DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
哉
Mandarin · pinyin zāi
Meanings
- (exclamatory or interrogative particle)
Characters in this entry
- 哉
- zāi · final exclamatory particle
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1 · zai1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link9same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
zoi1
Cantonese word readings for 哉. 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) grammatical particle indicating emphasis — sentence-medial particle indicating inverted construction for the emphasis of the predicate
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) grammatical particle indicating emphasis — sentence-final particle indicating exclamation, emphasis, or strong intention
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) begin, commence
character · Etymology 2
- (Northern Wu) Sentence-final TAM particle
character · Etymology 3
- (Hokkien) only used in 佳哉
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack