是故

Chinese

		be; yes; this	happening; instance; reason happening; instance; reason; cause; deceased; old
simp. and trad. (是故)		是	故

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shìgù

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˋ ㄍㄨˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): si⁶ gu³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shìgù
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˋ ㄍㄨˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shìhgù
    • Wade–Giles: shih⁴-ku⁴
    • Yale: shr̀-gù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyhguh
    • Palladius: шигу (šigu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ku⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 世故 事故

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: si⁶ gu³
    • Yale: sih gu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: si⁶ gu³
    • Guangdong Romanization: xi⁶ gu³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siː²² kuː³³/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 是故 事故

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• Middle Chinese: dzyeX kuH

Rime
Character	是	故
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	支 (11)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	承紙切	古暮切
Baxter	dzyeX	kuH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑiᴇX/	/kuoH/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑiɛX/	/kuoH/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑjɛX/	/koH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑiə̆X/	/kɔH/
Li Rong	/ʑieX/	/koH/
Wang Li	/ʑǐeX/	/kuH/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʑie̯X/	/kuoH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shì	gù
Expected Cantonese Reflex	si6	gu3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[d]eʔ  kˤa(ʔ)-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*djeʔ  kaːs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	是	故
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shì	gù
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyeX ›	‹ kuH ›
Old Chinese	/*[d]eʔ/	/*kˁa(ʔ)-s/
English	this	fact; reason
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	是	故
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	11645	4228
Phonetic component	是	古
Rime group	支	魚
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	是	顧
Old Chinese	/*djeʔ/	/*kaːs/
Notes	金文從早從止， 馬敘倫謂正加射的。按象對準目標行進， 表所行正確

Conjunction

是故

1. (literary) because of this; thus; consequently

   • 曰：「夫子何哂由也？」曰：「為國以禮，其言不讓，是故哂之。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     曰：「夫子何哂由也？」曰：「为国以礼，其言不让，是故哂之。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Yuē: “Fūzǐ hé shěn Yóu yě?” Yuē: “Wéi guó yǐ lǐ, qí yán bù ràng, shìgù shěn zhī.” [Pinyin]

     Xi pursued, "Master, why did you smile at You?" He was answered, "The management of a state demands the rules of propriety. His words were not humble; therefore I smiled at him."

   • 孫子曰：凡用兵之法，全國為上，破國次之；全旅為上，破旅次之；全卒為上，破卒次之；全伍為上，破伍次之。是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     孙子曰：凡用兵之法，全国为上，破国次之；全旅为上，破旅次之；全卒为上，破卒次之；全伍为上，破伍次之。是故百战百胜，非善之善者也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Art of War, circa 5^th century BCE, translated based on Lionel Giles's version

     Sūnzǐ yuē: fán yòngbīng zhī fǎ, quán guó wèi shàng, pò guó cì zhī; quán lǚ wèi shàng, pò lǚ cì zhī; quán zú wèi shàng, pò zú cì zhī; quán wǔ wèi shàng, pò wǔ cì zhī. Shìgù bǎizhànbǎishèng, fēi shàn zhī shàn zhě yě; bùzhàn'érqūrénzhībīng, shàn zhī shàn zhě yě. [Pinyin]

     Sunzi said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Synonyms

• 乃末 (Shanghainese)
• 以故 (yǐgù) (Classical Chinese)
• 以是 (yǐshì) (Classical Chinese)
• 因此 (yīncǐ)
• 因而 (yīn'ér)
• 從而／从而 (cóng'ér)
• 所以
• 故 (gù) (literary)
• 故此 (gùcǐ)
• 故而 (gù'ér)
• 於是／于是 (yúshì)
• 於是乎／于是乎 (yúshìhū) (literary)
• 是以 (shìyǐ) (literary)
• 此以 (cǐyǐ) (literary)
• 為此／为此 (wèicǐ)