<p>忚 (u+5fda) is rarely used in the past, it did appear in several books.</p>

<p>the latest one, with english explanation, was in early 18th century, in robert morrison's "a dictionary of the chinese language", volume ii, part i (page 139 of pdf file):</p>

<p>㦒(u+3992)忚: insultingly neglectful</p>

<p><a href="https://archive.org/details/p1dictionaryofch02morruoft" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://archive.org/details/p1dictionaryofch02morruoft</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/bmfC4.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/bmfC4.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>then, its' earliest appearance in literatures of yore, was in 輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言　卷十, by 揚雄, of 漢 dynasty (page 79 of pdf file):</p>

<p>眠娗﹒脉蜴﹒賜施﹒茭媞﹒譠謾﹒<strong>㦒忚</strong>﹒皆欺謾之語也﹒楚郢以南﹒東揚之郊通語也</p>

<p>"欺謾" is roughly deceive, disrespectful</p>

<p><a href="https://archive.org/details/06050580.cn" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://archive.org/details/06050580.cn</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/UwFRI.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/UwFRI.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>its' next appearance was in 廣韻　上平聲　卷第一﹒齊韻第十二 (page 31):</p>

<p><strong>忚</strong>　欺謾之皃 (貌)</p>

<p><a href="https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/DAS/pickup/view/category/categoryArchives/0500000000/0511000000/00" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/DAS/pickup/view/category/categoryArchives/0500000000/0511000000/00</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wPnlJ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wPnlJ.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>back to your question, i don't think that this character was used in 論語.</p>

<p>康熙字典 was published in 1716; so it's about 300 years old :)</p>

<p>about the argument:</p>

<pre><code>Now, therefore, the only (or most) logical meaning
of 忚 is [he/she/it] for children and babies.
</code></pre>

<p>well, it's not. i would say that </p>

<pre><code>他　he 也﹒從人﹒也聲
她　she 也﹒從女﹒也聲　
祂　god 也﹒從示﹒也聲　
牠　it 也﹒從牛﹒也聲　
</code></pre>

<p>so, these four are 形聲字.</p>

<p>lastly, i think that most 小學類　字書 had the character "忚", and, explained it; though in literary chinese, and printed in traditional script.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-01T16:06:47.027Z
Are they the same radical? Both have stroke one vertical with stroke two a speck next to it.  But in the answer, I see stroke three horizontal against stroke one and horizontal crossing stroke one.  Also, one of the images romanizes the one with 3 crossing as "he" while three modern sources say that 忚 is "xi."
伟思礼
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-01T16:38:30.233Z
the first image is from morrison's dictionary, the top right stated 61th radical 心. the pronunciation "he" is based on cantonese. based on the 字書 i read, 忚 has 3 different pronunciations, i can grep the 反切 from cantonese with confidence; about how it pronounces in other dialects, it's beyond my knowledge :(
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-10T11:36:29.757Z
That [輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fangyan) is quite a find!
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-01T12:51:31.560Z
2016-10-01T12:51:31.560Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>I copied and pasted it into zdic, which has it as xi1 and lie3</p>

<p><a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/19/js/5FDA.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.zdic.net/z/19/js/5FDA.htm</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-01T23:18:20.510Z
2016-10-01T23:18:20.510Z
Gangosa
<p>What is the meaning of 忚 and how is it pronounced?</p>

<p>I have the complete Confucius 論語 -- Is the character used in it (論語)? </p>

<p>(How old is this dictionary?) <a href="http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/0377.gif" rel="nofollow">http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/0377.gif</a></p>

<p>Also, (optionally) could you comment on if the following argument is commonly expressed by Chinese people, e.g., by teen-agers ?  (It seems like something that teen-agers might say.)     Thank you.</p>

<p>The following is a logical argument.</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BB%96" rel="nofollow">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BB%96</a></p>

<p>Chinese has had 他 (Mandarin) = [he; him; she; her] (originally gender-neutral; nowadays usually referring to males) </p>

<p>because (nowadays for females) 她 is used for she/her.</p>

<p>祂 is used for He (deity).</p>

<p>牠 is used for it (animal).</p>

<p>Now, therefore, the only (or most) logical meaning of  忚  is [he/she/it] for children and babies. Q.E.D.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-01T07:22:48.247Z
interesting enough, I had to right click, google search that word because I have never seen it before. http://chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char/U+5FDA says it's pronounced ㄒㄧ / xi. However, it seems to have no resemblance to 他/她/它/牠/祂. Perhaps other users can comment on this.
辛祐賦 hsinyofu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-01T15:59:32.907Z
Two other sources say it is "xi"
伟思礼
<characters>
What is the meaning of 忚 and how is it pronounced? -- (a logical argument)
# What is the meaning of 忚 and how is it pronounced? -- (a logical argument)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-10-01)

What is the meaning of 忚 and how is it pronounced?

I have the complete Confucius 論語 -- Is the character used in it (論語)?

(How old is this dictionary?) <http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/0377.gif>

Also, (optionally) could you comment on if the following argument is commonly expressed by Chinese people, e.g., by teen-agers ? (It seems like something that teen-agers might say.) Thank you.

The following is a logical argument.

<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BB%96>

Chinese has had 他 (Mandarin) = [he; him; she; her] (originally gender-neutral; nowadays usually referring to males)

because (nowadays for females) 她 is used for she/her.

祂 is used for He (deity).

牠 is used for it (animal).

Now, therefore, the only (or most) logical meaning of 忚 is [he/she/it] for children and babies. Q.E.D.

**Tags:** characters

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: interesting enough, I had to right click, google search that word because I have never seen it before. http://chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char/U+5FDA says it's pronounced ㄒㄧ / xi. However, it seems to have no resemblance to 他/她/它/牠/祂. Perhaps other users can comment on this.  
> **username_2**: Two other sources say it is "xi"  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-10-01. Score: 3

忚 (u+5fda) is rarely used in the past, it did appear in several books.

the latest one, with english explanation, was in early 18th century, in robert morrison's "a dictionary of the chinese language", volume ii, part i (page 139 of pdf file):

㦒(u+3992)忚: insultingly neglectful

<https://archive.org/details/p1dictionaryofch02morruoft>

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/bmfC4.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/bmfC4.png)

then, its' earliest appearance in literatures of yore, was in 輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言　卷十, by 揚雄, of 漢 dynasty (page 79 of pdf file):

眠娗﹒脉蜴﹒賜施﹒茭媞﹒譠謾﹒**㦒忚**﹒皆欺謾之語也﹒楚郢以南﹒東揚之郊通語也

"欺謾" is roughly deceive, disrespectful

<https://archive.org/details/06050580.cn>

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/UwFRI.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/UwFRI.png)

its' next appearance was in 廣韻　上平聲　卷第一﹒齊韻第十二 (page 31):

**忚**　欺謾之皃 (貌)

<https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/DAS/pickup/view/category/categoryArchives/0500000000/0511000000/00>

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/wPnlJ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/wPnlJ.png)

back to your question, i don't think that this character was used in 論語.

康熙字典 was published in 1716; so it's about 300 years old :)

about the argument:

```
Now, therefore, the only (or most) logical meaning
of 忚 is [he/she/it] for children and babies.

```

well, it's not. i would say that

```
他　he 也﹒從人﹒也聲
她　she 也﹒從女﹒也聲　
祂　god 也﹒從示﹒也聲　
牠　it 也﹒從牛﹒也聲　

```

so, these four are 形聲字.

lastly, i think that most 小學類　字書 had the character "忚", and, explained it; though in literary chinese, and printed in traditional script.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Are they the same radical? Both have stroke one vertical with stroke two a speck next to it.  But in the answer, I see stroke three horizontal against stroke one and horizontal crossing stroke one.  Also, one of the images romanizes the one with 3 crossing as "he" while three modern sources say that 忚 is "xi."  
> **username_3**: the first image is from morrison's dictionary, the top right stated 61th radical 心. the pronunciation "he" is based on cantonese. based on the 字書 i read, 忚 has 3 different pronunciations, i can grep the 反切 from cantonese with confidence; about how it pronounces in other dialects, it's beyond my knowledge :(  
> **username_4**: That [輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fangyan) is quite a find!  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-10-01. Score: 1

I copied and pasted it into zdic, which has it as xi1 and lie3

<http://www.zdic.net/z/19/js/5FDA.htm>


---

