物理

Chinese

		thing; object; matter	to manage; to heed; to put in order to manage; to heed; to put in order; reason; logic; science; inner principle or structure
simp. and trad. (物理)		物	理

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wùlǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄨˋ ㄌㄧˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mat⁶ lei⁵

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): vu̍t-lî

  (Hailu, HRS): vud^ˋ li^ˋ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): vud⁶ li¹

• Jin (Wiktionary): veh⁴ li²
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): boh⁷ li³ / buoh⁷ li³
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bu̍t-lí

  (Teochew, Peng'im): muêh⁸ li²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wùlǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄨˋ ㄌㄧˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wùlǐ
    • Wade–Giles: wu⁴-li³
    • Yale: wù-lǐ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wuhlii
    • Palladius: ули (uli)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /u⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mat⁶ lei⁵
    • Yale: maht léih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mat⁹ lei⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: med⁶ léi⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɐt̚² lei̯¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: vu̍t-lî
    • Hakka Romanization System: vud li^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: vud⁶ li¹
    • Sinological IPA: /vut̚⁵ li²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: vud⁶ li¹
    • Sinological IPA: /ʋut̚⁵ li⁴⁴/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: vud^ˋ li^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /vut² li⁵³/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: veh⁴ li²
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /vəʔ²⁻⁴⁵ li⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: boh⁷ li³ [Phonetic: boh⁶ li³]
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: beo̍h-lî
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɔʔ⁴⁻²¹ li⁴⁵³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: buoh⁷ li³ [Phonetic: buoh⁶ li³]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /puoʔ⁴⁻² li³³²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bu̍t-lí
    • Tâi-lô: bu̍t-lí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: budlie
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /but̚⁴⁻³² li⁵³/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /but̚²⁴⁻² li⁵⁵⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /but̚¹²¹⁻²¹ li⁵³/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /but̚⁴⁻³² li⁵³/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /but̚⁴⁻³² li⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: muêh⁸ li²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: mue̍h lí
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mueʔ⁴⁻² li⁵²/

Noun

物理

1. physics

   等離子體物理／等离子体物理  ―  děnglízǐtǐ wùlǐ  ―  plasma physics

2. (literary) innate nature of things

   • 棹數小舟曳鐵鈀尋十餘里無跡。一講學家設帳寺中，聞之笑曰：“爾輩不能究物理。” [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     棹数小舟曳铁钯寻十余里无迹。一讲学家设帐寺中，闻之笑曰：“尔辈不能究物理。” [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1798, 紀昀 (Ji Yun),《河中石獸》

     Zhào shù xiǎozhōu yè tiěbǎ xún shí yú lǐ wú jì. Yī jiǎngxuéjiā shèzhàng sì zhōng, wén zhī xiào yuē: “Ěrbèi bùnéng jiū wùlǐ.” [Pinyin]

     They rowed a small boat, raking the riverbed over a distance of ten-odd li, not finding a single trace [of the lost stones]. A scholar teaching in that temple learned about this and said with a sneer, ‘You all cannot investigate the principles of things.’

Adverb

物理

1. (Internet slang, humorous) literally

Derived terms

• 原子物理 (yuánzǐ wùlǐ)
• 地球物理 (dìqiú wùlǐ)
• 大氣物理 / 大气物理
• 天體物理 / 天体物理 (tiāntǐ wùlǐ)
• 實驗物理 / 实验物理
• 數學物理 / 数学物理
• 數理化 / 数理化 (shùlǐhuà)
• 核物理 (héwùlǐ)
• 物理化學 / 物理化学 (wùlǐ huàxué)
• 物理學 / 物理学 (wùlǐxué)
• 物理性質 / 物理性质
• 物理治療 / 物理治疗 (wùlǐ zhìliáo)
• 物理療法 / 物理疗法 (wùlǐ liáofǎ)
• 物理診斷 / 物理诊断
• 物理變化 / 物理变化 (wùlǐ biànhuà)
• 物理量 (wùlǐliàng)
• 理化 (lǐhuà)
• 理論物理 / 理论物理
• 生物物理 (shēngwù wùlǐ)
• 粒子物理 (lìzǐ wùlǐ)
• 計算物理 / 计算物理

Japanese

Kanji in this term
物	理
ぶつ Grade: 3	り Grade: 2
on'yomi

Etymology

Middle Chinese 物理 (“nature of things; how things work; matters in life; life in general”)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぶつり [búꜜtsùrì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [bɯ̟t͡sɨɾʲi]

Noun

物(ぶつ)理(り) • (butsuri) 

1. physics, the physical aspects of a phenomenon or a system
2. short for 物(ぶつ)理(り)学(がく) (butsurigaku); physics, the branch of science concerned with the study of the properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy

Descendants

• → Chinese: 物理 (wùlǐ, “physics”)
• → Korean: 물리 (mulli, “physics”)
• → Vietnamese: vật lí (“physics”)

References

• “物理”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
物	理

Noun

物理 • (mulli) (hangeul 물리)

1. hanja form^? of 물리 (“physics”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
物	理

Noun

物理

1. chữ Hán form of vật lí (“physics”)