東西

See also: 东西

Chinese

east west
trad. (東西) 東 西
simp. (东西) 东 西

Etymology

"thing; stuff"

Unknown. Many theories exist. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “needs a summary”)

Pronunciation 1



Rime
Character 東 西
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Initial (聲) 端 (5) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 東 (1) 齊 (39)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open
Division (等) I IV
Fanqie 德紅切 先稽切
Baxter tuwng sej
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/tuŋ/ /sei/
Pan
Wuyun
/tuŋ/ /sei/
Shao
Rongfen
/tuŋ/ /sɛi/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/təwŋ/ /sɛj/
Li
Rong
/tuŋ/ /sei/
Wang
Li
/tuŋ/ /siei/
Bernard
Karlgren
/tuŋ/ /siei/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
dōng xī
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
dung1 sai1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 東 西
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
dōng xī
Middle
Chinese
‹ tuwng › ‹ sej ›
Old
Chinese
/*tˁoŋ/ (< *tˁoŋʔ ?) /*s-nˁər/
English east west

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 東 西
Reading # 1/1 1/1
No. 2435 13236
Phonetic
component
東 西
Rime
group
東 微
Rime
subdivision
0 1
Corresponding
MC rime
東 西
Old
Chinese
/*toːŋ/ /*sɯːl/
Notes 種(種籽)初文,甲金文象種皮甲坼萌生根芽,
參敕字陳字注

Noun

東西

  1. east and west
  2. nearby; vicinity
  3. everywhere
  4. (literary) seventy to eighty years old

Adverb

東西

  1. from east to west

Derived terms

See also

Pronunciation 2


Note:
  • dōngxi - standard in China;
  • dōngxī - common in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South China.

Noun

東西

  1. (chiefly Mandarin, Gan, Hakka, Jin, Xiang) thing; stuff; something (Classifier: 個/个; 件; 樣/样)
    我有東西要給你。 [MSC, trad.]
    我有东西要给你。 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ yǒu dōngxi yào gěi nǐ. [Pinyin]
    I have something for you.
    把我的東西還給我。 [MSC, trad.]
    把我的东西还给我。 [MSC, simp.]
    Bǎ wǒ de dōngxi huán gěi wǒ. [Pinyin]
    Give my stuff back.
    我還有很多東西要學。 [MSC, trad.]
    我还有很多东西要学。 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ hái yǒu hěn duō dōngxi yào xué. [Pinyin]
    I still have a lot to learn.
    不存在的東西,我怎麼能夠看得到? [MSC, trad.]
    不存在的东西,我怎么能够看得到? [MSC, simp.]
    Bù cúnzài de dōngxi, wǒ zěnme nénggòu kàn de dào? [Pinyin]
    How can I see that which does not exist?
  2. Referring to a person or animal with emotion.
    你不是個東西!/你不是个东西!  ―  Nǐ bùshì ge dōngxī!  ―  You're good for nothing!
Usage notes
  • In Mandarin, whilst 東西/东西 can mean a thing in either a physical or abstract sense, 事情 (shìqing) only means a thing in an abstract sense.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → White Hmong: toobxib

Japanese

Kanji in this term
東 西
とう
Grade: 2
さい > ざい
Grade: 2
on’yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 東西 (MC tuwng sej). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?) The sai of 西 changes to zai due to

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rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

    Noun

    東(とう)西(ざい) • (tōzai) 

    1. east and west
    2. (by extension) all over, here and there
    3. Orient and Occident
    4. (slang) a name of a good or money, originally a Chinese slang term

    Derived terms

    Interjection

    東(とう)西(ざい) • (tōzai) 

    1. Synonym of 東西東西 (“your attention please; hear ye”)

    References

    1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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