兮
xī

exclamatory particle

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approved by Prismcool · Oct 12, 2026, 04:12 AM · Reviewed by Prismcool on Oct 12, 2026, 04:12 AM

Changed origin

Changed fields: hint, originalMeaning, components

Original meaning: exhale, shout

Same origin as 乎. Depicts wind rustling through a tree branch (丂). Based on the original meaning "exhale, shout". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

八
八 Iconic component

Depicts lines of airflow from the wind.

丂
丂 Iconic component

Depicts a tree branch.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthejgˤe (final particle)

說文解字

《說文》：“兮，語所稽也。从丂、八，象气越亏也。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.392漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)