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吉士

Mandarin · pinyin jí shì

cheese (loanword)
custard powder
(literary) man (laudatory)
person of virtue

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Characters in this entry

吉: jí · lucky, propitious, good
士: shì · scholar, gentleman; soldier

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · ji2 shi4

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gat1 si2

Cantonese word readings for 吉士. 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.

noun · Etymology 1

(Mainland China) cheese

noun · Etymology 2

(Hong Kong Cantonese, slang) guts; courage

noun · Etymology 3

(chiefly Cantonese) custard

noun · Etymology 4

(literary) virtuous person
(literary, laudatory) man
(Ming and Qing dynasties) short for 庶吉士 (shùjíshì)

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

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