若干

Chinese

		to seem; like; as to seem; like; as; if	to concern; to interfere; shield to concern; to interfere; shield; stem
trad. (若干)		若	干
simp. #(若干)		若	干

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): ruògān

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄍㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): joek⁶ gon¹

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): jio̍k-kan / lio̍k-kan / jia̍k-kan

  (Teochew, Peng'im): riag⁸ gang¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: ruògān
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄍㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ruògan
    • Wade–Giles: jo⁴-kan¹
    • Yale: rwò-gān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ruohgan
    • Palladius: жогань (žoganʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ kän⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: joek⁶ gon¹
    • Yale: yeuhk gōn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: joek⁹ gon¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yêg⁶ gon¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jœːk̚² kɔːn⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jio̍k-kan
    • Tâi-lô: jio̍k-kan
    • Phofsit Daibuun: jiogkafn
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ziɔk̚⁴⁻³² kan⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Taipei, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lio̍k-kan
    • Tâi-lô: lio̍k-kan
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liogkafn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /liɔk̚²⁴⁻² kan³³/
    • IPA (Taipei, Xiamen): /liɔk̚⁴⁻³² kan⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jia̍k-kan
    • Tâi-lô: jia̍k-kan
    • Phofsit Daibuun: jiagkafn
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ziak̚¹²¹⁻²¹ kan⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: riag⁸ gang¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jia̍k kang
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡ziak̚⁴⁻² kaŋ³³/

Adverb

若干

1. (literary) how many; how much

Determiner

若干

1. (formal) several; a few

See also

• 幾個／几个 (jǐgè)
• 一些 (yīxiē)

Etymology 2

Most likely from Xianbei 若干 (*ñaqañ) meaning "dog", related to Mongolian нохой (noxoj).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rěgān

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄜˇ ㄍㄢ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rěgān
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄜˇ ㄍㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rěgan
    • Wade–Giles: jê³-kan¹
    • Yale: rě-gān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: reegan
    • Palladius: жэгань (žɛganʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ kän⁵⁵/

Proper noun

若干

1. a surname

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (若干):

• → Japanese: 若(じゃっ)干(かん) (jakkan)
• → Korean: 약간(若干) (yakgan)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
若	干
じゃく > じゃっ Grade: 6	かん Grade: 6
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) じゃっかん [jàkkáń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑa̠k̚kã̠ɴ]

Noun

若(じゃっ)干(かん) • (jakkan) 

1. a few, some

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
若	干
そこばく
Grade: 6	Grade: 6
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
幾許

そこば (sokoba, see 若干#Etymology_5) + く (ku, ancient suffix used to form adverbs; compare か (ka) used to form adjectives)

Adverb

若干(そこばく) • (sokobaku) 

1. a little, any

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
若	干
そくばく
Grade: 6	Grade: 6
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
幾許

Shift from そこばく (sokobaku).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) そくばく [sòkúbákú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [so̞kɯ̟ba̠kɯ̟]

Adverb

若干(そくばく) • (sokubaku) 

1. a little, any

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
若	干
そこばこ
Grade: 6	Grade: 6
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
幾許

Shift from そこばく (sokobaku).

Adverb

若干(そこばこ) • (sokobako) 

1. a little, any

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
若	干
そこば
Grade: 6	Grade: 6
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
幾許

そこ (soko) + ば (ba, “much, amount”, ancient element, also appears in 幾許 (kokoba) and 幾許 (ikubaku))

Adverb

若干(そこば) • (sokoba) 

1. a little, any

   Synonym: そこらく (sokoraku)