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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

其

qí
his; her; its; their
  • pictogram
  • HSK 5
  • TOCFL 6
  • radical 八
  • 8 strokes

Etymology graph

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  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
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Origin

In the oracle bone script, it was originally 𠀠, a pictogram (象形) of a basket.

In the bronze inscriptions, 丌 was added under the basket to represent a stand. It may also have acted as a phonetic component. Hence, the modified version was 𠔝. See also the bottom component of 眞.

Later phonetically borrowed for an Old Chinese pronoun. The derivative 箕 (OC *kɯ) refers to the original word.

; third-person possessive pronoun

; modal particle "should; probably"

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

Words built on it: 其他, 其中, 期, 尤其, 其次, 基, 其實

Meanings

character
  1. his; her; its; their
  2. he; she; it; they; one
  3. that; those
  4. among which
  5. probably; perhaps
  6. particle indicating intention; let, shall, will

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 他的、他們的。 例：各得其所、人盡其才、聽其自然
  2. 這個、那樣。表示指示。 例：其中、不厭其煩、查無其事
  3. 豈、難道。 例：欲加之罪，其無辭乎？《左傳．僖公十年》）
  4. 助詞。 例：言念君子，溫其如玉。（《詩經．秦風．小戎》）

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 其 was written 字形演變

  1. 其 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 其 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 其 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 其 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  5. 其 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  6. 其 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 其