CANTONESE ↔ ENGLISH · CC-CANTO

切

Cantonese · source Jyutpingcit3#

(Verb)1. to cut; 2. to chop; (verb) to set someone up; (pronoun) all

Cantonese · source Jyutpingcai3#

all
whole
to piece together
to put together

Cantonese · source Jyutpingcit3#

definitely
absolutely (not)
(scoffing or dismissive interjection) Yeah, right.
Tut!
to grind
close to
eager
to correspond to
see also 反切
to cut
to mince
to slice
to carve
tangent
eager
must
to be sure to

About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

cit33 · mid levelchecked · -t

cai33 · mid level

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

citcit1—cit2—切cit3definitelycit4—cit5—cit6—

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

切

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

切 qiē CC-CEDICT · Mandarinto cut; to slice; to carve; (math.) tangential
切 qiè CC-CEDICT · Mandarindefinitely; absolutely (not); (scoffing or dismissive interjection) Yeah, right.; Tut!; to grind; (bound form) close to; (bound form) eager; to correspond to; (used to indicate that the fanqie 反切 fǎn qiè system should be applied to the previous two characters)

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: qie4. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 16 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cai3 · cit3

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

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

to cut; to slice; to carve; to mince with a knife
to cut off; to disconnect
(mathematics) tangent
to switch

character · Etymology 2

to be close to
to bite tightly; to clench
to correspond to; to match
(traditional Chinese medicine) to feel the pulse
eager; ardent
urgent; pressing
must; by all means
main point
(phonetics) short for 反切 (fǎnqiè, “fanqie”)

character · Etymology 3

used in 一切 (yīqiè, “all; every; everything; anything”)

character · Etymology 4

(Mandarin, chiefly women's speech, colloquial) An interjection conveying a slight sense of disdain or dissatisfaction.

character · Etymology 5

(Cantonese) to be in time for; in time

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

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