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哉. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
哉, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
哉 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
哉 you have here. The definition of the word
哉 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
哉, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Han character
哉 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十戈口 (JIR), four-corner 43650, composition ⿹𢦏口)
Derived characters
- 𰄂, 𭎶, 𰔈, 渽, 𣈻, 𣖋, 𦞁, 睵, 𧛷, 𠼷, 𦖱, 賳, 𮛯, 𭻮, 𮢜, 𩹯, 𲍃, 𦳦, 𥯒, 𱔖, 𪃘
References
- Kangxi Dictionary: page 189, character 8
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3596
- Dae Jaweon: page 408, character 14
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 611, character 7
- Unihan data for U+54C9
Chinese
Glyph origin
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Old Chinese
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𢦏
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*ʔslɯː
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栽
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*ʔslɯː, *zlɯːs
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哉
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*ʔslɯː
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烖
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*ʔslɯː
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載
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*ʔslɯːʔ, *ʔslɯːs, *zlɯːs
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渽
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*ʔsɯː
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睵
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*ʔsɯː, *sʰɯː
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溨
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*zɯː
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裁
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*zlɯː, *zlɯːs
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酨
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*l'ɯːs, *zlɯːs
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蛓
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*sʰles, *sʰɯs
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胾
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*ʔsrɯs
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Phono-semantic compound (形聲/形声, OC *ʔslɯː) : semantic 口 + phonetic 𢦏 (OC *ʔslɯː).
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
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Character
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哉
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哉
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Reading #
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1/2
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2/2
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Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
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zāi
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zāi
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Middle Chinese
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‹ tsoj ›
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‹ tsoj ›
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Old Chinese
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/*ˁə/
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/*ˁə/
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English
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begin
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(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.
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Zhengzhang system (2003)
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Character
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哉
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Reading #
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1/1
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No.
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16490
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Phonetic component
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Rime group
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之
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Rime subdivision
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0
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Corresponding MC rime
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烖
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Old Chinese
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/*ʔslɯː/
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Definitions
哉
- † grammatical particle indicating emphasis
- sentence-medial particle indicating inverted construction for the emphasis of the predicate
- 大哉斯言! [Classical Chinese] ― Dà zāi sī yán! ― How great, these words!
子路曰:「有是哉,子之迂也!奚其正?」子曰:「野哉由也!君子於其所不知,蓋闕如也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子路曰:「有是哉,子之迂也!奚其正?」子曰:「野哉由也!君子于其所不知,盖阙如也。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zǐlù yuē: “Yǒu shì zāi, zǐ zhī yū yě! Xī qí zhèng?” Zǐyuē: “Yě zāi Yóu yě! Jūnzǐ yú qí suǒbùzhī, gài quèrú yě.”
- "So! indeed!" said Zilu, "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?" The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Zhongyou! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve."
- sentence-final particle indicating exclamation, emphasis, or strong intention
子曰:「默而識之,學而不厭,誨人不倦,何有於我哉?」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子曰:「默而识之,学而不厌,诲人不倦,何有于我哉?」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zǐyuē: “Mò ér zhìzhī, xué ér bùyàn, huìrén bùjuàn, hé yǒuyúwǒ zāi?”
- The Master said, "The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied - which one of these things belongs to me?"
欽念哉!欽念哉! [Classical Chinese, trad.]
钦念哉!钦念哉! [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
- Qīn niàn zāi! Qīn niàn zāi!
- Be reverent and remember this!
- † begin, commence
惟三月哉生魄,周公初基作新大邑于東國洛。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
惟三月哉生魄,周公初基作新大邑于东国洛。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Book of Documents, circa 4th – 3rd century BCE
- Wéi sānyuè zāi shēngpò, Zhōugōng chū jī zuò xīndàyì yú dōngguó luò.
- On the third month, when the moon began to wane, the duke of Zhou commenced the foundations, and proceeded to build the new great city of Lo, of the eastern states.
See also
Compounds
Etymology 2
According to Qian (2010), in contemporary Urban Shanghainese, it has become 了 through lenition (/zəʔ/ > /ləʔ/). Full lenition chain 哉 (MC tsoj) > Suzhounese /t͡se/ > Suburban Shanghainese /tæʔ/, while Old urban Shanghainese/ze/ /zəʔ/ > Contemporary urban Shanghainese/ləʔ/(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Definitions
哉 (Wu)
- (Northern Wu) Sentence-final particle used to indicate the present tense
大家來吧,吃飯哉! [Suzhounese, trad.]
大家来吧,吃饭哉! [Suzhounese, simp.]- From: 1993, Li Rong, 蘇州方言詞典
- 6da-ka1 2le-ba0 7chiq-ve6 0tse [Wugniu]
- Everyone come over, let's eat!
大煠蟹來垃哉! [Northern Wu, trad.]
大煠蟹来垃哉! [Northern Wu, simp.]- 6du-zaq8-ha3 2lae-a0-taeq0 [Wugniu]
- Shanghai hairy crab is coming!
Usage notes
- Unlike Standard Chinese, Northern Wu languages can mark for some tenses, like many European languages. This term, therefore, cannot be accurately translated into Standard Chinese. In contemporary Shanghainese, 了 is more common.
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
Definitions
哉
- (Hokkien) Only used in 佳哉.
Compounds
Japanese
Kanji
哉
(Jinmeiyō kanji)
Readings
Etymology 1
From Middle Chinese 哉 (MC tsoj).
Affix
哉 • (sai)
- expression of exclamation or excitement
Derived terms
Etymology 2
For pronunciation and definitions of 哉 – see the following entry.
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(This term, 哉, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)
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Korean
Hanja
哉 (eum 재 (jae))
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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Vietnamese
Han character
哉: Hán Nôm readings: tai, tơi
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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