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事

Mandarin · pinyin shì

Meanings

  1. matter
  2. thing
  3. item
  4. work
  5. affair
  6. Classifier: 件 jiàn, 樁 zhuāng, 回 huí
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Characters in this entry

事
shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4 · shi4

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Connected dictionary

1character link96same-tone records6source references
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Sentences in context

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 13 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

si6

Cantonese word readings for 事. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. thing; matter (Classifier: 件 m c; 樁／桩 m; 回 m; 條／条 mn-t)
  2. task; work; job; career
  3. misfortune; mishap; accident; incident
  4. duty; responsibility; involvement
  5. (literary) office; post; official duties; charge
  6. (dialectal Hakka, Northern Min, Central Min) speech; words; language
  7. (literary) to serve; to attend to someone
  8. (literary) to do; to practise; to engage in; to pursue
  9. (literary) to administer; to manage; to employ; to put to work
  10. (Beijing Mandarin, erhua-ed) fussy; pernickety; troublesome
  11. 27th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "duties" (𝌠)

character · Etymology 1

  1. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 倳 (zì, “to establish”)
  2. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 剚 (zì, “to stab”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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