qǐ​gài HSK7

beggar

qǐ, qì beg

Original meaning: air

Originally a variant of , which depicts a gust of air. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 11 verified)

Meaning (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartkhj+tC.qʰət beg, ask

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.58-59漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

gài beggar

Original meaning: cut

Depicts the blade of a knife. Similar in origin to and . Based on the original meaning "cut". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Component uses

Sound (0 of 2 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangkaːds
kaːd

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.873
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang