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基

Mandarin · pinyin jī

(bound form) base; foundation
(bound form) radical (chemistry)
(bound form) gay (loanword from English into Cantonese, Jyutping: gei1, followed by orthographic borrowing from Cantonese)

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基: jī · foundation, base

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · ji1

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gei1

Cantonese word readings for 基. 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

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) foot of a wall; foundation
base of any building; foundations; basis
(figurative) basis; foundation; base
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to lay a foundation
cardinal; basic; capital; fundamental
(chemistry) radical; group
(linear algebra) basis (Classifier: 組／组 m; 個／个 m)
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 朞 (“whole year, month or day”)
(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 基隆 (Jīlóng, “Keelung”)
a surname
Used in transcription.

character · Etymology 2

(neologism, slang) gay; homosexual (noun)
(neologism, slang) gay; homosexual (adjective)

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

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