哉

哉 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十戈口 (JIR), four-corner 4365₀, composition ⿹𢦏口)

• KangXi: 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

Historical forms of the character 哉
Spring and Autumn
Bronze inscriptions

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ʔslɯː) : semantic 口 + phonetic 𢦏 (OC *ʔslɯː).

哉

1. ^† grammatical particle indicating emphasis
   1. 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!

      • 子路曰：「有是哉，子之迂也！奚其正？」子曰：「野哉由也！君子於其所不知，蓋闕如也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        子路曰：“有是哉，子之迂也！奚其正？”子曰：“野哉由也！君子于其所不知，盖阙如也。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        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."

   2. sentence-final particle indicating exclamation, emphasis, or strong intention

      • 子曰：「默而識之，學而不厭，誨人不倦，何有於我哉？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        子曰：“默而识之，学而不厌，诲人不倦，何有于我哉？” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        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?"

      • 欽念哉！欽念哉！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        钦念哉！钦念哉！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        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!

• 兮 (xī)

According to Qian (2010), in contemporary Shanghainese, it has become 了 through lenition (/zəʔ/ > /ləʔ/). Compare 浪: /zɑ̃¹¹³/ > /lɑ̃¹¹³/. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

哉 (Wu)

1. (Northern Wu) Sentence-final particle used to indicate the present tense

   • 打勿得哉！ [Shanghainese, trad. and simp.]

     From: 1892, 韓邦慶 (Han Bangqing), 《海上花列傳》

     [tã³³ v̥əʔ⁵⁵ təʔ³³  t͡se̞] [IPA]

     Do not fight!

   大家來吧，吃飯哉！ [Suzhounese, trad.]
   大家来吧，吃饭哉！ [Suzhounese, simp.]

   From: 1993, Li Rong, 蘇州方言詞典

   Everyone come over, let's eat!

• 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.

哉

1. (Min Nan) Only used in 佳哉.

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

• 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)

From Middle Chinese 哉 (MC t͡sʌi).

哉(さい) • (sai) 

1. expression of exclamation or excitement

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

哉 (eum 재 (jae))

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

哉: Hán Nôm readings: tai, tơi

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