執

執 (Kangxi radical 32, 土+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 土十大弓戈 (GJKNI), four-corner 4541₇, composition ⿰幸丸)

• 墊 (垫), 慹, 摯 (挚), 漐, 縶, 蟄 (蛰), 褺, 謺, 贄, 䠟, 䥍, 騺, 䲀, 鷙 (鸷), 㝪, 蓻, 䉅, 䙝

• 执 (Simplified Chinese)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 231, character 9
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5193
• Dae Jaweon: page 467, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 457, character 5
• Unihan data for U+57F7

Historical forms of the character 執
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 㚔 (“criminal / handcuffs”) + 丮 (“hand”): to arrest. In the present form, 㚔 (niè) and 丮 (jǐ) have been replaced by 幸 (xìng) and 丸 (wán), respectively.

Also phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *tjib): phonetic 㚔 (niè) + semantic 丮.

Possibly related to Tibetan ཆབ (chab, “power; dominion”) or Khmer ចាប់ (cap, “to grasp; to seize”) (Schuessler 2007). Korean 집- (jip-, “to pick up; to grab”) is probably coincidental.

“to go bankrupt and close down”

Short for 執笠／执笠.

執

1. to hold in the hand

   • 執子之手，與子偕老。
     执子之手，与子偕老。

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

     Zhí zǐ zhī shǒu, yǔ zǐ xié lǎo.

     With your hand in mine, we grow old together.

   • 倦馬看山好，執鞭故不加。

     From: 《看山》("Touring the mountains") by Kim Byeong'yeon (金炳淵), 1800s

     Gwon ma gan san ho, jip pyeon go bul ga.

     When touring the mountains, a lazy horse is good; holding my whip, I therefore use it not.

2. to hold (authority, etc.); to manage
3. to keep; to hold to; to insist

   固執／固执  ―  gùzhí  ―  to stubbornly persist

4. to carry out
5. (literary) to arrest; to capture

   • 此能為大矣，而不能執鼠。
     此能为大矣，而不能执鼠。

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Cǐ néng wèi dà yǐ, ér bù néng zhí shǔ.

     It is large indeed, but it cannot catch mice.

   • 王信之，使執連尹。太子建出奔。
     王信之，使执连尹。太子建出奔。

     From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

     Wáng xìn zhī, shǐ zhí Liányǐn. Tàizǐ Jiàn chūbēn.

     The king believed him, and had Lianyin arrested. Crown Prince Jian escaped.

6. (Cantonese) to pick up

   執垃圾／执垃圾   ―  zap¹ laap⁶ saap³   ―  to pick up rubbish

   • 1985, “最緊要好玩”, in 林振強 (lyrics), 最緊要好玩, performed by 許冠傑:

     我想攀登火山，執塊石頭用嚟煎蛋
     我想攀登火山，执块石头用嚟煎蛋

     ngo⁵ soeng² paan¹ dang¹ fo² saan¹, zap¹ faai³ sek⁶ tau⁴ jung⁶ lei⁴ zin¹ daan^6-2

     I want to climb a volcano, get a rock, and use it to fry an egg

7. (Cantonese) to clean up; to tidy up

   去執下你間房好喎。
   去执下你间房好㖞。

   heoi³ zap¹ haa⁵ nei⁵ gaan¹ fong^4-2 hou² wo³.

   You should go clean up your room.

8. (Cantonese) to go bankrupt and close down

   間鋪頭執咗好耐喇。
   间铺头执咗好耐喇。

   gaan¹ pou³ tau^4-2 zap¹ zo² hou² noi⁶ laa³.

   The shop closed down a long time ago.

9. (Cantonese) Classifier for pinches (small amount that could be held between fingertips) of objects.

   一執鹽／一执盐   ―  jat¹ zap¹ jim⁴   ―  a pinch of salt

   一執頭髮／一执头发   ―  jat¹ zap¹ tau⁴ faat³   ―  a small bunch of hair

• “執”, 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–

(Jōyō kanji)

1. tenacious, take hold, grasp, take to heart

• Go-on: しゅう (shū, Jōyō)^{←しふ (sifu, historical)}
• Kan-on: しゅう (shū, Jōyō)^{←しふ (sifu, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: しつ (shitsu, Jōyō)
• Kun: とる (toru, 執る, Jōyō)、とらえる (toraeru, 執える)^{←とらへる (toraferu, 執へる, historical)}
• Nanori: し (shi)

執(まもる) • (Mamoru) 

1. a male given name

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

執

Wikisource

執 (eum 집 (jip))

1. hold in hand, keep, carry out

執: Hán Việt readings: chấp
執: Nôm readings: chắp, giúp, chập, giập, xấp, chặp, chụp, chấp, xắp, xúp, chộp, xóp, xụp, chợp, giộp

1. chữ Hán form of chấp

• 執行 (chấp hành)