兮

兮 U+516E, 兮 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-516E ← 六 [U+516D] CJK Unified Ideographs 兯 → [U+516F]

Translingual

Han character

兮 (Kangxi radical 12, 八+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 金一女尸 (CMVS), four-corner 8020₇, composition ⿱八丂)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 127, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1455
• Dae Jaweon: page 283, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 241, character 6
• Unihan data for U+516E

Chinese

trad.		兮
simp. #		兮
alternative forms		𠔃

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 兮
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script j11575 j11576 j11577 j11578 j11579 j11580 j11581 j11582 j11583 j11584 j11585 Bronze inscriptions b07112 b07113 b07114 b07115 b07116 b07117 b07118 Small seal script s03508 Transcribed ancient scripts L02483 L02484 L02485
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

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

	Old Chinese
盻	*ŋeːs, *ɢeːs
兮	*ɢeː
枍	*qeːs

Originally the same character as 乎 (OC *ɢaː). The oracle bone form consists of 丂 (“fork in a tree”) and two vertical strokes above; the two strokes are parallel in most oracle bone attestations, possibly representing finer branches (i.e. the sound produced by wind blows past these branches).

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xī (xi¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hai⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): ê / hê
• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹shi

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xī
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: si
    • Wade–Giles: hsi¹
    • Yale: syī
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shi
    • Palladius: си (si)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: hai⁴
    • Yale: hàih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hai⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: hei⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɐi̯²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ê / hê
    • Tâi-lô: ê / hê
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ee, hee
    • IPA (Xiamen): /e²⁴/, /he²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /e²⁴/, /he²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /e¹³/, /he¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /e²⁴/, /he²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /e²³/, /he²³/

Note:

• ê - vernacular(or actually pronunciation of other characters, see 个);
• hê - literary.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹shi
    • MiniDict: shi^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹xi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕi⁵³/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 兮
Mandarin	Beijing	/ɕi⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/ɕi⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/ɕi²¹/
	Jinan	/ɕi²¹³/
	Qingdao	/ɕi²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/ɕi²⁴/
	Xi'an	/ɕi²¹/
	Xining	/ɕi⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ɕi¹³/
	Lanzhou	/ɕi⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/ɕi⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/ɕi⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/ɕi⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/ɕi⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/ɕi⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/ɕi³¹/
	Hefei	/sz̩²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ɕi¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ɕi¹³/
	Hohhot	/ɕi³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɕi⁵³/
	Suzhou	/i⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ɦi²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ji³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/ɕi³¹/
	Tunxi
Xiang	Changsha	/ɕi³³/
	Xiangtan	/ɕi³³/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/hi⁴⁴/
	Taoyuan	/hi²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/hɐi²¹/
	Nanning	/hɐi²¹/
	Hong Kong	/hɐi²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/he³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/hie⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/xi⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/hi³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/hi²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: hej

Rime
Character	兮
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	齊 (39)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	胡雞切
Baxter	hej
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦei/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦei/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɛi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦɛj/
Li Rong	/ɣei/
Wang Li	/ɣiei/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣiei/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xí
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hai4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ɡˤe/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɢeː/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	兮
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xī
Middle Chinese	‹ hej ›
Old Chinese	/*ɡˁe/
English	(final particle)
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	兮
Reading #	1/1
No.	13231
Phonetic component	兮
Rime group	支
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	奚
Old Chinese	/*ɢeː/

Definitions

兮

1. (literary) Sentence-internal or final exclamatory particle.

   • 蘀兮蘀兮，風其吹女。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     萚兮萚兮，风其吹女。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Tuò xī tuò xī, fēng qí chuī rǔ. [Pinyin]

     Ye withered leaves! Ye withered leaves! How the wind is blowing you away!

   • 子夏問曰：「『巧笑倩兮，美目盼兮，素以為絢兮。』何謂也？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     子夏问曰：「『巧笑倩兮，美目盼兮，素以为绚兮。』何谓也？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

     Zǐ Xià wèn yuē: “‘qiǎoxiào qiàn xī, měimù pàn xī, sù yǐwéi xuàn xī.’ Héwèi yě?” [Pinyin]

     Zi Xia asked, saying, "What is the meaning of the passage - 'The pretty dimples of her artful smile! The well-defined black and white of her eye! The plain ground for the colors?'"

   • 淵兮似萬物之宗。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     渊兮似万物之宗。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Tao Te Ching, 4^th century BCE

     Yuān xī sì wànwù zhī zōng. [Pinyin]

     How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things!

   • 歸兮亦難佇亦難，幾日彷徨中路傍？ [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: 《蘭皐平生詩》 (The Poem of My Life), death poem of Kim Byeong'yeon (金炳淵), 1863

     Gwi hye yeok nan jeo yeok nan, giil banghwang jungno bang? [Sino-Korean]

     Oh, it is difficult to go home, but so it is to stay; how many days more shall I roam the roads?

2. (Central Min, Puxian Min) Possessive particle.
3. (Southern Min) Alternative form of 个 (possessive particle)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 的 (“possessive particle”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		之
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		的
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	的
	Taiwan	的
	Malaysia	的
	Singapore	的
Central Plains Mandarin	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	的
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	的
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	的
	Guilin	的
	Kokang	的
	Dagudi (Maliba)	的
	Reshuitang (Longling)	的
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	的
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	的
	Pematangsiantar	的
Cantonese	Guangzhou	嘅 †
	Hong Kong	嘅 †
	Macau	嘅 †
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	嘅
	Taishan	個, 嘅
	Beihai	個
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	個
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	嘅
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	個
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	嘅
	Penang (Guangfu)	嘅
	Singapore (Guangfu)	嘅
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	嘅
	Móng Cái	個
Gan	Nanchang	個
	Lichuan	個
Hakka	Meixian	個
	Wuhua (Meilin)	個
	Nanxiong (Zhuji)	個
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	個
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	個
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	個
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	個
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	個
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	個
	Kuching (Hepo)	嘅
Huizhou	Jixi	仂
Jin	Taiyuan	的
Jiuxing Yumin	Lanxi	個
Northern Min	Jian'ou	個
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	其
Southern Min	Xiamen	個
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	個
	Quanzhou	個
	Zhangzhou	個
	Zhao'an	個
	Dongshan	個
	Taipei	個
	Kaohsiung	個
	Tainan	個
	Penang (Hokkien)	個
	Singapore (Hokkien)	個
	Manila (Hokkien)	個
	Chaozhou	個 †
	Shantou	個 †
	Jieyang	個 †
	Haifeng	個
	Singapore (Teochew)	個 †
	Leizhou	個
	Wenchang	個
	Singapore (Hainanese)	個
Puxian Min	Xianyou	兮
Central Min	Yong'an	兮
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	個 †
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	嘅
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Liutang, Lingui)	嘅
Wu	Shanghai	個 †
	Suzhou	個 †
	Wuxi	個 †
	Hangzhou	的 †
	Ningbo	個 †
	Wenzhou	個 †
Xiang	Changsha	的
	Loudi	個
	Shaoyang	個
Note	† - may use corresponding classifier in certain contexts

Compounds

• 伯兮
• 兮兮 (xīxī)
• 兮晡
• 巧笑倩兮
• 慘兮兮／惨兮兮
• 歸去來兮／归去来兮
• 神經兮兮／神经兮兮 (shénjīngxīxī)
• 簡兮／简兮
• 蘀兮／萚兮
• 髒兮兮／脏兮兮 (zāngxīxī)

 

Japanese

Kanji

兮

(Hyōgai kanji)

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

Readings

• Go-on: げ (ge)
• Kan-on: けい (kei)
• Kun: の (no)

Korean

Hanja

兮 (eum 혜 (hye))

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

Vietnamese

Han character

兮: Hán Nôm readings: hề

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