Li	/sĭɛn/
Bernard Karlgren	/si̯ɛn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiān

Old Chinese▼
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]a[r]/

(Zhengzhang): /*sen/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	仙
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xiān
Middle Chinese	‹ sjen ›
Old Chinese	/*[s]a[r]/
English	immortal (n.)
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	仙
Reading #	1/1
No.	11060
Phonetic component	山
Rime group	元
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	仙
Old Chinese	/*sen/

Definitions

仙

(Taoism) xian (an immortal; celestial being)
fairy; celestial being
extraordinary person
詩仙 / 诗仙 ― shīxiān ― great poet; epithet of Li Bai
(loanword, Cantonese, Min Nan) cent
五仙硬幣 / 五仙硬币 [Cantonese] ― ng⁵ sin¹ ngaang⁶ bai⁶ [Jyutping] ― five-cent coin
A surname.

Compounds

Derived terms from 仙

七仙女
上仙
九天仙女
乩仙
人間仙境／人间仙境
仙丹 (xiāndān)
仙人 (xiānrén, “sage”)
仙人拳
仙人掌 (xiānrénzhǎng)
仙人擔／仙人担
仙人放屁
仙人跳 (xiānréntiào)
仙仗
仙公
仙公廟／仙公庙
仙劍／仙剑 (“paladin”)
仙后座 (Xiānhòuzuò)
仙域
仙境 (xiānjìng, “wonderland”)
仙壇／仙坛
仙女 (xiānnǚ, “female sage”)
仙女山 (Xiānnǚshān)
仙女座 (Xiānnǚzuò)
仙女廟／仙女庙
仙姑 (xiāngū)
仙姿
仙姿玉色
仙子 (xiānzǐ)
仙官
仙客
仙居 (xiānjū)
仙山瓊閣／仙山琼阁
仙府
仙才
仙方
仙曹
仙木
仙果
仙桃 (xiāntáo, “Peaches of Immortality”)
仙樂／仙乐 (xiānyuè)
仙樹／仙树
仙機／仙机
仙氣／仙气
仙洞
仙海
仙源
仙班
仙界 (xiānjiè)
仙真
仙童
仙童仙女
仙筆／仙笔

仙籍
仙經／仙经
仙茅 (xiānmáo)
仙草 (xiāncǎo)
仙草蜜
仙蒂瑞拉
仙藥／仙药
仙術／仙术 (xiānshù)
仙貝／仙贝
仙逝 (xiānshì)
仙遊／仙游 (xiānyóu)
仙郎
仙都唔仙
仙鄉／仙乡 (xiānxiāng)
仙霞嶺／仙霞岭
仙露明珠
仙顏／仙颜
仙風道骨／仙风道骨
仙館／仙馆
仙骨 (xiāngǔ)
仙鶴／仙鹤
仙鶴草／仙鹤草 (xiānhècǎo)
仙鼠
修仙
假仙
八仙 (bāxiān)
八仙山
八仙桌 (bāxiānzhuō)
八仙花
八仙過海／八仙过海
六仙桌
凌波仙子
列仙
劍仙／剑仙
半仙
半仙戲／半仙戏
南極仙翁／南极仙翁
和合二仙
四仙桌
坡仙
大仙 (dàxiān)
大仙爺／大仙爷
大羅神仙／大罗神仙
天仙 (tiānxiān)
天仙聖母／天仙圣母
妃祿仙女／妃禄仙女
廣寒仙子／广寒仙子
張仙／张仙
得道成仙
成仙 (“becoming immortal”)
攀仙桂
昇仙／升仙

梅仙
水仙 (shuǐxiān)
洞仙
活神仙
游仙窟
焦三仙
狐仙
玉天仙
登仙 (dēngxiān)
盜仙草／盗仙草
睡仙
碟仙
神仙 (shénxiān)
神仙中人 (shénxiān zhōng rén)
神仙思想
神仙眷屬／神仙眷属
神仙魚／神仙鱼
秋水仙素 (qiūshuǐxiānsù)
箕仙
綠野仙蹤／绿野仙踪
羽化登仙
肉飛仙／肉飞仙
英仙座 (Yīngxiānzuò)
莆仙戲／莆仙戏
葛仙米
葛仙翁
蓋仙／盖仙
蓬瀛仙境
蓬萊仙境／蓬莱仙境
蓬萊仙島／蓬莱仙岛 (Pénglái Xiāndǎo)
詩仙／诗仙 (shīxiān)
請仙／请仙
謫仙／谪仙
赤腳大仙／赤脚大仙
遊仙／游仙
遊仙枕／游仙枕
遊仙詩／游仙诗
道骨仙風／道骨仙风
酒中仙
酒仙 (jiǔxiān)
酒八仙人
阿仙藥／阿仙药
陸地神仙／陆地神仙
雞犬皆仙／鸡犬皆仙
雲仙雜記／云仙杂记
飄若神仙／飘若神仙
飄飄欲仙／飘飘欲仙
飛仙／飞仙
鳳仙子／凤仙子
鳳仙花／凤仙花 (fèngxiānhuā)
麻衣仙翁

Japanese

Kanji

仙

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

Goon: せん (sen, Jōyō)
Kan’on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
Nanori: そま (soma); のり (nori); ひさ (hisa)

Compounds

仙界 (せんかい) (senkai): dwelling place of hermits
仙客 (せんかく) (senkaku): immortal mountain wizard, crane
仙 (せん)宮 (きゅう) (senkyū): hermit's residence, retired emperor's palace
仙 (せん)境 (きょう) (senkyō), 仙 (せん)郷 (きょう) (senkyō): fairyland, enchanted land
仙窟 (せんくつ) (senkutsu): enchanted cave
仙骨 (せんこつ) (senkotsu): sacrum, sacral bone; hermitry
仙術 (さんじゅつ) (sanjutsu): wizardry, secret of immortality
仙 (せん)女 (じょ) (senjo), 仙 (せん)女 (にょ) (sennyo): fairy, nymph, elf
仙台 (せんだい) (Sendai): Sendai city
仙 (せん)丹 (たん) (sentan): elixir, elixir of life
仙椎 (せんつい) (sentsui): sacral vertebra
仙 (せん)人 (にん) (sennin): immortal mountain wizard, mountain man
仙 (せん)翁 (のう) (sennō): Lychnis species
仙薬 (せんやく) (sen'yaku): panacea, elixir of life
仙 (せん)蓼 (りょう) (senryō): Sarcandra glabra (formerly Chloranthus glaber)
仙 (さ)人 (ぼ)掌 (てん) (saboten): cactus
仙 (せん)花 (か)紙 (し) (senkashi): reclaimed paper
仙台侯 (せんだいこう) (sendaikō): Lord of Sendai
仙 (せん)洞 (とう)御 (ご)所 (しょ) (sentō gosho): palace of a retired emperor
仙台虫喰 (せんだいむしくい) (Sendai mushikui): eastern crowned warbler

求 (きゅう)仙 (せん) (kyūsen), 九 (きゅう)仙 (せん) (kyūsen), 気 (きゅ)宇 (う)仙 (せん) (kyūsen): multicolorfin rainbowfish
詩 (し)仙 (せん) (shisen): great poet
神 (しん)仙 (せん) (shinsen): immortal mountain wizard, Taoist immortal, supernatural being
酒 (しゅ)仙 (せん) (shusen): heavy drinker
水仙 (すいせん) (suisen): daffodil, narcissus
登 (とう)仙 (せん) (tōsen): becoming a saint, death of a high-ranking person
銘 (めい)仙 (せん) (meisen): meisen silk
腰 (よう)仙 (せん) (yōsen): lumbosacral
天仙果 (いぬびわ) (inubiwa): Ficus erecta, species of ficus
鳳 (ほう)仙 (せん)花 (か) (hōsenka): balsam
雲仙岳 (うんぜんだけ) (Unzendake): mountain in Nagasaki Prefecture
三 (さん)仙 (せん)叉 (さ) (sansensa): trident dagger
画 (が)仙 (せん)紙 (し) (gasenshi): drawing paper
中仙道 (なかせんどう) (Nakasendō): Nakasendo, Edo-period Edo-Kyoto highway
阿仙薬 (あせんやく) (asen'yaku): gambir, gambier, catechu, cutch
神 (しん)仙 (せん)思 (し)想 (そう) (shinsen shisō):: Shenxian thought
黄水仙 (きずいせん) (kizuisen), 黄水仙 (きすいせん) (kisuisen): jonquil
夏水仙 (なつずいせん) (natsuzuisen): belladonna lily
羽 (う)化 (か)登 (とう)仙 (せん) (uka tōsen): sense of release
鍾馗水仙 (しょうきずいせん) (shōkizuisen): Lycoris aurea (formerly Lycoris traubii), species of spider lily
喇叭水仙 (らっぱずいせん) (rappazuisen): trumpet daffodil

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
仙
せん Grade: S
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 仙 (sjen, literally “immortal”). Compare modern Mandarin reading xiān and Cantonese reading sin¹.

Pronunciation

On’yomi
- IPA^(key): [sẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

仙 (hiragana せん, rōmaji sen)

a sage or hermit, an enlightened person, usually immortal and ageless
(mythology) short for 仙人 (sennin): a wizard or mage; an immortal living as a hermit in the mountains
by extension, the region or area where a sennin lives
the supernatural techniques for becoming immortal and ageless
a person of exceptional talent

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
仙
せんと Grade: S
Irregular

Borrowed from English cent.^[1]^[2] The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun.

Pronunciation

(Irregular reading)
- (Tokyo) せんと [séꜜǹtò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
- IPA^(key): [sẽ̞nto̞]

Noun

仙 (katakana セント, hiragana せんと, rōmaji sento)

one hundredth of a dollar: a cent

Usage notes

This word is almost always spelled in katakana as セント.

References

↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

仙 • (seon) (hangeul 선, revised seon, McCune–Reischauer sŏn)

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

Vietnamese

Han character

仙 (tiên)

Noun

仙

fairy

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[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN