始 · shǐ
begin, start; then, only then
Meanings & readings
Meaning & readings
begin, start; then, only then
- Mandarin
- shǐ
- Cantonese
- ci2
Unihan definitions and selected character readings. Read the word to establish its pronunciation in context.
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 始 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 시
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Writing & identity
- Unicode
- U+59CB
- Radical
- 女 · 38
- Strokes
- 8 · Unihan
- Residual
- 5
Source record · Unihan 17.0. Individual senses and historical claims have not yet been reviewed by zimai.
Stroke order
8 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. Stroke medians: Make Me a Hanzi via HanziLookupJS, drawn as an even pen line.
Graphical structure
How to read these symbols
⿰ left–right · ⿱ above–below · ⿻ overlap. Dotted boxes indicate positions, not missing characters. Each symbol describes the components that follow it; nested symbols describe a component in more detail. Source codes identify alternative analyses, not a writing sequence or an etymology.
BabelStone IDS · 2025-06-27. Region tags are preserved; 〾 marks approximation and {n} identifies an unencoded source component. These describe graphical structure, not historical derivation.
Words & connections
Words using 始
Character connections
No reverse component match in this collection.
Component roles · attributed
- 台 sound component · CJKVI analysis
Source analysis · 台聲
Line 7975 · ⿰女台 · 台聲 · source reference 4430740
Source analyses, kept separate from modern IDS. CJKVI labels are not individually verified historical conclusions. Evidence & limits ↗
History & distinctions
Related forms
No simplified/traditional variant property is retained for this record.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- syiX · 詩止 反切 · #1297
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 9389 · syiX = 止開三上之書
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Evidence & next depth
Retained Unihan properties
- kMandarin
- shǐ
- kCantonese
- ci2
- kDefinition
- begin, start; then, only then
- kTotalStrokes
- 8
- kRSUnicode
- 38.5
- kGradeLevel
- 3
- kTGH
- 2013:1329
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- shǐ 21041.120
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- shǐ 1046.010
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- shǐ 336.040
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- shǐ(606)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- shǐ粵ci2