唯

唯	U+552F, 唯 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-552F

Translingual

Han character

唯 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 口人土 (ROG), four-corner 6001₄, composition ⿰口隹)

Derived characters

𣼲, 𪄼, 嶉, 蓶, 𬟢, 𧐌, 鷕, 雖

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 193, character 17
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3761
Dae Jaweon: page 413, character 17
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 642, character 5
Unihan data for U+552F

Chinese

simp. and trad.		唯

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 唯
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (唯) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
匯	ɢʷrɯːlʔ, kʰʷriːl
擓	*kʰʷriːl
淮	*ɡʷriːl
睢	qʰʷel, sqʰʷil, qʰʷi, qʰʷils
嶉	*sqʷi
趡	*skʰʷilʔ
踓	skʰʷilʔ, ɢʷilʔ
雖	*sqʰʷi
濉	*sqʰʷi
倠	*qʰʷi
婎	qʰʷil, qʰʷils
蓶	ɢʷi, ɢʷiʔ
維	*ɢʷi
惟	*ɢʷi
唯	ɢʷi, ɢʷiʔ
濰	*ɢʷi
琟	*ɢʷil
鷕	ɢʷiʔ, ɢʷiʔ
帷	*ɢʷril
鵻	sɢʷinʔ, tjul

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ɢʷi, *ɢʷiʔ) : semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 隹.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *way (“be, copula, nominalizer, subordinator”); cognate with Proto-Lolo-Burmese *wəy (“to be”) > Proto-Loloish *ʔ-way²/³ (> Luquan ve³³ ~ ve⁵⁵ ("subordinator, final particle"), Lahu ve (“nominalizer; relativizer; genitivizer”), Akha ø ~ ø̀ (“subordinator; citation-form marker; terminator of utterances in declarative mood”)), Mizo ve (“also, too, as well”), Jingpho we (“present tense particle”), and possibly Tibetan [script needed] (yin, “to be”) < *wi-n (with earlier w- disappearing before -i).(STEDT; Schuessler, 2007)

Related to 惠 (OC *ɢʷiːds) (Schuessler, 2007)

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wéi (wei²)

(Zhuyin): ㄨㄟˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): wai⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): vì

(Meixian, Guangdong): vi²
Eastern Min (BUC): mì
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): ûi / bî

(Teochew, Peng'im): rui⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: wéi
  - Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: wéi
  - Wade–Giles: wei²
  - Yale: wéi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wei
  - Palladius: вэй (vɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: wai⁴
  - Yale: wàih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: wai⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: wei⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɐi̯²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: vì
  - Hakka Romanization System: vi^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: vi²
  - Sinological IPA: /vi¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: vi²
  - Sinological IPA: /ʋi¹¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: mì
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi⁵³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ûi
  - Tâi-lô: uî
  - Phofsit Daibuun: uii
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /ui¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ui²³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ui²⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bî
  - Tâi-lô: bî
  - Phofsit Daibuun: bii
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /bi¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /bi²³/
  - IPA (Taipei, Xiamen): /bi²⁴/

Note:

ûi - literary;
bî - vernacular.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: rui⁶
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jŭi
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡zui³⁵/

Middle Chinese: ywij

Rime
Character	唯
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	以 (36)
Final (韻)	脂 (16)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	以追切
Baxter	ywij
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/jiuɪ/
Pan Wuyun	/jʷi/
Shao Rongfen	/juɪ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/jwi/
Li Rong	/ui/
Wang Li	/jwi/
Bernhard Karlgren	/wi/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	wéi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	wai⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*ɢʷij/

(Zhengzhang): /*ɢʷi/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	唯
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	wéi
Middle Chinese	‹ ywij ›
Old Chinese	/ɢʷij/ (< ɢʷuj?)
English	only
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	唯
Reading #	1/2
No.	12854
Phonetic component	唯
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	惟
Old Chinese	/*ɢʷi/
Notes	本象隹鳴，鷕即其轉註異構，非隹聲

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 唯

only; alone
because
although
to be
Particle for expressing one's wish.
Meaningless sentence-initial particle.

Compounds

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Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wéi, wěi

(Zhuyin): ㄨㄟˊ, ㄨㄟˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): wai² / wai⁵

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: wéi
  - Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: wéi
  - Wade–Giles: wei²
  - Yale: wéi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wei
  - Palladius: вэй (vɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan; variant in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: wěi
  - Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: wěi
  - Wade–Giles: wei³
  - Yale: wěi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: woei
  - Palladius: вэй (vɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯²¹⁴/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: wai² / wai⁵
  - Yale: wái / wáih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: wai² / wai⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: wei² / wei⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɐi̯³⁵/, /wɐi̯¹³/

Middle Chinese: ywijX

Rime
Character	唯
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	以 (36)
Final (韻)	脂 (16)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	以水切
Baxter	ywijX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/jiuɪ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/jʷi^X/
Shao Rongfen	/juɪ^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/jwi^X/
Li Rong	/ui^X/
Wang Li	/jwi^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/wi^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	wěi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	wai⁵

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*ɢʷiʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	唯
Reading #	2/2
No.	12858
Phonetic component	唯
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	唯
Old Chinese	/*ɢʷiʔ/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 唯

(obsolete) A polite particle used to respond to elders: yes
子曰：「參乎！吾道一以貫之。」曾子曰：「唯。」子出。門人問曰：「何謂也？」曾子曰：「夫子之道，忠恕而已矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子曰：「参乎！吾道一以贯之。」曾子曰：「唯。」子出。门人问曰：「何谓也？」曾子曰：「夫子之道，忠恕而已矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE
Zǐyuē: “Cān hū! Wú dào yī yǐ guàn zhī.” Zēngzǐ yuē: “Wéi.” Zǐ chū. Ménrén wèn yuē: “Héwèi yě?” Zēngzǐ yuē: “Fūzǐ zhī dào, zhōngshù ér yǐ yǐ.” [Pinyin]
The Master said, "Shen, my doctrine is that of an all-pervading unity." The disciple Zeng replied, "Yes." The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, saying, "What do his words mean?" Zeng said, "The doctrine of our master is to be true to the principles of our nature and the benevolent exercise of them to others, this and nothing more."

Compounds

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Descendants

Sino-Xenic (唯):

→ Japanese: 唯(い) (i)

References

“唯”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

唯

(Jōyō kanji)

Readings

Go-on: ゆい (yui, Jōyō)^{←ゆい (yui, historical)}^{←ゆゐ (yuwi, ancient)}
Kan-on: い (i, Jōyō ^†)^{←ゐ (wi, historical)}
Kun: ただ (tada, 唯)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
唯
ゆい Grade: S
goon

/juwi/ → /jui/

From Middle Chinese 唯 (MC ywij).

Affix

唯(ゆい) • (yui)

only, solely

Usage notes

Most dictionaries proscribe historical -uwi readings すゐ (suwi), ずゐ (zuwi), つゐ (tuwi), ゆゐ (yuwi), and るゐ (ruwi).

Derived terms

Proper noun

唯(ゆい) or 唯(proper) • (yui or proper) [[Category:Japanese Lua error in Module:debug at line 160: Invalid part of speech.
|ゆい]]

a female given name
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Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
唯
い Grade: S
kan'on

/wi/ → /i/

From Middle Chinese 唯 (MC ywijX).

Interjection

唯(い) • (i) ^{←ゐ (wi)^?}

polite particle used to respond to elders: yes
Synonym: はい (hai)

Derived terms

唯唯(いい), 唯々(いい) (ii)
- 唯唯(いい)諾諾(だくだく), 唯々(いい)諾々(だくだく) (iidakudaku)

Affix

唯(い) • (i) ^{←ゐ (wi)^?}

polite particle used to respond to elders: yes

Derived terms

諾(だく)唯(い) (dakui)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
唯
ただ Grade: S
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 唯 – see the following entry.

【ただ】	[adverb] 唯, 只, 但: merely, commonly, simply, only [conjunction] 唯, 只, 但: but, however, although, except that Alternative spellings 只, 但

(This term, 唯, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
唯
たった Grade: S
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 唯 – see the following entry.

【たった】

[adverb] (usually with numbers) only

[suffix] (Internet slang, humorous) Verb suffix for past actions.

(This term, 唯, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
唯
たんだ Grade: S
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 唯 – see the following entry: たんだ

(The following entry is uncreated: たんだ.)

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
唯
ない Grade: S
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 唯 – see the following entry: ない

(The following entry is uncreated: ない.)

Korean

Hanja

唯 • (yu) (hangeul 유, revised yu, McCune–Reischauer yu)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

唯: Hán Nôm readings: dõi, dói, dúi, duỗi, duy, giói, giọi, giòe/gioè, dạ, dọi, duối

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

Nom Foundation