寡人

Chinese

		few; widowed	man; person; people
simp. and trad. (寡人)		寡	人

Etymology

Kong Yingda explains this term as 寡德之人 (guǎdé zhī rén "person of meagre virtue").

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): guǎrén

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄚˇ ㄖㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gwaa² jan⁴
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kóa-ngìn
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kóa-lîn / kóaⁿ-jîn

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guǎrén
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄚˇ ㄖㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guǎrén
    • Wade–Giles: kua³-jên²
    • Yale: gwǎ-rén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: goaren
    • Palladius: гуажэнь (guažɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯ä²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gwaa² jan⁴
    • Yale: gwá yàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gwaa² jan⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: gua² yen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷaː³⁵ jɐn²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kóa-ngìn
    • Hakka Romanization System: gua^ˋ ngin^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gua³ ngin²
    • Sinological IPA: /ku̯a³¹ ŋin¹¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kóa-lîn
    • Tâi-lô: kuá-lîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: koafliin
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kua⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lin²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kóaⁿ-jîn
    • Tâi-lô: kuánn-jîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kvoafjiin
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kuã⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ zin²³/

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• Middle Chinese: kwaeX nyin

Rime
Character	寡	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	麻 (99)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	古瓦切	如鄰切
Baxter	kwaeX	nyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠuaX/	/ȵiɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/kʷᵚaX/	/ȵin/
Shao Rongfen	/kuaX/	/ȵʑjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kwaɨX/	/ȵin/
Li Rong	/kuaX/	/ȵiĕn/
Wang Li	/kwaX/	/ȵʑĭĕn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kwaX/	/ȵʑi̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	guǎ	rén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gwaa2	jan4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[C.k]ʷˤraʔ  ni[ŋ]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kʷraːʔ  njin/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	寡	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	guǎ	rén
Middle Chinese	‹ kwæX ›	‹ nyin ›
Old Chinese	/*[C.k]ʷˁraʔ/	/*ni[ŋ]/
English	few	(other) person
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	寡	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	4400	10800
Phonetic component	寡	人
Rime group	魚	眞
Rime subdivision	0	1
Corresponding MC rime	寡	仁
Old Chinese	/*kʷraːʔ/	/*njin/

Pronoun

寡人

1. (imperial, humble, archaic) I; we; "lonesome one" (similar to the royal we; first person pronoun reserved for use by monarchs to refer to themselves when speaking to their subordinates)

   • 梁惠王曰：「寡人之於國也，盡心焉耳矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     梁惠王曰：「寡人之于国也，尽心焉耳矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Liáng Huì Wáng yuē: “Guǎrén zhī yú guó yě, jìnxīn yān ěr yǐ.” [Pinyin]

     King Hui of Liang said, "I have exerted my mind to the utmost for my kingdom."

   • 於是王召見，問藺相如曰：「秦王以十五城請易寡人之璧，可予不？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     于是王召见，问蔺相如曰：「秦王以十五城请易寡人之璧，可予不？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Yúshì wáng zhàojiàn, wèn Lìn Xiàngrú yuē: “Qín wáng yǐ shíwǔ chéng qǐng yì guǎrén zhī bì, kě yǔ fǒu?” [Pinyin]

     So the King summoned Lin Xiangru and asked, "The King of Qin has proposed bartering fifteen towns for my jade (Heshibi). Can I give him (my jade)?"

2. (noble, archaic) I (first-person pronoun used by the wife of a feudal prince)

   • 先君之思、以勗寡人。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     先君之思、以勖寡人。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Xiānjūn zhī sī, yǐ xù guǎrén. [Pinyin]

     In thinking of our deceased lord, she encouraged me.

See also

• 朕 (zhèn)
• 不穀／不谷 (bùgǔ)
• 孤 (gū)

Noun

寡人

1. lonely person

Derived terms

• 孤家寡人 (gūjiāguǎrén)

 

Further reading

• 朱熹 (Zhu Xi), 《孟子集注》 Collected Annotations on Mencius, "King Hui of Liang A"
• 朱熹 (Zhu Xi), 《詩經集傳》 Collected Commentaries on the Classic of Poetry, "Volume 2"