匹夫

Chinese

		(measure word for horses, mules, a bolt of cloth); ordinary person; mate (measure word for horses, mules, a bolt of cloth); ordinary person; mate; one of a pair	husband; man
trad. (匹夫)		匹	夫
simp. #(匹夫)		匹	夫

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): pǐfū

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄧˇ ㄈㄨ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): pat¹ fu¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): phit-hu

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: pǐfū
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄧˇ ㄈㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: pǐfu
    • Wade–Giles: pʻi³-fu¹
    • Yale: pǐ-fū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: piifu
    • Palladius: пифу (pifu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ fu⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: pat¹ fu¹
    • Yale: pāt fū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: pat⁷ fu¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ped¹ fu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰɐt̚⁵ fuː⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phit-hu
    • Tâi-lô: phit-hu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phithw
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pʰit̚⁵⁻²⁴ hu³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /pʰit̚³²⁻⁵ hu⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /pʰit̚³²⁻⁴ hu⁴⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: phjit pju

Rime
Character	匹	夫
Reading #	1/1	2/2
Initial (聲)	滂 (2)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	質 (48)	虞 (24)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	譬吉切	甫無切
Baxter	phjit	pju
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pʰiɪt̚/	/pɨo/
Pan Wuyun	/pʰit̚/	/pio/
Shao Rongfen	/pʰjet̚/	/pio/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pʰit̚/	/puə̆/
Li Rong	/pʰiĕt̚/	/pio/
Wang Li	/pʰĭĕt̚/	/pĭu/
Bernard Karlgren	/pʰi̯ĕt̚/	/pi̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	pi	fū
Expected Cantonese Reflex	pat1	fu1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*pʰi[t]  p(r)a/

  (Zhengzhang): /*pʰid  pa/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	匹	夫
Reading #	1/1	1/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	pǐ	fū
Middle Chinese	‹ phjit ›	‹ pju ›
Old Chinese	/*pʰi[t]/	/*p(r)a/
English	one of a pair	man
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	夫
Reading #	1/1	1/2
No.	9737	3274
Phonetic component	匹	夫
Rime group	質	魚
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	匹	跗
Old Chinese	/*pʰid/	/*pa/

Noun

匹夫

1. (literary) ordinary man
2. (literary) the common people; the masses; ordinary citizens
3. (literary) ordinary person; unexceptional individual
4. (literary) autocrat
5. (literary, derogatory) ignorant person

Synonyms

• (common people):

edit

• 一般人 (yībānrén)
• 世人 (shìrén)
• 世間人／世间人 (Hokkien)
• 人士 (rénshì) (literary)
• 人民 (rénmín)
• 人群 (rénqún)
• 人萌 (rénméng) (literary)
• 俗人 (súrén)
• 俗子 (súzǐ) (literary)
• 𫣆人 (Hakka)
• 兆民 (zhàomín) (archaic)
• 公眾／公众 (gōngzhòng)
• 凡人 (fánrén)
• 凡夫 (fánfū) (literary)
• 四眾人／四众人 (si³ zing³ nang⁵) (Teochew)
• 士人 (shìrén) (archaic)
• 大眾／大众 (dàzhòng)
• 子民 (zǐmín) (historical)
• 家人 (jiārén) (archaic)
• 布衣 (bùyī) (historical)
• 常人 (chángrén)
• 平人 (píngrén) (literary)
• 平常人 (píngchángrén)
• 平民 (píngmín)
• 庶人 (shùrén) (literary)
• 庶民 (shùmín) (literary)
• 斯人 (sīrén) (Classical Chinese)
• 普通人 (pǔtōngrén)
• 民人 (mínrén) (literary)
• 民眾／民众 (mínzhòng)
• 烝民 (zhēngmín) (literary)
• 烝黎 (zhēnglí) (Classical Chinese)
• 白衣 (báiyī) (historical)
• 白衣人 (báiyīrén) (historical)
• 白身 (báishēn) (archaic)
• 白身人 (báishēnrén) (archaic)
• 百姓
• 眾人／众人 (zhòngrén) (literary)
• 萬姓／万姓 (wànxìng) (archaic)
• 群眾／群众 (qúnzhòng)
• 老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng)
• 良人 (liángrén) (literary)
• 草民 (cǎomín) (the worthless ordinary people)
• 草菅 (cǎojiān) (Classical Chinese, figurative)
• 草野 (cǎoyě) (literary, figurative)
• 萌 (literary)
• 野人 (yěrén) (archaic)
• 黎庶 (líshù) (literary)
• 黎民 (límín) (literary)
• 黎首 (líshǒu) (archaic)
• 黔首 (qiánshǒu) (archaic)
• 黔黎 (archaic)

 

Derived terms

• 匹夫之勇 (pǐfūzhīyǒng)
• 天下興亡，匹夫有責／天下兴亡，匹夫有责 (tiānxià xīngwáng, pǐfū yǒuzé)