匙

Translingual

Han character

匙 (Kangxi radical 21, 匕+9, 11 strokes, cangjie input 日人心 (AOP), four-corner 6180₁, composition ⿺是匕)

Derived characters

• 𣼮, 𨫞

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 153, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2590
• Dae Jaweon: page 344, character 20
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 263, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5319

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Chinese

trad.		匙
simp. #		匙

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 匙
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (是) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
鞮	*teː
隄	*teː, *deː
堤	*teː, *teːʔ, *dje
鍉	*teː
蝭	*teːs, *deː
醍	*tʰeːʔ, *deː
緹	*tʰeːʔ, *deː
提	*deː, *dje
瑅	*deː
題	*deː, *deːs
媞	*deː, *deːʔ, *djeʔ
褆	*deː, *deʔ, *djeʔ
禔	*deː, *tje, *dje
騠	*deː
趧	*deː
鯷	*deː, *deːs, *djes
踶	*deːs, *deʔ
徥	*deʔ, *djeʔ
匙	*dje
是	*djeʔ
諟	*djeʔ
翨	*hljes, *kles
睼	*tʰeːns
寔	*djɯɡ
湜	*dɯɡ
遈	*djɯɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *dje) : phonetic 是 (OC *djeʔ) + semantic 匕.

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 匙

1. spoon

See also

• 勺 (sháo), 勺子 (sháozi)
• 調羹／调羹 (tiáogēng)

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 匙

1. key

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 鑰匙 (“key”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		匙
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		鑰匙
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	鑰匙
	Taiwan	鑰匙
	Chengde	鑰匙
	Chifeng	鑰匙
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	鑰匙
	Heihe	鑰匙
	Qiqihar	鑰匙
	Harbin	鑰匙
	Jiamusi	鑰匙
	Baicheng	鑰匙
	Changchun	鑰匙
	Tonghua	鑰匙
	Shenyang	鑰匙
	Jinzhou	鑰匙
	Malaysia	鎖匙
	Singapore	鎖匙
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	鑰匙
	Tangshan	鑰匙
	Cangzhou	鑰匙
	Baoding	鑰匙
	Shijiazhuang	鑰匙
	Lijin	鑰匙
	Jinan	鑰匙
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	鑰匙
	Dandong	鑰匙
	Yantai	鑰匙
	Yantai (Muping)	鑰匙
	Qingdao	鑰匙
	Zhucheng	鑰匙
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	鑰匙
	Lingbao	鑰匙
	Jining	鑰匙
	Wanrong	鑰匙
	Linfen	鑰匙
	Shangqiu	鑰匙
	Yuanyang	鑰匙
	Zhengzhou	鑰匙
	Xinyang	鑰匙
	Baihe	鑰匙
	Xi'an	鑰匙
	Baoji	鑰匙
	Tianshui	鑰匙
	Xining	鑰匙
	Xuzhou	鑰匙
	Fuyang	鑰匙
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	鑰匙
	Lanzhou	鑰匙
	Dunhuang	鑰匙
	Hami	鑰匙
	Ürümqi	鑰匙
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	鑰匙
	Nanchong	鑰匙
	Dazhou	鑰匙
	Hanyuan	鑰匙
	Xichang	鑰匙
	Zigong	鑰匙
	Chongqing	鑰匙
	Wuhan	鑰匙
	Yichang	鑰匙
	Xiangyang	鑰匙
	Tianmen	鑰匙
	Guiyang	鑰匙
	Zunyi	鑰匙
	Bijie	鑰匙
	Liping	鑰匙
	Zhaotong	鑰匙
	Dali	鑰匙
	Kunming	鑰匙
	Mengzi	鑰匙
	Guilin	鑰匙
	Liuzhou	鑰匙, 鎖匙
	Jishou	鑰匙
	Changde	鑰匙
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	鑰匙
	Hanzhong	鑰匙
	Kokang	鎖心, 鑰匙
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	鑰匙
	Yangzhou	鑰匙
	Lianyungang	鑰匙
	Lianshui	鑰匙
	Nantong	鑰匙
	Wuhu	鑰匙
	Hefei	鑰匙
	Hong'an	鑰匙
Cantonese	Guangzhou	鎖匙
	Hong Kong	鎖匙, 匙
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	鎖匙
	Macau	鎖匙
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	鎖匙
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	鎖匙
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	鎖匙
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	鎖匙
	Foshan	鎖匙
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	鎖匙
	Foshan (Shunde)	鎖匙
	Foshan (Sanshui)	鎖匙
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	鎖匙
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	鎖匙
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	鎖匙
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	鎖匙
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	鎖匙
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	鎖匙
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	鎖匙
	Taishan	鎖匙
	Kaiping (Chikan)	鎖匙
	Enping (Niujiang)	鎖匙
	Heshan (Yayao)	鎖匙
	Dongguan	鎖匙
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	鎖匙
	Yangjiang	鎖匙
	Beihai	鎖匙
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	鎖匙
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	鎖匙
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	鎖匙
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	鎖匙
	Singapore (Guangfu)	鎖匙
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	鎖匙
	Móng Cái	鎖匙
Gan	Nanchang	鎖匙
	Lichuan	鎖匙
	Pingxiang	鎖匙
Hakka	Meixian	鎖匙
	Xingning	鎖匙
	Huidong (Daling)	鎖匙
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	鎖匙
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	鎖匙
	Changting	鎖匙
	Wuping	鎖匙
	Wuping (Pingyu)	鎖匙
	Liancheng	鎖匙
	Ninghua	鎖匙
	Yudu	鎖匙
	Ruijin	鎖匙
	Shicheng	鎖匙
	Shangyou (Shexi)	鎖匙
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	鎖匙
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	鎖匙
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	鎖匙
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	鎖匙
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	鎖匙
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	鎖匙
	Kuching (Hepo)	鎖匙
Huizhou	Jixi	鎖匙
	Shexian	鎖匙
Jin	Taiyuan	鑰匙
	Yangyuan	鑰匙
	Datong	鑰匙
	Xinzhou	鑰匙
	Lüliang (Lishi)	鑰匙
	Changzhi	鑰子
	Linhe	鑰匙
	Jining	鑰匙
	Hohhot	鑰匙
	Erenhot	鑰匙
	Pingshan	鑰匙
	Zhangjiakou	鑰匙
	Handan	鑰匙
	Linzhou	鑰匙
	Suide	鑰匙
Northern Min	Jian'ou	鎖匙, 㪗仔
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	鎖匙, 匙
	Fuqing	鎖匙
	Matsu	鎖匙
Southern Min	Xiamen	鎖匙, 撰匙
	Quanzhou	鎖匙
	Zhangzhou	鎖匙, 撰匙
	Taipei	鎖匙
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	鎖匙
	Kaohsiung	鎖匙
	Yilan	鎖匙
	Changhua (Lukang)	鎖匙
	Taichung	鎖匙
	Tainan	鎖匙
	Hsinchu	鎖匙
	Kinmen	鎖匙
	Penghu (Magong)	鎖匙
	Penang (Hokkien)	鎖匙
	Singapore (Hokkien)	鎖匙
	Manila (Hokkien)	鎖匙
	Chaozhou	鎖匙
	Shantou	鎖匙
	Jieyang	鎖匙
	Singapore (Teochew)	鎖匙
	Pontianak (Teochew)	鎖匙
	Haikou	鎖匙
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	鎖匙
Wu	Shanghai	鑰匙
	Shanghai (Chongming)	鑰匙
	Suzhou	鑰匙
	Danyang	鑰匙
	Hangzhou	鑰匙
	Ningbo	鑰匙
	Wenzhou	鎖匙開, 鎖匙, 鎖開
	Jinhua	鑰匙
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	鎖匙
Xiang	Changsha	鑰匙
	Loudi	鎖匙, 鎖匙子
	Shuangfeng	鎖匙

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Japanese

Kanji

匙

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. spoon

Readings

• Go-on: じ (ji)
• Kan-on: し (shi)
• Kan’yō-on: ひ (hi)
• Kun: かい (kai, 匙)、さじ (saji, 匙)、しゃじ (shaji, 匙)、すくい (sukui, 匙)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
匙
じ Hyōgai
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 匙 (zhiɛ, “spoon”). The goon, so likely the earliest borrowing from Middle Chinese.

Suffix

匙(じ) • (-ji) 

1. spoon, scoop

Usage notes

Only found in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 香匙(きょうじ) (kyōji): a spoon or scoop used to scoop out incense
• 火匙(こじ) (koji): a pair of tongs or chopsticks (usually metal), used to handle live coals or burning incense
• 匙(さじ) (saji): a spoon or scoop
• 匙(しゃじ) (shaji): a spoon or scoop

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
匙
し Hyōgai
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 匙 (zhiɛ, “spoon”). The kan'on, so a later borrowing. Compare modern Cantonese 匙 (ci⁴), Min Nan 匙 (sî).

Suffix

匙(し) • (-shi) 

1. spoon, scoop

Usage notes

Only found in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 円匙(えんし) (enshi): a spoon-shaped spade for digging
• 鑰匙(やくし) (yakushi): a key (from the vague similarity in shape to a spoon, with the bowl of the spoon as the handle of the key)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
匙
ひ Hyōgai
on'yomi

Likely an alteration of the kan'on reading shi: /si/ → /hi/

Alternative forms

• 匕

Affix

匙(ひ) • (hi) 

1. spoon, scoop

Usage notes

Only found in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 円匙(えんぴ) (enpi): a spoon-shaped spade for digging
• 匙量(ひりょう) (hiryō): a spoonful, as when measuring medicine

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
匙
かい Hyōgai
kun'yomi

/kapi₁/ → /kapi/ → /kaɸi/ → /kahi/ → /kai/

From Old Japanese 貝 (kai, “shellfish, clam; clam shell”), from the way that clam shells were used as scoops.

Alternative forms

• 匕

Noun

匙(かい) • (kai) ^{←かひ (kafi)?}

1. (obsolete) a scoop for food
2. (archaic, rare) a wooden sword for training

   This sense developed from an ateji spelling of 木刀 (literally, “wooden blade”) applied to the food scoop meaning.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 飯匙(いいがい) (īgai): (obsolete) a rice scoop
• 御台匙(おだいがい) (odaigai): (obsolete) a rice scoop
• 匙笥(かいげ) (kaige): a small bucket or basin used in the bath to scoop water from the tub to pour over oneself
• 切匙(せっかい) (sekkai), 狭匙(せっかい) (sekkai), 刷匙(せっかい) (sekkai): a scoop used to scrape off ground material stuck to the inner surface of a mortar

Etymology 5

匙 (saji): a spoon.

Kanji in this term
匙
さじ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Originally a compound of 茶 (sa, “tea”) +‎ 匙 (ji, “spoon, scoop”)[[Category:Japanese compound the tōon or Tang readings|さじ]]. This on'yomi reading for a two-character term was then applied to the single-character 匙 spelling, and re-interpreted as kun'yomi.

Alternative forms

• 匕

Noun

匙(さじ) • (saji) 

1. spoon, scoop used for food

   私(わたし)たちは匙(さじ)でスープを飲(の)む。

   Watashitachi wa saji de sūpu o nomu.

   We eat soup with a spoon.

2. more specifically, a spoon or scoop used for compounding medicine
3. by extension, medicine
4. by further extension, a doctor

Usage notes

In modern Japanese, the term スプーン (supūn) is used to refer to spoons in general, including spoons as found in the Western world. The term saji generally refers more to the broad, usually flat-bottomed Asian-style spoon shown at right.

The saji reading is the most common in modern Japanese when using this term as a standalone noun. The kanji spelling (匙) is rarely encountered; it is usually written in hiragana alone (さじ).

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 石匙(いしさじ) (ishi saji): (neolithic) a stone spoon or scoop
• 大匙(おおさじ) (ōsaji): a large spoon or scoop, a ladle; a tablespoon, a unit of measure of 15ml
• 御匙(おさじ) (osaji): a spoon (polite speech); a doctor (especially one tending to a high-ranking samurai family)
• 御匙医師(おさじいし) (osaji ishi): a doctor (especially one tending to a high-ranking samurai family)
• 香匙(こうさじ) (kō saji): an incense scoop
• 小匙(こさじ) (kosaji): a small spoon or scoop; a teaspoon, a unit of measure of 5ml
• 匙沢瀉, 匙面高(さじおもだか) (sajiomodaka): a perennial flowering plant, (common water plantain, mad-dog weed)
• 匙加減(さじかげん) (sajikagen): literally, “spoon moderation”: the degree of skill in compounding medicine; a doctor's method of treatment; the balance of flavors in a dish; knack or finesse in doing something
• 匙(さじ)が回(まわ)る (saji ga mawaru): (idiom): “the spoon goes around” → to be skillful at compounding medicine
• 匙先(さじさき) (sajisaki): literally, “spoon tip”: the degree of skill in compounding medicine; a doctor's skill in treatment
• 匙(さじ)を投(な)げる (saji o nageru): (idiom): “throw the spoon” → throw in the towel
• 茶匙(ちゃさじ) (cha saji): a teaspoon (a spoon used for tea); a teaspoon, a unit of measure of 5ml
• 角匙(つのさじ) (tsuno saji): a spoon made from horn, such as a cow's horn, used historically when working with medicines
• 灰匙(はいさじ) (hai saji): a spoon or scoop used to scoop out ashes from the brazier used for tea ceremony
• 浜匙(はまさじ) (hamasaji): a perennial plant, (autumn statice or square-stem statice)
• 一匙飯(ひとさじめし) (hitosaji meshi): a single scoop of cooked rice (viewed as inadequate and bad luck to eat just this amount, with some superstitions that eating just this would cause one to become a stepmother or stepchild)

Idioms

Idioms

• 匙(さじ)の先(さき)より口(くち)の先(さき) (saji no saki yori kuchi no saki): “not so much the tip of their spoon, as the tip of their tongue” → a pejorative comment about a doctor, stating that they are better at flattery and speaking nicely, than they are at actual medical treatment

Synonyms

Synonyms

• (spoon, scoop): スプーン (supūn); 蓮華(れんげ) (renge): literally, “lotus leaf” from the similarity shape
• (medicine): 薬(くすり) (kusuri)
• (doctor): 医者(いしゃ) (isha)

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
匙
しゃじ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Appears to be an alteration of saji above: [sad͡ʑi] → [ɕad͡ʑi]

Noun

匙(しゃじ) • (shaji) 

1. spoon

Usage notes

This reading does not appear to be as common as the saji reading above. May be dialectal.

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
匙
すくい Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Alternate spelling of 掬い (sukui, “scoop”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 掬う (sukuu, “to scoop”).

Rare. Only found in compounds.

Noun

匙(すくい) • (sukui) ^{←すくひ (sukufi)?}

1. (rare) a scoop

Usage notes

Although the general term sukui can serve as a standalone noun, this particular 匙 spelling for sukui is only found in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 香匙(こうすくい) (kōsukui): an incense scoop

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Korean

Hanja

匙 (eum 시 (si))

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

匙: Hán Nôm readings: thi, thìa, thì, chủy/chuỷ

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.