彼 (bǐ) — (literary pronoun) that, those; (literary pronoun) the other, another (party)
Definition
彼 is a literary pronoun meaning 'that' or 'the other (side/party)', used in writing and set phrases like 彼此 and 彼岸 — not in everyday speech.
pronoun
(literary pronoun) thatthose(literary pronoun) the otheranother (party)
Easily confused
- 披pīlook-aliketo drape over one’s shoulders; to put on (as a cloak or scarf)
- 比bǐsound-alike(preposition) used to compare differences, meaning 'more ... than'
- 玻bōlook-alikeglass (bound morpheme, used only in compound 玻璃)
- 笔bǐsound-alikewriting instrument (pen, pencil, brush)
- 波bōlook-alike(bound form) wave (in water, sound, light, etc.)
- 吡bǐsound-alikeused as phonetic bi- or pi-
Examples
- 。Tā men bǐ cǐ dōu hěn liǎo jiě.They know each other well.
- 。Tā xiàng wǎng bǐ àn de xìng fú shēng huó.He longs for the happy life on the other shore.
- ，。bǐ Shí, tā hái bù zhī dào zhēn xiàng.At that time, he still didn't know the truth.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí彼bǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The left part 彳 points to the meaning, and the right part 皮 gives the sound.
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