# 哉

| 哉 | U+54C9, &#21705; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-54C9 |
| ← 哈 [U+54C8] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 哊 → [U+54CA] |

## Translingual
### Han character

哉 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十戈口 (JIR), four-corner 4365$_0$, composition ⿹𢦏口)

#### Derived characters

* 𰄂, 𭎶, 𰔈, 渽, 𣈻, 𣖋, 𦞁, 睵, 𧛷, 𠼷, 𦖱, 賳, 𮛯, 𭻮, 𮢜, 𩹯, 𲍃, 𦳦, 𥯒, 𱔖, 𪃘

#### References

* Kangxi Dictionary: page 189, character 8
* Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3596
* Dae Jaweon: page 408, character 14
* Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 611, character 7
* Unihan data for U+54C9

## Chinese
### Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 哉 :
| Spring and Autumn | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
| Bronze inscriptions | Transcribed ancient scripts |
| | Old Chinese |
| 𢦏 | *ʔslɯː |
| 栽 | *ʔslɯː, *zlɯːs |
| 哉 | *ʔslɯː |
| 烖 | *ʔslɯː |
| 載 | *ʔslɯːʔ, *ʔslɯːs, *zlɯːs |
| 渽 | *ʔsɯː |
| 睵 | *ʔsɯː, *sʰɯː |
| 溨 | *zɯː |
| 裁 | *zlɯː, *zlɯːs |
| 酨 | *l'ɯːs, *zlɯːs |
| 蛓 | *sʰles, *sʰɯs |
| 胾 | *ʔsrɯs |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ʔslɯː): semantic 口 + phonetic 𢦏 (OC *ʔslɯː).

### Etymology 1
#### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): zāi (zai$^1$)
    (Zhuyin): ㄗㄞ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): zoi$^1$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chai
* Wu (Northern, Wugniu): $^1$tse / $^5$tsae
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: zāi
*** Zhuyin: ㄗㄞ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: zai
*** Wade–Giles: tsai$^1$
*** Yale: dzāi
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzai
*** Palladius: цзай (czaj)
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡saɪ̯⁵⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: zoi$^1$
*** Yale: jōi
*** Cantonese Pinyin: dzoi$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: zoi$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sɔːi̯⁵⁵/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chai
*** Tâi-lô: tsai
*** Phofsit Daibuun: zay
*** IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sai⁴⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sai³³/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sai⁴⁴/
*** IPA (Taipei): /t͡sai⁴⁴/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sai⁴⁴/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai, Suzhou)
*** Wugniu: $^1$tse
*** MiniDict: tse$^平$
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^1$tse
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡se⁵³/
*** Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /t͡se⁴⁴/
** (Northern: Songjiang)
*** Wugniu: $^5$tsae
*** Sinological IPA (Songjiang): /t͡sɛ³⁵/
* Middle Chinese: tsoj
Rime :
| Character | 哉 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 精 (13) |
| Final (韻) | 咍 (41) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 祖才切 |
| Baxter | tsoj |
| Reconstructions ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡sʌi/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /t͡səi/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡sɒi/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /t͡səj/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡sᴀi/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡sɒi/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /t͡sɑ̆i/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | zāi |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | zoi$^1$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ts]ˤə/
    (Zhengzhang): /*ʔslɯː/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 哉 | 哉 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | zāi | zāi |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsoj › | ‹ tsoj › |
| Old Chinese | /*[ts]ˁə/ | /*[ts]ˁə/ |
| English | begin | (particle) |
| 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 | 哉 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 16490 |
| Phonetic component |  |
| Rime group | 之 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 烖 |
| Old Chinese | /*ʔslɯː/ |

#### Definitions

哉
* (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) grammatical particle indicating emphasis
** sentence-medial particle indicating inverted construction for the emphasis of the predicate
    大哉斯言！ [Classical Chinese] ― Dà zāi sī yán! [Pinyin] ― How great, these words!
    From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
    Zǐlù yuē: “Yǒu shì zāi, zǐ zhī yū yě! Xī qí zhèng?” Zǐyuē: “Yě zāi Yóu yě! Jūnzǐ yú qí suǒbùzhī, gài quèrú yě.” [Pinyin]
    "So! indeed!" said Zilu, "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?" The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Zhongyou! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve."
** sentence-final particle indicating exclamation, emphasis, or strong intention
    From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
    Zǐyuē: “Mò ér zhìzhī, xué ér bùyàn, huìrén bùjuàn, hé yǒuyúwǒ zāi?” [Pinyin]
    The Master said, "The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied - which one of these things belongs to me?"
    From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
    Qīn niàn zāi! Qīn niàn zāi! [Pinyin]
    Be reverent and remember this!
* (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) begin, commence
       From: The Book of Documents, circa 4th – 3rd century BCE
       Wéi sānyuè zāi shēngpò, Zhōugōng chū jī zuò xīndàyì yú dōngguó luò. [Pinyin]
       On the third month, when the moon began to wane, the duke of Zhou commenced the foundations, and proceeded to build the new great city of Lo, of the eastern states.

##### See also

* 兮 (xī)

#### Compounds

* 何哉
* 何足道哉
* 優哉游哉 / 优哉游哉 (yōuzāiyóuzāi)
* 哀哉 (āizāi)
* 哉生明
* 哉生魄
* 唐哉皇哉
* 善哉 (shànzāi)
* 嗚呼哀哉 / 呜呼哀哉 (wūhū'āizāi)
* 得其所哉
* 怪哉 (guàizāi)
* 悠哉 (yōuzāi)
* 悠哉悠哉 (yōuzāiyōuzāi)
* 於呼哀哉 (wūhū'āizāi)
* 郁哉

### Etymology 2

According to Qian (2010), in contemporary Urban Shanghainese, it has become 了 through lenition (/zəʔ/ > /ləʔ/). Full lenition chain 哉 (MC tsoj) > Suzhounese /t͡se/ > Suburban Shanghainese /tæʔ/, while Old urban Shanghainese/ze/ /zəʔ/ > Contemporary urban Shanghainese/ləʔ/(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Pronunciation

* Wu (Northern, Wugniu): $^0$tse / $^0$ze / $^0$zeq / $^0$taeq
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai, Suzhou)
*** Wugniu: $^0$tse
*** MiniDict: tse
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^0$tse
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡se/
*** Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /t͡se/
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^0$ze
*** MiniDict: ze
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^0$ze
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ze/
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^0$zeq
*** MiniDict: zeh
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^0$zeq
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zəʔ/
** (Northern: Songjiang, Chongming)
*** Wugniu: $^0$taeq
*** MiniDict: taeh
*** Sinological IPA (Songjiang): /ɗæʔ/
*** Sinological IPA (Chongming): /tæʔ/

#### Definitions

哉 (Wu)
* (Northern Wu) Sentence-final particle used to indicate the present tense
    From: 1892, 韓邦慶 (Han Bangqing), 《海上花列傳》
    $^5$tan $^7$feq-teq$_7$-tse$_0$ [Wugniu]
    Do not fight!
       From: 1993, Li Rong, 蘇州方言詞典
       $^6$da-ka$_1$ $^2$le-ba$_0$ $^7$chiq-ve$_6$ $^0$tse [Wugniu]
       Everyone come over, let's eat!
       $^6$du-zaq$_8$-ha$_3$ $^2$lae-a$_0$-taeq$_0$ [Wugniu]
       Shanghai hairy crab is coming!

#### Usage notes

* Unlike Standard Chinese, Northern Wu languages can mark for some tenses, like many European languages. This term, therefore, cannot be accurately translated into Standard Chinese. In contemporary Shanghainese, 了 is more common.

### Etymology 3
#### Pronunciation

* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chài
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chài
*** Tâi-lô: tsài
*** Phofsit Daibuun: zaix
*** IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sai²¹/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sai⁴¹/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sai²¹/
*** IPA (Taipei): /t͡sai¹¹/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sai²¹/

#### Definitions

哉
* (Hokkien) Only used in 佳哉.

#### Compounds

* 佳哉
* 好佳哉

## Japanese
### Kanji

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

#### Readings

* Go-on: さい (sai)、せ (se)
* Kan-on: さい (sai)
* Kun: かな (kana, 哉)、や (ya, 哉)、か (ka, 哉)
* Nanori: えい (ei)、き (ki)、すけ (suke)、ちか (chika)、とし (toshi)、はじめ (hajime)

### Etymology 1

* Kanji in this term
* 哉
* さい Jinmeiyō
* on'yomi
From Middle Chinese 哉 (MC tsoj).

#### Affix

哉(さい) • (sai)
* expression of exclamation or excitement

##### Derived terms

* 快(かい)哉(さい) (kaisai)
* 善(ぜん)哉(ざい) (zenzai)

### Etymology 2

* Kanji in this term
* 哉
* かな Jinmeiyō
* kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of 哉 – see the following entry. :
| 【かな】 | [particle] [from early 700s] (Classical Japanese or literary) expresses wonder or postulation on the part of the speaker |
(This term, 哉, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) :

## Korean
### Hanja

哉 (eum 재 (jae))
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

## Vietnamese
### Han character

哉: Hán Nôm readings: tai, tơi
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.