匹

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See also: 疋 and 四
匹 U+5339, 匹
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5339
← 匸
[U+5338] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 区 →
[U+533A]

Translingual[edit]

Han character[edit]

匹 (Kangxi radical 23, 匸+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 尸金 (SC), four-corner 71711, composition ⿷匚儿(GJKV) or ⿷匸⿰丿㇄(HT))

Derived characters[edit]

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 154, character 36
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2673
  • Dae Jaweon: page 347, character 11
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 81, character 6
  • Unihan data for U+5339

Chinese[edit]

trad. 匹
simp. # 匹
alternative forms 疋

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 匹
Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
匹-bronze.svg 匹-silk.svg 匹-seal.svg 匹-bigseal.svg
Characters in the same phonetic series (匹) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
匹 *pʰid
鴄 *pʰid

Uncertain. Shuowen considers it to be an ideogrammic compound (會意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *pʰid): phonetic 八 (OC *preːd, “eight”) + semantic 匸 (“to conceal”) – unit of measuring cloth. 八 refers to eight folds in one 匹 of cloth (two bolts of cloth), and 匸 refers to concealing the two ends of the cloth when rolling it up. This interpretation is not likely since the older forms evidently do not contain these components.

Various theories have been proposed based on the evidence from the bronze inscriptions:

  • Pictogram (象形) of folds in cloth (Lin, 1920);
  • Ideogram (指事): half of 丙 (“two horses”) – one horse (Zhang et al., 1996), but the origin of the character 丙 is also uncertain (for example, it could be the tail of a fish);
  • Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *pʰid): semantic 石 (“rock”) + phonetic 乙 (OC *qriɡ) or 乀 (MC pʰɨut̚). The phonetic component may be replaced with 匕 (OC *pilʔ) (not shown above).

Etymology 1[edit]

Uncertain. Possibly related to Khmer ពីរ (pii, “two”) or Mizo phîr (“double; forked; twin”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Wang (1982) considers it to be cognate with 比 (OC *piʔ, “to compare; to match”), 媲 (OC *pʰiːs, “to match; to pair”).

The meaning “four zhang of cloth” is probably a special application, but it is reminiscent of Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-ləj (“four”) (ibid.).

Pronunciation 1[edit]

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 匹
Mandarin Beijing /pʰi²¹⁴/
Harbin /pʰi⁴⁴/
Tianjin /pʰi¹³/
Jinan /pʰi²¹³/
Qingdao /pʰi⁵⁵/
Zhengzhou /pʰi⁴²/
Xi'an /pʰi⁵³/
Xining /pʰji⁵³/
Yinchuan /pʰi⁴⁴/
Lanzhou /pʰi³¹/
Ürümqi /pʰi⁴⁴/
Wuhan /pʰi²¹³/
Chengdu /pʰi³¹/
Guiyang /pʰi²¹/
Kunming /pʰi⁴⁴/
Nanjing /pʰiʔ⁵/
Hefei /pʰiəʔ⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /pʰiəʔ²/
Pingyao /pʰiʌʔ¹³/
Hohhot /pʰiəʔ⁴³/
Wu Shanghai /pʰiɪʔ⁵/
Suzhou /pʰiəʔ⁵/
Hangzhou /pʰiəʔ⁵/
Wenzhou /pʰi²¹³/
Hui Shexian /pʰi³¹/
Tunxi /pʰi⁵/
Xiang Changsha /pʰi²⁴/
Xiangtan /pʰi²⁴/
Gan Nanchang /pʰiʔ⁵/
Hakka Meixian /pʰit̚¹/
Taoyuan /pʰit̚²²/
Cantonese Guangzhou /pʰɐt̚⁵/
Nanning /pʰɐt̚⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /pʰɐt̚⁵/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /pʰit̚³²/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /pʰɛiʔ²³/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /pʰi²⁴/
Shantou (Min Nan) /pʰik̚²/
Haikou (Min Nan) /fit̚⁵/
Rime
Character 匹
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 滂 (2)
Final (韻) 質 (48)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 譬吉切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/pʰiɪt̚/
Pan
Wuyun 		/pʰit̚/
Shao
Rongfen 		/pʰjet̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/pʰit̚/
Li
Rong 		/pʰiĕt̚/
Wang
Li 		/pʰĭĕt̚/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/pʰi̯ĕt̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		pi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		pat1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 匹
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		pǐ
Middle
Chinese 		‹ phjit ›
Old
Chinese 		/*pʰi[t]/
English one of a pair

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 匹
Reading # 1/1
No. 9737
Phonetic
component 		匹
Rime
group 		質
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		匹
Old
Chinese 		/*pʰid/
Definitions[edit]

匹

  1. † to match; to be equal
    匹配  ―  pǐpèi  ―  to match
    匹敵 / 匹敌  ―  pǐdí  ―  to be equal
  2. † match; equal; opponent
  3. † mate; spouse
  4. † single; one
  5. † four zhang of cloth
  6. Classifier for bolts of cloth.
  7. (Sichuanese) Classifier for flat surfaces or objects (hillside, leaves, tiles, etc.).
  8. (Sichuanese) Classifier for long, thin objects (bones, feathers, grass, bamboo strips, etc.).
  9. (Sichuanese) Classifier for pieces or lumps (bricks, etc.).
  10. (Sichuanese) Classifier for mountains.
  11. A surname​.
Compounds[edit]

Pronunciation 2[edit]

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 匹
Mandarin Beijing /pʰi²¹⁴/
Harbin /pʰi⁴⁴/
Tianjin /pʰi¹³/
Jinan /pʰi²¹³/
Qingdao /pʰi⁵⁵/
Zhengzhou /pʰi⁴²/
Xi'an /pʰi⁵³/
Xining /pʰji⁵³/
Yinchuan /pʰi⁴⁴/
Lanzhou /pʰi³¹/
Ürümqi /pʰi⁴⁴/
Wuhan /pʰi²¹³/
Chengdu /pʰi³¹/
Guiyang /pʰi²¹/
Kunming /pʰi⁴⁴/
Nanjing /pʰiʔ⁵/
Hefei /pʰiəʔ⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /pʰiəʔ²/
Pingyao /pʰiʌʔ¹³/
Hohhot /pʰiəʔ⁴³/
Wu Shanghai /pʰiɪʔ⁵/
Suzhou /pʰiəʔ⁵/
Hangzhou /pʰiəʔ⁵/
Wenzhou /pʰi²¹³/
Hui Shexian /pʰi³¹/
Tunxi /pʰi⁵/
Xiang Changsha /pʰi²⁴/
Xiangtan /pʰi²⁴/
Gan Nanchang /pʰiʔ⁵/
Hakka Meixian /pʰit̚¹/
Taoyuan /pʰit̚²²/
Cantonese Guangzhou /pʰɐt̚⁵/
Nanning /pʰɐt̚⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /pʰɐt̚⁵/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /pʰit̚³²/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /pʰɛiʔ²³/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /pʰi²⁴/
Shantou (Min Nan) /pʰik̚²/
Haikou (Min Nan) /fit̚⁵/
Rime
Character 匹
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 滂 (2)
Final (韻) 質 (48)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 譬吉切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/pʰiɪt̚/
Pan
Wuyun 		/pʰit̚/
Shao
Rongfen 		/pʰjet̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/pʰit̚/
Li
Rong 		/pʰiĕt̚/
Wang
Li 		/pʰĭĕt̚/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/pʰi̯ĕt̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		pi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		pat1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 匹
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		pǐ
Middle
Chinese 		‹ phjit ›
Old
Chinese 		/*pʰi[t]/
English one of a pair

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 匹
Reading # 1/1
No. 9737
Phonetic
component 		匹
Rime
group 		質
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		匹
Old
Chinese 		/*pʰid/
Definitions[edit]

匹

  1. Classifier for horses, donkeys, mules, etc.
    一匹馬 / 一匹马  ―  yī pǐ mǎ  ―  a horse
    一匹斑馬 / 一匹斑马  ―  yī pǐ bānmǎ  ―  a zebra
    一匹狼  ―  yī pǐ láng  ―  a wolf
    一匹馬騾 / 一匹马骡  ―  yī pǐ mǎluó  ―  a mule
    一匹駱駝 / 一匹骆驼  ―  yī pǐ luòtuó  ―  a camel
    一匹騸馬 / 一匹骟马  ―  yī pǐ shànmǎ  ―  a gelding
    一匹騾子 / 一匹骡子  ―  yī pǐ luózǐ  ―  a mule
  2. (dialectal, including Sichuanese) Classifier for animals.
  3. (colloquial) horsepower
Synonyms[edit]
Dialectal synonyms of 匹 (“(classifier for horses)”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 匹
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 匹
Mandarin Beijing 匹, 隻
Taiwan 匹, 隻
Muping 匹
Jinan 匹
Luoyang 匹
Wanrong 匹
Xi'an 匹
Xining 匹
Ürümqi 匹
Wuhan 匹
Chengdu 匹
Guiyang 匹
Liuzhou 匹
Xuzhou 匹
Yangzhou 匹
Nanjing 匹
Hefei 匹
Cantonese Guangzhou 匹, 隻
Hong Kong 匹, 隻
Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou) 匹
Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou) 匹
Hong Kong (Ting Kok) 條
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) 條
Macau 隻
Guangzhou (Panyu) 隻
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) 隻
Guangzhou (Conghua) 隻
Guangzhou (Zengcheng) 條, 匹
Foshan 隻
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) 隻
Foshan (Shunde) 隻
Foshan (Sanshui) 隻
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) 匹
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 隻
Zhuhai (Qianshan) 隻
Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka) 隻
Zhuhai (Doumen) 匹, 個
Jiangmen (Baisha) 隻
Jiangmen (Xinhui) 個
Taishan 個
Kaiping (Chikan) 個
Enping (Niujiang) 個
Heshan (Yayao) 隻
Dongguan 隻
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) 隻
Yangjiang 匹
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 匹
Gan Nanchang 隻
Lichuan 隻
Pingxiang 匹
Hakka Meixian 條
Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua) 條
Dongguan (Qingxi) 條
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) 條
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) 條
Conghua (Lütian) 條, 匹
Yudu 匹
Hong Kong 隻
Senai (Huiyang) 條
Singkawang 條
Jin Taiyuan 匹
Xinzhou 匹
Min Bei Jian'ou 頭, 匹
Songxi 頭
Zhenghe 頭
Jianyang 頭
Wuyishan 頭
Pucheng (Shibei) 條
Min Dong Fuzhou 頭, 匹
Changle 頭
Fuqing 頭
Yongtai 頭
Gutian 頭
Fu'an 頭
Ningde 頭
Shouning 頭
Zhouning 頭
Fuding 頭
Min Nan Xiamen 隻
Xiamen (Tong'an) 隻
Quanzhou 隻
Yongchun 隻
Manila (Hokkien) 隻
Chaozhou 隻
Shantou 隻
Shantou (Chenghai) 隻
Haifeng 隻
Bangkok (Teochew) 隻, 匹
Johor Bahru (Teochew) 隻
Puxian Min Putian 頭
Zhongshan Min Shaxi (Longdu) 匹
Southern Pinghua Nanning (Tingzi) 匹
Wu Shanghai 匹
Suzhou 隻
Danyang 匹
Ningbo 匹
Wenzhou 頭
Jinhua 匹
Xiang Changsha 匹, 隻
Loudi 匹
Shuangfeng 隻
Compounds[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

For pronunciation and definitions of 匹 – see 鴄 (“duck”).
(This character, 匹, is a variant form of 鴄.)

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

匹

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Counter[edit]

匹(ひき) • (-hiki) 

  1. small animals
    犬(いぬ)が一(いっ)匹(ぴき)います。
    Inu ga ippiki imasu.
    There is one dog.
    猫(ねこ)三(さん)匹(びき)を飼(か)っています。
    Neko sanbiki o katte imasu.
    I have three cats.
    • 1984 February 20 [Jun 15 1983], Murakami, Motoka, “気(き)になる新(しん)任(にん)先(せん)生(せい)の巻(まき) [A Little Worried about the New Teacher]”, in 六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)の剣(けん) [Musashi’s Sword], volume 10 (fiction), 4th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 147:
      先(せん)生(せい)　いたべ⁉
      Sensei ita be⁉
      Are they in there, Sensei!?
      おう！いたぞ。まっ白(しろ)いメス犬(いぬ)がお産(さん)のまっさいちゅうだ。２(に)～３(さん)匹(びき)うまれてるが、まだあと３(さん)匹(びき)ぐらいはうまれるな。
      Ō! Ita zo. Masshiroi mesuinu ga o-san no massaichū da. Ni~sanbiki umareteru ga, mada ato sanbiki gurai wa umareru na.
      Yeah! There’s a white dog giving birth in there. 2 or 3 pups have come out but there’s probably 3 more to come.
      白(しろ)いメス犬(いぬ)⁉ひょっとすると…⁉ほら六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)、前(まえ)に十(と)一(いち)さよく白(しろ)いノラ犬(いぬ)といっしょにあそんでいたでしょう。
      Shiroi mesuinu⁉ Hyotto suru to…⁉ Hora Musashi, mae ni Toichi sa yoku shiroi norainu to issho ni asonde ita deshō.
      A white dog!? Could it be…!? Hey Musashi, you remember Toichi used to go stay with a white stray dog a while back?
      うん‼
      Un‼
      Yeah!!
      きっと十(と)一(いち)の子(こ)よ‼十(と)一(いち)とあの白(しろ)い犬(いぬ)との赤(あか)ちゃんよ！
      Kitto Toichi no ko yo‼ Toichi to ano shiroi inu to no aka-chan yo!
      These must be Toichi’s puppies!! They’re Toichi and that white dog’s babies!
    • 2010 March 17 [Jul 5 2010], Isayama, Hajime, “その日(ひ) [That Day]”, in 進撃の巨人 [Attack on Titan], volume 1, 4th edition, Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, pages 86–87:
      駆(く)逐(ちく)してやる‼この世(よ)から…一(いっ)匹(ぴき)…残(のこ)らず‼
      Kuchikushite yaru‼ Kono yo kara… ippiki… nokorazu‼
      I will wipe them out!! Every single one... of those pests... off the face of the earth!!
  2. rolls of cloth
  3. (historical) numbers of 銭(せん) (sen)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Depending on the preceding word, -hiki may change via rendaku to become -biki or -piki.
Japanese number-counter combinations for 匹(ひき) (hiki)
1 2 3 4 5
一(いっ)匹(ぴき) (ippiki) 二(に)匹(ひき) (nihiki) 三(さん)匹(びき) (sanbiki) 四(よん)匹(ひき) (yonhiki) 五(ご)匹(ひき) (gohiki)
6 7 8 9 10
六(ろっ)匹(ぴき) (roppiki) 七(なな)匹(ひき) (nanahiki)
七(しち)匹(ひき) (shichihiki) 		八(はっ)匹(ぴき) (happiki)
八(はち)匹(ひき) (hachihiki) 		九(きゅう)匹(ひき) (kyūhiki) 十(じゅっ)匹(ぴき) (juppiki)
十(じっ)匹(ぴき) (jippiki)
100 1,000 10,000 How many?
百(ひゃっ)匹(ぴき) (hyappiki) 千(せん)匹(びき) (senbiki) 一(いち)万(まん)匹(びき) (ichimanbiki) 何(なん)匹(びき) (nanbiki)
  • The counter for larger animals, such as livestock, is usually 頭 (tō, literally “head”).

Alternative forms[edit]

References[edit]

  • 2002, Yasuo Kitahara, 明鏡国語辞典 (Meikyō Kokugo Jiten), First Edition (in Japanese), Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

匹 • (pil, mok) (hangeul 필, 목, revised pil, mok, McCune–Reischauer p'il, mok)

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

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

匹: Hán Nôm readings: thất, sất, sơ, sớt, sứt, thớt

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