tai chi

See also: taichi, Taichi, tai-chi, and tāi-chì

English

Alternative forms

• taichi
• tai-chi
• taiji

Etymology

From Mandarin 太極／太极 (tàijí), Wade–Giles romanization: tʻai⁴-chi². Doublet of taegeuk.

Pronunciation

• enPR: tīchē, IPA^(key): /ˌtaɪˈtʃiː/

Noun

tai chi (usually uncountable, plural tai chis)

1. (martial arts) A soft form of martial art developed in China.
   • 2016 March 31, Alan Taylor, “More of the Chinese Art of the Crowd”, in The Atlantic‎^[1], archived from the original on 05 April 2016‎^[2]:

     Participants perform Tai Chi at a square in Jiefang District during a worldwide Tai Chi activity on October 18, 2015, in Jiaozuo, Henan Province.

Synonyms

• (martial arts): tai chi chuan, taijiquan

Translations

form of martial art

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 太極／太极 (taai³ gik⁶), 太極拳／太极拳 (taai³ gik⁶ kyun⁴)

  Hokkien: 太極／太极 (zh-min-nan) (thài-ke̍k), 太極拳／太极拳 (zh-min-nan) (thài-ke̍k-kûn)

  Mandarin: 太極／太极 (zh) (tàijí), 太極拳／太极拳 (zh) (tàijíquán)

• Czech: tchaj-ťi n, tai-či n
• Esperanto: tajĝio
• Finnish: taiji
• French: tai chi (fr)
• Japanese: 太極 (ja) (たいきょく, taikyoku), 太極拳 (ja) (たいきょくけん, taikyokuken)
• Korean: 태극(太極) (ko) (taegeuk), 태극권(太極拳) (ko) (taegeukgwon)
• Malay: taici
• Mongolian: ᠲᠠᠢ
  ᠵᠢᠢ (tai ǰii)
• Occitan: taichí m
• Portuguese: tai chi m, taiji m
• Russian: (indeclinable) тайцзи́ (ru) m (tajczí), тайцзицюа́нь (ru) m (tajczicjuánʹ)
• Spanish: taichí m
• Thai: ไทเก็ก (tai-gèk)
• Uyghur: تەيجى (teyji)
• Vietnamese: thái cực (vi)

Verb

tai chi (third-person singular simple present tai chis, present participle tai chiing or tai chi-ing, simple past and past participle tai chied)

1. (informal) To practise tai chi.
2. (Malaysia, Singapore, slang, figurative) To push a task or responsibility to someone else.

Further reading

• “tai chi”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “tai chi, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “tai chi”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “tai chi” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

Anagrams

• hiatic