事

See also: 亊

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

事 (radical 6 亅+7, 8 strokes, cangjie input 十中中弓 (JLLN), four-corner 5000₇)

References

• KangXi: page 85, character 24
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 241
• Dae Jaweon: page 174, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 23, character 3
• Unihan data for U+4E8B

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Chinese

		-
simp. and trad.		事

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shì (shi⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): si⁶
• Hakka (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ): sṳ,se
• Min Nan (POJ): tāi / sū
• Wu (WT Romanisation): zr (T3)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: shì
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˋ
    • Wade-Giles: shih⁴
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyh
    • IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

    • (file)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: si⁶
    • Yale: sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: si⁶
    • IPA ^(key): /siː²²/
• Hakka
  • Romanisations:
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ,se
    • IPA (Siyen, incl. Miaoli): /sɨ,se⁵⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāi / sū
    • Tâi-lô: tāi / sū
    • IPA (Taipei): /taɪ³³/, /su³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /taɪ²²/, /su²²/
  • Note: sū is literary.
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • WT Romanisation: zr (T3)
    • IPA ^(key): /z̻z̩²³/

Middle Chinese pronunciation (事, reconstructed)
Character (事), Pronunciation 1/2
Initial: 莊 (18) Final: 之 Division: III			Openness: Open Tone: Departing (H)			Fanqie: 側吏切
Zhengzhang Shangfang	Bernard Karlgren	Li Rong	Pan Wuyun	Edwin Pulleyblank	Wang Li	Shao Rongfen
/t͡ʃɨH/	/ʈ͡ʂiH/	/t͡ʃiəH/	/ʈ͡ʂɨH/	/ʈ͡ʂɨH/	/t͡ʃĭəH/	/t͡ʃieH/
Character (事), Pronunciation 2/2
Initial: 崇 (20) Final: 之 Division: III			Openness: Open Tone: Departing (H)			Fanqie: 鉏吏切
Zhengzhang Shangfang	Bernard Karlgren	Li Rong	Pan Wuyun	Edwin Pulleyblank	Wang Li	Shao Rongfen
/d͡ʒɨH/	/ɖ͡ʐʱiH/	/d͡ʒiəH/	/ɖ͡ʐɨH/	/ɖ͡ʐɨH/	/d͡ʒĭəH/	/d͡ʒieH/

Old Chinese pronunciation (事, reconstructed)
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character								Modern Beijing (Pinyin)								Middle Chinese								Old Chinese								English
事								shì								‹ dzriH ›								/*[m-s-]rəʔ-s/								serve; service, affair
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					No.					Phonetic component					Rime group					Rime subdivision					Corresponding MC rime					Old Chinese					Notes
事					11485					史					之					0					胾					/*ʔsrɯs/					見漢書又作剚倳
事					11486					史					之					0					事					/*zrɯs/					史吏轉註字

Noun

事 (classifier 件, 樁／桩)

1. thing; matter

   • 耶和華神對女人說，你作的是什麼事呢？女人說，那蛇引誘我，我就吃了。 [MSC, trad.]

     耶和华神对女人说，你作的是什么事呢？女人说，那蛇引诱我，我就吃了。 [MSC, simp.]

     Yēhéhuá shén duì nǚrén shuō, nǐ zuò de shì shénme shì ne? Nǚrén shuō, nà shé yǐnyòu wǒ, wǒ jiù chī le. [Pinyin]

     And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

   • 曹雪琴《紅樓夢》：“今日我們傳你來，有遵旨問你的事。” [MSC, trad.]

     曹雪琴《红楼梦》：“今日我们传你来，有遵旨问你的事。” [MSC, simp.]

     Cáo xuěqín "hónglóumèng": "jīnrì wǒmen chuán nǐ lái, yǒu zūn zhǐ wèn nǐ de shì." [Pinyin]

2. job; career

   • 魏金枝《再說“賣文”》（《文飯小品》第三期，一九三五年四月）“茅盾的一個親戚，想到我在教書的教會學​​校裡來找事做了。” [MSC, trad.]

     魏金枝《再说“卖文”》（《文饭小品》第三期，一九三五年四月）“茅盾的一个亲戚，想到我在教书的教会学​​校里来找事做了。” [MSC, simp.]

     Wèi Jīnzhī "zàishuō "Mài Wén"" ("Wén Fàn Xiǎopǐn" dì sān qī, yī jiǔ sān wǔ nián sì yuè) "Máodùn de yīge qīnqī, xiǎngdào wǒ zài jiàoshū de jiàohuì xué​​xiào lǐ lái zhǎoshì zuò le." [Pinyin]

Compounds

• 事实
• 事情
• 事与愿违
• 事不过三
• 事不宜迟

Verb

事

1. serve

   • 《新唐書》：“李嶠，字巨山，趙州贊皇人。早孤，事母孝。” [MSC, trad.]

     《新唐书》：“李峤，字巨山，赵州赞皇人。早孤，事母孝。” [MSC, simp.]

     "Xīn Táng Shū": "lǐ qiáo, zì jù shān, Zhàozhōu zàn huáng rén. Zǎo gū, shì mǔ xiào." [Pinyin]

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Japanese

Kanji

事

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: じ (ji)
• Kan’on: し (shi)
• Kan’yōon: ず (zu)
• Kun: こと (koto), (rare) つかう (事う, tsukau), (rare) つかえる (事える, tsukaeru)
• Nanori: ろ (ro)

Compounds

Compounds

事案 (じあん, jian): a concern 事宜 (じぎ, jigi): a fitting thing 事業 (じぎょう, jigyō): a project, an enterprise 事局 (じきょく, jikyoku): circumstances 事件 (じけん, jiken): an event, an affair 事故 (じこ, jiko): an accident, an incident 事後 (じご, jigo): after-, post-, after the fact 事項 (じこう, jikō): matters, articles 事実 (じじつ, jijitsu): a fact, the truth, actuality 事々物々, 事事物物 (じじぶつぶつ, jijibutsubutsu): everything 事象 (じしょう, jishō): an event, a phenomenon 事情 (じじょう, jijō): circumstances, consideration 事績 (じせき, jiseki): an achievement, an exploit 事迹, 事跡, 事蹟 (じせき, jiseki): evidence, trace 事前 (じぜん, jizen): prior, beforehand 事相 (じそう, jisō): an aspect, a phase 事態, 事体 (じたい, jitai): a situation, a state of affairs 事大 (じだい, jidai): subservient to the stronger 事典 (じてん, jiten): an encyclopedia 事犯 (じはん, jihan): a crime 事物 (じぶつ, jibutsu): things, affairs 事変 (じへん, jihen): an accident, a disaster 事務 (じむ, jimu): business, clerical work 事務室 (じむしつ, jimushitsu): an office 事由 (じゆう, jiyū): a reason, a cause 事理 (じり, jiri): a reason, facts 事例 (じれい, jirei): an example, a precedent

火事 (かじ, kaji): a fire (as in a house burning down) 家事 (かじ, kaji): household affairs 幹事 (かんじ, kanji): a manager, an organizer 記事 (きじ, kiji): a news article, a news story 軍事 (ぐんじ, gunji): military affairs 刑事 (けいじ, keiji): a police detective 工事 (こうじ, kōji): construction 食事 (しょくじ, shokuji): a meal 人事 (じんじ, jinji): personnel, human resources (as in a company department) 知事 (ちじ, chiji): a prefectural governor 判事 (はんじ, hanji): a judge 人事 (ひとごと, hitogoto): other people's affairs, other people's business 無事 (ぶじ, buji): safety, peace 返事 (へんじ, henji): an answer, a reply 房事 (ぼうじ, bōji): sex, lovemaking 物事 (ものごと, monogoto): things, everything 用事 (ようじ, yōji): things to do 理事 (りじ, riji): a director, a trustee 領事 (りょうじ, ryōji): a consul

事新しい (ことあたらしい, koto atarashii): new 事誤り (ことあやまり, koto ayamari): getting one's facts wrong 事改めて (ことあらためて, koto aratamete): anew 事欠く (ことかく, kotokaku): to lack something 事柄 (ことがら, kotogara): a matter, a thing 事切れる (こときれる, koto kireru): to expire, to die 事々, 事事 (ことごと, kotogoto): everything 事々しい, 事事しい (ことごとしい, kotogotoshii): bombastic 事細か (ことこまか, koto komaka): detailed 事立てる (ことだてる, kotodateru): to do something different 事足りる (ことたりる, koto tariru): to suffice, to be sufficient 事足る (ことたる, koto taru): to suffice, to be enough 事共 (ことども, kotodomo): things, matters 事無し (ことなし, koto nashi): having nothing to do; light-hearted; having no faults 事勿れ (ことなかれ, koto nakare): a desire for peacefulness and nothing out of the ordinary 事勿れ主義 (ことなかれしゅぎ, koto nakare shugi): peace-at-any-price-ism, don't-rock-the-boat-ism, the principle of acceding to anything to avoid trouble 事無く (ことなく, koto naku): without accident, without incident, without a hitch 事珍しく (ことめずらしく, koto mezurashiku): strangely, oddly anything to avoid trouble 事寄せる, 言寄せる (ことよせる, koto yoseru): to use something as an excuse or pretext 事寄る (ことよる, koto yoru): to have facts or events wind up pointing one way

仕事 (しごと, shigoto): work, employment 見事, 美事 (みごと, migoto): splendid, magnificent 好事家 (こうずか, kōzuka): a dilettante 関心事 (かんしんじ, kanshinji): a matter of concern and interest 勝負事 (しょうぶごと, shōbugoto): gambling, competition 出来事 (できごと, dekigoto): an occurrence, an affair, an accident

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Cognate with 言 (koto, “word”). Possibly cognate with Korean 것 (geot).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こと​ [kòtóꜜ] (Odaka - [o])
• IPA^(key): [ko̞to̞]

Alternative forms

• 縡 (rare)

Noun

事 (hiragana こと, romaji koto)

1. broadly, any abstract thing, affair, matter, or fact
   1. a thing, occasion, circumstances, detail, particular

      些細 (ささい)な事 (こと)だ。

      sasai na koto da.

      It is a trivial matter.

      いやしくもなすに足 (た)る事 (こと)なら立派 (りっぱ)にやるだけの価値 (かち)がある。

      iyashiku mo nasu ni taru koto nara rippa ni yaru dake no kachi ga aru.

      If a thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.

   2. act of (word used for the nominalization of verbs, adjectives, or phrases)

      ある程度 (ていど)まで私 (わたし)はあなたの言 (い)う事 (こと)に賛成 (さんせい)です。

      aru teido made watashi wa anata no iu koto ni sansei desu.

      I agree with what you say to some extent.

   3. (by extension) experience, having been or done (used with がある, ga aru)

      京都 (きょうと)に行 (い)った事 (こと)が有 (あ)りますか。

      kyōto ni itta koto ga arimasuka.

      Have you ever been to Kyoto?

      彼 (かれ)は学校 (がっこう)に遅刻 (ちこく)する事 (こと)が有 (あ)る。

      kare wa gakkō ni chikoku suru koto ga aru.

      He is sometimes late for school.

   4. event of special importance: affair, something, incident, case, occurrence, trouble

      大変 (たいへん)な事 (こと)が起 (お)こった。

      taihen na koto ga okotta.

      A terrible accident occurred.

   5. business matters, affairs, business, work, duty

      慌 (あわ)てて事 (こと)を運 (はこ)ぶとミスをしますよ。

      awatete koto o hakobu to misu o shimasu yo.

      You make mistakes if you do things in a hurry.

Usage notes

事 (koto) is used for abstract things, such as an action or concept. 物 (mono) is used for more concrete things, such as a chair or toothbrush.

Phrases

phrases containing "事"

事にしている (ことにしている, koto ni shite iru): make a point of 事になる (ことになる, koto ni naru): it has been decided that 事とする (こととする, koto to suru): designate something 事によると (ことによると, koto ni yoru to): depending on the circumstances 事が足りる (ことがたりる, koto ga tariru): be sufficient, answer the purpose 事を運ぶ (ことをはくぶ, koto o hakobu): proceed, go ahead 事を起こす (ことをおこす, koto o okosu): cause trouble 事を好む (ことをこのむ, koto o konomu): revel in trouble and discord 事を分ける (ことをわける, koto o wakeru): reason with a person 事を成し遂げる (ことをなしとげる, koto o nashitogeru): achieve a task

事と次第で (こととしだいで, koto to shidai de): under certain circumstances 事も無げ (こともなげ, koto mo nage): careless 事である (ことである, koto de aru): it is said, they say 事毎に (ことごとに, kotogoto ni): in everything 明白な事 (めいはくなこと, meihaku na koto): obvious fact 学校の事を話す (がっこのことをはなす, gakkō no koto o hanasu): speak about the school 考える事 (かんがえること, kangaeru koto): what one thinks 永い事 (ながいこと, nagai koto): for a long time 毎日の事 (まいにちのこと, mainichi no koto): daily affairs どんな事が有っても (どんなことがあっても, donna koto ga atte mo): under any circumstances

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Korean

Hanja

事 (sa) (hangeul 사, revised sa, McCune-Reischauer sa)

1. This entry needs a definition. Please add one, then remove {{defn}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

事 (sự, xì)

1. This entry needs a definition. Please add one, then remove {{defn}}.

References

• Nom Foundation