鹿

鹿 U+9E7F, 鹿 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9E7F ← 鹾 [U+9E7E] CJK Unified Ideographs 麀 → [U+9E80]

⿅ U+2FC5, ⿅ KANGXI RADICAL DEER ← ⿄ [U+2FC4] Kangxi Radicals ⿆ → [U+2FC6]

鹿 U+F940, 鹿 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F940 ← 錄 [U+F93F] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 論 → [U+F941]

Stroke order

鹿 (Kangxi radical 198, 鹿+0, 11 strokes, cangjie input 戈難心 (IXP), four-corner 0021₁, composition ⿸⿸广⿻コ⿰丨丨比)

1. Kangxi radical #198, ⿅.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/鹿
• 𬿚, 𭊛, 塶, 㜙, 𡼂, 㦇, 摝, 漉, 𤡊, 𣊈, 樚, 𣩏, 𪵡, 熝, 𤨞, 膔, 𥛞, 𥉶, 䃙, 𮃨, 䌒, 𦗓, 𦪇, 螰, 𧽥, 蹗, 轆(辘), 𨢷, 鏕, 𩌫, 騼(𫠋), 𩪉, 𩺮, 𪒏, 𪛓
• 鄜, 𢿇, 㼾, 𥀔, 𩔴, 塵, 𭗎, 𦄐, 𧐠, 鏖, 𩞇, 𧜫, 𪩏, 蔍, 䍡, 𦌏, 簏, 𩅄, 廘

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1508, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 47586
• Dae Jaweon: page 2036, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4727, character 1
• Unihan data for U+9E7F

• Unihan data for U+F940

trad.		鹿
simp. #		鹿
alternative forms		𢉖 𮭱

Pictogram (象形) – a deer. Current form is highly abstracted – legs have transformed to 比 – note grouping of front and rear legs, which are bent – head has transformed to middle component (similar to 凸/曲), while antlers on top and extended lip/mouth on left transformed into 广. This transformation occurred during seal characters.

Contrast the very different development of 馬 (“horse”), and the transformation in 廌 (as in 薦), which has the head of 鹿 but the legs of 馬 (灬).

Uncertain, though possibly Sino-Tibetan (Schuessler, 2007). Compare Northern Naga *gjuk (“deer, sambar”), from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *g-rjuk (French, 1983); also according to French, Benedict relates the Tibeto-Burman item to Western Gurung [script needed] (gju, “sheep”), but this Gurung item may instead be related to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *luk (“sheep”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Within Chinese, Sagart (1999) relates this to 角 (OC *kroːɡ, “horn”).

Baxter and Sagart (2014; 2020) compares this to Langjia Buyang /ma⁰ lɔk⁸/. Note also Nùng klook (“deer”) (Schuessler, 2007).

鹿

1. deer (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 頭／头 m)

   • 林有樸樕，野有死鹿。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     林有朴樕，野有死鹿。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

     Lín yǒu pǔsù, yě yǒu sǐ lù. [Pinyin]

     In the forest there are the scrubby oaks; in the wild there is a dead deer.

2. (literary or in compounds, figurative) political power

   鹿死誰手／鹿死谁手  ―  lùsǐshéishǒu  ―  who will gain supremacy?

   • 秦失其鹿，天下共逐之，於是高材疾足者先得焉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     秦失其鹿，天下共逐之，于是高材疾足者先得焉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

     Qín shī qí lù, tiānxià gòng zhú zhī, yúshì gāocái jízú zhě xiān dé yān. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. a surname

• (deer):

• (political power): 政權／政权 (zhèngquán)

• “Entry #8086”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.
• “Entry #3776”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

1. deer

• Go-on: ろく (roku)
• Kan-on: ろく (roku)
• Kun: か (ka, 鹿, Jōyō ^†)、しか (shika, 鹿, Jōyō)、かせぎ (kasegi, 鹿)、かのしし (kanoshishi, 鹿)、しし (shishi, 鹿)

Kanji in this term
鹿
しか Grade: 4
kun'yomi

/seka/ → /sika/

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 夫 (se, “male”) +‎ 鹿 (ka, “deer”), in contrast to 女鹿 (meka, “female deer”, archaic).^[1][2]

First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.^[1]

• (Tokyo) しか [shìká] (Heiban – [0])^[2][3]
• (Tokyo) しか [shìkáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɕi̥ka̠]

• Audio:

  (file)

鹿(しか) or 鹿(シカ) • (shika)  (counter 匹)

1. deer

   奈(な)良(ら)公(こう)園(えん)には鹿(しか)しかいない。

   Nara kōen ni wa shika shika inai.

   There is nothing but deer in Nara Park.

2. (historical) prostitute in the Osaka licensed quarter whose fee was 16 momme; the grade below the 太夫 (tayū), and the 天神 (tenjin)

   See also: Thesaurus:娼婦

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as シカ.

• ⇒ English: sika deer

Kanji in this term
鹿
か Grade: 4
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ka̠]

鹿(か) • (ka) 

1. (archaic) deer

Kanji in this term
鹿
かせぎ Grade: 4
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. From the resemblance to a 桛木 (kasegi, “cross-shaped spindle; a branching point in a tree”).

First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ka̠se̞ɡʲi]

鹿(かせぎ) • (kasegi) 

1. (archaic) deer
   • 1212: Hōjōki

     山鳥(やまどり)のほろと鳴(な)くを聞(き)きても、父(ちち)か母(はは)かと疑(うたが)ひ、峰(みね)のかせぎの近(ちか)くなれたるにつけても、世(よ)に遠(とお)ざかるほどを知(し)る。

     Yamadori no horo to naku o kikite mo, chichi ka haha ka to utagahi, mine no kasegi no chikaku naretaru ni tsukete mo, yo ni tōzakaru hodo oshiru.

     Hearing the horo call of the mountain pheasant, wondering if it were my father or mother [calling from beyond the grave], and seeing how the deer on the ridge are so tame that they come close by, all of it shows me how far away I am from the world.

Kanji in this term
鹿
かのしし Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
鹿の肉 鹿肉

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 鹿 (ka, “deer”) +‎ の (possessive particle) +‎ 肉 (shishi, “meat, flesh”).^[5][2]

First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[5]

• (Tokyo) かのしし [kànóshíshí] (Heiban – [0])^[4]
• (Tokyo) かのしし [kànóshíꜜshì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[4]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠no̞ɕiɕi]

鹿(かのしし) • (kanoshishi) 

1. (archaic) deer
2. deer meat: venison

Kanji in this term
鹿
しし Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
獣 猪

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *sisi. Cognate with 肉 (shishi, “meat of a beast”).^[6]

First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[6]

• (Tokyo) しし [shíꜜshì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɕiɕi]

鹿(しし) • (shishi) 

1. (archaic) a beast (used for its meat, such as a boar or a deer)
2. Short for 猪武者 (inoshishi musha): a reckless warrior
3. Short for 鹿狩り (shishi-gari): a deer hunter
4. (slang) a female attendant at a bathhouse or hot spring
5. (slang, archaic) a female prostitute at a bathhouse or hot spring

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:娼婦

• The beast sense is more commonly spelled 獣.

Kanji in this term
鹿
ろく Grade: 4
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 鹿 (MC luwk). Compare modern Min Nan reading lo̍k.

• (Tokyo) ろく [ròkú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɾo̞kɯ̟]

鹿(ろく) • (roku) 

1. deer
2. venison or wild boar meat

• Ichiko, Teiji (1212) Hōjōki (Shintei), Iwanami Shoten, published 1989, →ISBN
• Nishio, Minoru (1957) Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei: Hōjōki, Tsurezuregusa, Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

From Middle Chinese 鹿 (MC luwk). Recorded as Middle Korean 록〮 (lwók) (Yale: lwok) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Wikisource

鹿 (eumhun 사슴 록 (saseum rok), word-initial (South Korea) 사슴 녹 (saseum nok))

1. hanja form^? of 록/녹 (“deer”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

鹿: Hán Nôm readings: lộc, lê

1. chữ Hán form of lộc (“deer”).