別

简 别 · 繁 別
Cantonese · source Jyutpingbit6#

Meanings · bit6

  1. goodbye
Cantonese · source Jyutpingbit3#

Meanings · bit3

  1. awkward
Cantonese · source Jyutpingbit6#

Meanings · bit6

  1. to leave
  2. to depart
  3. to separate
  4. to distinguish
  5. to classify
  6. other
  7. another
  8. do not
  9. must not
  10. to pin
  11. to stick (sth) in
  12. distinction
  13. category
  14. alternative
  15. special
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

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

Same syllable, six tones

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

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:

  • 別 Bié CC-CEDICT · Mandarinsurname Bie
  • 別 bié CC-CEDICT · Mandarinto leave; to part (from); (literary) to differentiate; to distinguish; (dialect) to turn away; to turn aside; to avert (one's face, gaze etc); (bound form) other; another; different; don't ...!; to fasten with a pin or clip; to stick in; to insert (in order to hinder movement); (noun suffix) category (as in 性別 xìng bié, 派別 pài bié)

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: bie2. 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

bit3 · bit6

Cantonese word readings for 別. 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

  1. (literary) to divide; to separate
  2. to distinguish; to differentiate; to discriminate
  3. distinction; difference; contrast
  4. group; class; kind
  5. to leave; to part
  6. (Wu, dialectal Mandarin) to turn; to change
  7. to pin; to clip
  8. to stick something in; to bolt
  9. (Southern Min) to interpret (one's fortune); to predicate
  10. another; other
  11. special; unique; peculiar; particular
  12. misspelled; erroneous
  13. by oneself; on one's own; separately
  14. a surname

character · Etymology 2

  1. had better not; do not; don't
  2. particle used with 是 after it to express supposition, often an imagined unfavourable scenario

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

CC-Canto · Pleco Inc. · edition 2017-02-02
Source lines 2,597, 26,009, 26,010 · Original publisher · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edition & transformations

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Mandarin comparison: CC-CEDICT 2026-10-13, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source reading differences and six-tone sets: computed by zimai from Unihan 17.0.0 (Unicode License V3).

Exact source records & identity別 别 [bie2] {bit6} /goodbye/

SHA-256: 58af026ff4275b673fd60b365a14c23c035aa81b8c3677ba4ef6ccd98f98d15f

別 别 [bie2] {bit3} /awkward/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: 68abaa6bd6bbbfafce23e2833d824aaa0ef40c26a2c50d0735947128a32d0697

別 别 [bie2] {bit6} /to leave/to depart/to separate/to distinguish/to classify/other/another/do not/must not/to pin/to stick (sth) in/distinction/category/alternative/special/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: db97e719b80449364e1978f7bde0e9b4a7e889fcfe665d0c2d7c44f29b5eae68