. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Han character
匹 (Kangxi radical 23, 匸 +2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 尸金 (SC ), four-corner 71711 , composition ⿷匚 儿 (G J K V ) or ⿷匸 ⿰丿 ㇄ (H T ))
Derived characters
References
Kangxi Dictionary: page 154 , character 36
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2673
Dae Jaweon: page 347, character 11
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 81, character 6
Unihan data for U+5339
Chinese
Glyph origin
Old Chinese
匹
*pʰid
鴄
*pʰid
Uncertain. Various theories have been proposed based on the evidence from the bronze inscriptions:
Pictogram (象形 ) of folds in cloth (Lin, 1920 );
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声 , OC *pʰid ): semantic 石 ( “ rock ” ) + phonetic 乙 ( OC *qriɡ ) or 乀 (MC phjut ). The phonetic component may be replaced with 匕 (OC *pilʔ ) (not shown above);
Ideogram (指事 ): half of 丙 (“two horses”) – one horse (Zhang et al., 1996 ), but the origin of the character 丙 is also uncertain (for example, it could be the tail of a fish).
Shuowen considers it to be an ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意 ) and phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声 , OC *pʰid ): phonetic 八 ( OC *preːd , “ eight ” ) + semantic 匸 ( “ to conceal ” ) – unit of measuring cloth. 八 refers to eight folds in one 匹 of cloth (two bolts of cloth), and 匸 refers to concealing the two ends of the cloth when rolling it up. This interpretation is not likely since the older forms evidently do not contain these components.
Etymology 1
Uncertain. Possibly related to Khmer ពីរ ( pii , “ two ” ) or Mizo phîr ( “ double; forked; twin ” ) (Schuessler, 2007 ).
Wang (1982) considers it to be cognate with 比 (OC *piʔ , “to compare; to match”), 媲 (OC *pʰiːs , “to match; to pair”).
The meaning “four zhang of cloth” is probably a special application, but it is reminiscent of Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pV-lij ( “ four ” ) (ibid. ).
Pronunciation 1
Baxter –Sagart system 1.1 (2014 )
Character
匹
Reading #
1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
pǐ
Middle Chinese
‹ phjit ›
Old Chinese
/*pʰi/
English
one of a pair
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
匹
Reading #
1/1
No.
9737
Phonetic component
匹
Rime group
質
Rime subdivision
1
Corresponding MC rime
匹
Old Chinese
/*pʰid/
Definitions
匹
( obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese ) to match ; to be equal
匹 配 ― pǐ pèi ― to match
匹 敵/ 匹 敌 ― pǐ dí ― to be equal
( obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese ) match ; equal ; opponent
( obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese ) mate ; spouse
( obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese ) single ; one
( obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese ) four zhang of cloth
Classifier for bolts of cloth .
一 匹 布 ― yī pǐ bù ― a bolt of cloth
( Sichuanese ) Classifier for flat surfaces or objects (hillside, leaves, tiles, etc.).
( Sichuanese ) Classifier for long , thin objects (bones, feathers, grass, bamboo strips, etc.).
( Sichuanese ) Classifier for pieces or lumps (bricks, etc.).
( Sichuanese ) Classifier for mountains .
a surname
Compounds
Pronunciation 2
Baxter –Sagart system 1.1 (2014 )
Character
匹
Reading #
1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
pǐ
Middle Chinese
‹ phjit ›
Old Chinese
/*pʰi/
English
one of a pair
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
匹
Reading #
1/1
No.
9737
Phonetic component
匹
Rime group
質
Rime subdivision
1
Corresponding MC rime
匹
Old Chinese
/*pʰid/
Definitions
匹
Classifier for horses , donkeys , mules , etc.
1617 , 張應俞 , “脫剝騙 ”, in 騙經 :時有一匹 銀合好馬,價約值四十金。 Shí yǒu yī pǐ yínhé hǎo mǎ, jià yuē zhēn sìshí jīn. At the time, there was a fine horse with a silvery coat, which cost about forty gold coins.
一 匹 馬 / 一 匹 马 ― yī pǐ mǎ ― a horse
一 匹 斑馬 / 一 匹 斑马 ― yī pǐ bānmǎ ― a zebra
一 匹 狼 ― yī pǐ láng ― a wolf
一 匹 馬騾 / 一 匹 马骡 ― yī pǐ mǎluó ― a mule
一 匹 駱駝 / 一 匹 骆驼 ― yī pǐ luòtuó ― a camel
一 匹 騸馬 / 一 匹 骟马 ― yī pǐ shànmǎ ― a gelding
一 匹 騾子 / 一 匹 骡子 ― yī pǐ luózi ― a mule
( dialectal , including Sichuanese ) Classifier for animals .
阿Q 沒有 說 完 話 ,拔步 便 跑 ;追 來 的 是 一 匹 很 肥大 的 黑 狗 。 阿Q 没有 说 完 话 ,拔步 便 跑 ;追 来 的 是 一 匹 很 肥大 的 黑 狗 。 From: 1922 , 魯迅 (Lu Xun ), 阿Q正傳 (The True Story of Ah Q ), translation from the Marxists Internet Archive Ā Q méiyǒu shuō wán huà, bábù biàn pǎo; zhuī lái de shì yī pǐ hěn féidà de hēi gǒu. Leaving his sentence unfinished, Ah Q took to his heels as fast as he could, followed by an enormously fat, black dog.
吱 吱 吱 ,一 匹 耗子 在 什麼 暗 角 裡 鳴叫 。 吱 吱 吱 ,一 匹 耗子 在 什么 暗 角 里 鸣叫 。 From: 1974 , 克非 (Kefei), 春潮急 Squeak squeak squeak, a mouse is squeaking in some dark corner.
horsepower
張 女士 投訴 稱 ,因為 家裡 一 台 一 匹 分體 空調 不 製冷 ,以為 是 雪種 不夠 了 ,就 花 了 100 元 加 雪種 ,但是 兩 天 之後 又 不 製冷 了 。 张 女士 投诉 称 ,因为 家里 一 台 一 匹 分体 空调 不 制冷 ,以为 是 雪种 不够 了 ,就 花 了 100 元 加 雪种 ,但是 两 天 之后 又 不 制冷 了 。 From: 2007 August 3, 空调加雪种陷阱面面观 , in 南方都市报 Zhāng nǚshì tóusù chēng, yīnwèi jiālǐ yī tái yī pǐ fēntǐ kōngdiào bù zhìlěng, yǐwèi shì xuězhǒng bùgòu le, jiù huā le 100 yuán jiā xuězhǒng, dànshì liǎng tiān zhīhòu yòu bù zhìlěng le. Ms. Zhang filed a complaint, saying that because her house's one-horsepower split air conditioner was not blowing cold air, she thought there were not enough freons. She spent 100 yuan to add freons, but two days later it was not blowing cold air again.
BTU ( energy unit )
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of
匹 (“(classifier for horses)”)
Variety
Location
Words
Classical Chinese
匹
Formal (Written Standard Chinese )
匹
Northeastern Mandarin
Beijing
匹 , 隻
Taiwan
匹 , 隻
Jilu Mandarin
Jinan
匹
Jiaoliao Mandarin
Yantai (Muping)
匹
Central Plains Mandarin
Luoyang
匹
Wanrong
匹
Xi'an
匹
Xining
匹
Xuzhou
匹
Lanyin Mandarin
Ürümqi
匹
Southwestern Mandarin
Chengdu
匹
Wuhan
匹
Guiyang
匹
Liuzhou
匹
Jianghuai Mandarin
Nanjing
匹
Yangzhou
匹
Hefei
匹
Cantonese
Guangzhou
匹 , 隻
Hong Kong
匹 , 隻
Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)
匹
Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)
匹
Hong Kong (Ting Kok)
條
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)
條
Macau
隻
Guangzhou (Panyu)
隻
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)
隻
Guangzhou (Conghua)
隻
Guangzhou (Zengcheng)
條 , 匹
Foshan
隻
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)
隻
Foshan (Shunde)
隻
Foshan (Sanshui)
隻
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)
匹
Zhongshan (Shiqi)
隻
Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)
隻
Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)
隻
Zhuhai (Doumen)
匹 , 個
Jiangmen (Baisha)
隻
Jiangmen (Xinhui)
個
Taishan
個
Kaiping (Chikan)
個
Enping (Niujiang)
個
Heshan (Yayao)
隻
Dongguan
隻
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)
隻
Yangjiang
匹
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)
匹
Gan
Nanchang
隻
Lichuan
隻
Pingxiang
匹
Hakka
Meixian
條
Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)
條
Dongguan (Qingxi)
條
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)
條
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)
條
Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)
條 , 匹
Yudu
匹
Hong Kong
隻
Senai (Huiyang)
條
Singkawang
條
Jin
Taiyuan
匹
Xinzhou
匹
Northern Min
Jian'ou
頭 , 匹
Songxi
頭
Zhenghe
頭
Jianyang
頭
Wuyishan
頭
Pucheng (Shibei)
條
Eastern Min
Fuzhou
頭 , 匹
Fuzhou (Changle)
頭
Fuqing
頭
Yongtai
頭
Gutian
頭
Fu'an
頭
Ningde
頭
Shouning
頭
Zhouning
頭
Fuding
頭
Southern Min
Xiamen
隻
Xiamen (Tong'an)
隻
Quanzhou
隻
Jinjiang
隻
Yongchun
隻
Tainan
匹
Manila (Hokkien)
隻
Datian
頭
Chaozhou
隻
Shantou
隻
Shantou (Chenghai)
隻
Haifeng
隻
Bangkok (Teochew)
隻 , 匹
Johor Bahru (Teochew)
隻
Puxian Min
Putian
頭
Zhongshan Min
Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)
匹
Southern Pinghua
Nanning (Tingzi)
匹
Wu
Shanghai
匹
Suzhou
隻
Danyang
匹
Ningbo
匹
Wenzhou
頭
Jinhua
匹
Xiang
Changsha
匹 , 隻
Loudi
匹
Shuangfeng
隻
Compounds
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Thai บาท ( bàat , “ baht ” ) .
Pronunciation
Definitions
匹
( Cantonese ) baht ; a Thai unit of currency
五 百 匹 ― ng5 baak3 pat1 ― five hundred baht
Synonyms
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
Definitions
匹
Used in transcription.
Compounds
Etymology 4
For pronunciation and definitions of 匹 – see 鴄 (“duck ”). (This character is a variant form of 鴄 ).
References
“匹 ”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database) , 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong ), 2014–
李如龙 , 刘福铸 , 吴华英 , 黄国城 (2019 ) “匹 ”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press , →ISBN , page 231 .
Japanese
Kanji
匹
(Jōyō kanji )
Readings
Etymology
The original hichi reading evolved into hiki by association with 引( ひ ) き ( hiki , “ pulling ” ) , from the way that an animal's leash is pulled.( Can this (+ ) etymology be sourced ?)
Pronunciation
Counter
匹( ひき ) • (-hiki )
small animals
犬( いぬ ) が一( いっ ) 匹( ぴき ) います。Inu ga ippiki imasu. There is one dog.
猫( ねこ ) 三( さん ) 匹( びき ) を飼( か ) っています。Neko sanbiki o katte imasu. I have three cats.
先( せん ) 生( せい ) いたべ⁉Sensei ita be⁉ Are they in there, Sensei!? おう!いたぞ。まっ白( しろ ) いメス犬( いぬ ) がお産( さん ) のまっさいちゅうだ。2( に ) ~3( さん ) 匹( びき ) うまれてるが、まだあと3( さん ) 匹( びき ) ぐらいはうまれるな。 Ō! Ita zo. Masshiroi mesuinu ga o-san no massaichū da. Ni~sanbiki umareteru ga, mada ato sanbiki gurai wa umareru na. Yeah! There’s a white dog giving birth in there. 2 or 3 pups have come out but there’s probably 3 more to come. 白( しろ ) いメス犬( いぬ ) ⁉ひょっとすると…⁉ほら六( ム ) 三( サ ) 四( シ ) 、前( まえ ) に十( と ) 一( いち ) さよく白( しろ ) いノラ犬( いぬ ) といっしょにあそんでいたでしょう。Shiroi mesuinu⁉ Hyotto suru to…⁉ Hora Musashi, mae ni Toichi sa yoku shiroi norainu to issho ni asonde ita deshō. A white dog!? Could it be…!? Hey Musashi, you remember Toichi used to go stay with a white stray dog a while back? うん‼ Un‼ Yeah!! きっと十( と ) 一( いち ) の子( こ ) よ‼十( と ) 一( いち ) とあの白( しろ ) い犬( いぬ ) との赤( あか ) ちゃんよ! Kitto Toichi no ko yo‼ Toichi to ano shiroi inu to no aka-chan yo! These must be Toichi’s puppies!! They’re Toichi and that white dog’s babies!
駆( く ) 逐( ちく ) してやる‼この世( よ ) から…一( いっ ) 匹( ぴき ) …残( のこ ) らず‼Kuchikushite yaru‼ Kono yo kara… ippiki … nokorazu‼ I will wipe them out!! Every single one... of those pests... off the face of the earth!!
rolls of cloth
( historical ) numbers of 銭( せん ) ( sen )
Usage notes
Depending on the preceding word, -hiki may change via rendaku to become -biki or -piki .
Number Kanji Kana Romaji 1 一匹 いっぴき ippiki 2 二匹 にひき nihiki 3 三匹 さんびき sanbiki 4 四匹 よんひき yonhiki 5 五匹 ごひき gohiki 6 六匹 ろっぴき roppiki 7 七匹 ななひき、しちひき nanahiki, shichihiki 8 八匹 はっぴき、はちひき happiki, hachihiki 9 九匹 きゅうひき kyūhiki 10 十匹 じっぴき、じゅっぴき jippiki, juppiki 11 十一匹 じゅういっぴき jūippiki 12 十二匹 じゅうにひき jūnihiki 13 十三匹 じゅうさんびき jūsanbiki 20 二十匹 にじっぴき、にじゅっぴき nijippiki, nijuppiki 21 二十一匹 にじゅういっぴき nijūippiki 100 百匹 ひゃっぴき hyappiki 1,000 千匹 せんびき senbiki 10,000 一万匹 いちまんびき ichimanbiki 100,000,000 一億匹 いちおくひき ichiokuhiki 0 0匹 、零匹 ゼロひき、れいひき zerohiki, reihiki ? 何匹 なんびき、なんひき nanbiki, nanhiki
The counter for larger animals, such as livestock , is usually 頭 ( tō , literally “ head ” ) .
References
Korean
Hanja
匹 • (pil, mok ) (hangeul 필 , 목 , revised pil, mok, McCune–Reischauer p'il, mok)
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.
Vietnamese
Han character
匹 : Hán Nôm readings: thất , sất , sơ , sớt , sứt , thớt
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.