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之乎者也. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
之乎者也, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
之乎者也 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
之乎者也 you have here. The definition of the word
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之乎者也, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
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possessive particle: 's
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interrogative particle: ?
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‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does something)
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affirmative particle: indeed
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| trad. (之乎者也)
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之
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乎
|
者
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也
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| simp. #(之乎者也)
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之
|
乎
|
者
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也
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Etymology
The four common particles in Classical Chinese.
Pronunciation
| Rime
|
| Character
|
之
|
乎
|
者
|
也
|
| Reading #
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1/1
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
| Initial (聲)
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章 (23)
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匣 (33)
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章 (23)
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以 (36)
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| Final (韻)
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之 (19)
|
模 (23)
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麻 (100)
|
麻 (100)
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| Tone (調)
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Level (Ø)
|
Level (Ø)
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Rising (X)
|
Rising (X)
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| Openness (開合)
|
Open
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Open
|
Open
|
Open
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| Division (等)
|
III
|
I
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III
|
III
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| Fanqie
|
止而切
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戸吳切
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章也切
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羊者切
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| Baxter
|
tsyi
|
hu
|
tsyaeX
|
yaeX
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| Reconstructions
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Zhengzhang
Shangfang
|
/t͡ɕɨ/
|
/ɦuo/
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/t͡ɕiaX/
|
/jiaX/
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Pan
Wuyun
|
/t͡ɕɨ/
|
/ɦuo/
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/t͡ɕiaX/
|
/jiaX/
|
Shao
Rongfen
|
/t͡ɕie/
|
/ɣo/
|
/t͡ɕiaX/
|
/iaX/
|
Edwin
Pulleyblank
|
/cɨ/
|
/ɦɔ/
|
/ciaX/
|
/jiaX/
|
Li
Rong
|
/t͡ɕiə/
|
/ɣo/
|
/t͡ɕiaX/
|
/iaX/
|
Wang
Li
|
/t͡ɕĭə/
|
/ɣu/
|
/t͡ɕĭaX/
|
/jĭaX/
|
Bernhard
Karlgren
|
/t͡ɕi/
|
/ɣuo/
|
/t͡ɕi̯aX/
|
/i̯aX/
|
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
|
zhī
|
hú
|
zhě
|
yě
|
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
|
zi1
|
wu4
|
ze2
|
je5
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| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
|
| Character
|
之
|
之
|
乎
|
乎
|
者
|
也
|
| Reading #
|
1/2
|
2/2
|
1/2
|
2/2
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
|
zhī
|
zhī
|
hū
|
hū
|
zhě
|
yě
|
Middle
Chinese
|
‹ tsyi ›
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‹ tsyi ›
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‹ hu ›
|
‹ hu ›
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‹ tsyæX ›
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‹ yæX ›
|
Old
Chinese
|
/*tə/
|
/*tə/
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/*ɢˁa/
|
/*ɢˁa/
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/*tAʔ/
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/*lAjʔ/
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| English
|
go to
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(3p object pronoun; attributive particle)
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(Q particle)
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in, at
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(nominalizing particle)
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(final particle)
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Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:
* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * 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
|
之
|
乎
|
者
|
也
|
| Reading #
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
| No.
|
17188
|
5189
|
16960
|
14773
|
Phonetic
component
|
之
|
乎
|
者
|
也
|
Rime
group
|
之
|
魚
|
魚
|
歌
|
Rime
subdivision
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Corresponding
MC rime
|
之
|
胡
|
者
|
野
|
Old
Chinese
|
/*tjɯ/
|
/*ɢaː/
|
/*tjaːʔ/
|
/*laːlʔ/
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| Notes
|
|
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說文古旅聲。甲金文象足印小坎積水，
爲瀦初文，用詹鄞鑫說
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Idiom
之乎者也
- (metonymically) unintelligible speech or article filled with archaisms; pedantic expressions; grandiloquent speech; semi-incomprehensible talk