吉

See also: 𠮷, 喆, 吿, 告, 古, 舌, and 舎

吉 U+5409, 吉 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5409 ← 合 [U+5408] CJK Unified Ideographs 吊 → [U+540A]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

吉 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 土口 (GR), four-corner 4060₁, composition ⿱士口)

Derived characters

• 佶, 咭, 𡋥, 姞, 㣟, 恄, 拮, 洁, 狤, 桔, 㸵, 祮, 䂒, 硈, 秸, 袺, 結(结), 聐, 蛣, 夡, 詰(诘), 銡(𰽲), 鞊, 鮚(鲒), 黠
• 㐖, 劼, 㓤, 郆, 欯, 翓, 喆, 頡(颉), 鴶(𱉥), 𪜒, 迼, 趌, 䓀, 髻, 𫜖, 㔛, 臺, 嚞, 䦖, 𡕍, 調, 䭇

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 175, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3289
• Dae Jaweon: page 389, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 576, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5409

Chinese

simp. and trad.		吉
alternative forms		𠮷

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 吉
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
秸	*kriːl, *kriːd
髻	*kiːds
夡	*kʰids
鴶	*kriːd
袺	*kriːd, *kiːd
頡	*kriːd, *ɡiːd
劼	*kʰriːd
硈	*kʰriːd
咭	*kʰriːd, *ɡlid, *qʰlid
黠	*ɡriːd
聐	*ŋreːd
趌	*ked, *klid, *kʰid, *ɡrid
結	*kiːd
拮	*kiːd, *klid
桔	*kiːd
狤	*kiːd, *klid, *ɡrid
擷	*qʰiːd, *ɡiːd
襭	*ɡiːd
翓	*ɡiːd
纈	*ɡiːd
吉	*klid
郆	*kid
詰	*kʰid
蛣	*kʰid
佶	*ɡlid, *ɡrid
鮚	*ɡrid
姞	*ɡrid
欯	*qʰlid
恄	*qʰlid

Ideogram (指事) derived from a ritual axe 士 and an open mouth 口, perhaps with a reference to rituals to obtain the gratitude of the ancestors and deities.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-kjit (“happy; pleased”) (STEDT). Also compare Tibetan སྐྱིད་པ (skyid pa, “to be happy”) and Burmese ချစ် (hkyac, “to love, to be pleased”) (Schuessler, 2007, Hill, 2019).

Cantonese sense of “empty” arises from avoidance of 空 (hung¹), which is homophonous to 凶 (hung¹, “inauspicious”).

The Taiwanese Chinese sense of “to sue” arises from avoidance of 告 (gào, “to sue”), which is a typo form of it.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): jí (ji²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ji²

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gat¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): git²

• Gan (Wiktionary): jit⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kit

  (Meixian, Guangdong): gid⁵

• Jin (Wiktionary): jieh⁴
• Northern Min (KCR): gĭ
• Eastern Min (BUC): gék
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kiat / kit

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gig⁴

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁷ciq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ji⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jí
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jí
    • Wade–Giles: chi²
    • Yale: jí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyi
    • Palladius: цзи (czi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ji²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gat¹
    • Yale: gāt
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gat⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: ged¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐt̚⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: git²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kit̚⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: jit⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕit̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kit
    • Hakka Romanization System: gid^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gid⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /kit̚²/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: gid⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /kit̚¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: jieh⁴
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡ɕiəʔ²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gĭ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ki²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gék
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛiʔ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiat
    • Tâi-lô: kiat
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiad
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kiɛt̚³²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /kiɛt̚⁵/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kit
    • Tâi-lô: kit
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kid
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kit̚³²/

Note:

• Xiamen:
  • kiat - vernacular;
  • kit - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: gig⁴
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kik
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kik̚²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou)
    • Wugniu: ⁷ciq
    • MiniDict: cih^入
    • MiniDict: cieh^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴jiq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕiɪʔ⁵⁵/
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /t͡ɕiɪʔ⁴³/
    • Sinological IPA (Hangzhou): /t͡ɕiəʔ⁵⁵/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ji⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi²⁴/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 吉
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡ɕi³⁵/
	Harbin	/t͡ɕi⁴⁴/ /t͡ɕi²⁴/
	Tianjin	/t͡ɕi⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Qingdao	/t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡ɕi²⁴/
	Xi'an	/t͡ɕi²¹/
	Xining	/t͡ɕji⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/t͡ɕi⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡ɕi¹³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Chengdu	/t͡ɕie³¹/ /t͡ɕi³¹/
	Guiyang	/t͡ɕi²¹/
	Kunming	/t͡ɕi³¹/
	Nanjing	/t͡ɕiʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/t͡ɕiəʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡ɕiəʔ²/
	Pingyao	/t͡ɕiʌʔ¹³/
	Hohhot	/t͡ɕiəʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/t͡ɕiɪʔ⁵/
	Suzhou	/t͡ɕiəʔ⁵/
	Hangzhou	/t͡ɕiəʔ⁵/
	Wenzhou	/t͡ɕai²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕiʔ²¹/
	Tunxi	/t͡ɕi⁵/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡ɕi²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/t͡ɕi²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡ɕiʔ⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/kit̚¹/
	Taoyuan	/kit̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kɐt̚⁵/
	Nanning	/kɐt̚⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/kɐt̚⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/kit̚³²/ /kiat̚³²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kɛiʔ²³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/ki²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/kik̚²/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/kit̚⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: kjit

Rime
Character	吉
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	質 (48)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	居質切
Baxter	kjit
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kiɪt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/kit̚/
Shao Rongfen	/kjet̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kit̚/
Li Rong	/kiĕt̚/
Wang Li	/kĭĕt̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ki̯ĕt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	ji
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gat1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*C.qi[t]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*klid/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	吉
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jí
Middle Chinese	‹ kjit ›
Old Chinese	/*C.qi[t]/ (*C.q- > *k-, escaping palatalization)
English	auspicious
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	吉
Reading #	1/1
No.	5692
Phonetic component	吉
Rime group	質
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	吉
Old Chinese	/*klid/
Notes	甲文象供品在口表神佑吉利

Definitions

吉

1. auspicious; lucky

   Antonym: 凶 (xiōng)

   吉利  ―  jílì  ―  auspicious; lucky

2. good
3. (Cantonese, euphemistic) empty

   橫掂有間房吉咗喺度，不如租畀人住啊。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   横掂有间房吉咗喺度，不如租畀人住啊。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   waang⁴ dim⁶ jau⁵ gaan¹ fong^4-2 gat¹ zo² hai² dou⁶, bat¹ jyu⁴ zou¹ bei² jan⁴ zyu⁶ aa¹. [Jyutping]

   Since there's an empty room, why don't we rent it out?

   交吉卷 [Cantonese]  ―  gaau¹ gat¹ gyun² [Jyutping]  ―  Hand out an unanswered (empty) exam paper

   吉屋 [Cantonese]  ―  gat¹ uk¹ [Jyutping]  ―  unoccupied house

   吉舖／吉铺 [Cantonese]  ―  gat¹ pou³ [Jyutping]  ―  vacant shop

   請問呢個位係咪吉㗎？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   请问呢个位系咪吉㗎？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   ceng² man⁶ ne¹ go³ wai⁶ hai⁶ mai⁶ gat¹ gaa³? [Jyutping]

   Is anyone sitting here?

4. (Cantonese, euphemistic) emptiness; nothingness

   勞碌一生得個吉 [Cantonese, trad.]
   劳碌一生得个吉 [Cantonese, simp.]

   lou⁴ luk¹ jat¹ sang¹ dak¹ go³ gat¹ [Jyutping]

   A lifetime of labor amounts to nothing

5. (Taiwan, Internet slang) to accuse; to sue; to file a lawsuit; to press charges

   這我一定吉／这我一定吉  ―  zhè wǒ yīdìng jí  ―  I will definitely sue for this

   • 再說認證是假的就吉你 [MSC, trad.]
     再说认证是假的就吉你 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 臺灣臺北地方法院 108 年訴字第 5610 號民事判決

     zàishuō rènzhèng shì jiǎ de jiù jí nǐ [Pinyin]

     I will sue you if you said the certification is fake again.

   • 昨天造謠吳宗憲是陳菊人馬的要被吉了 [MSC, trad.]
     昨天造谣吴宗宪是陈菊人马的要被吉了 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 臺灣花蓮地方法院 108 年花秩字第 29 號刑事裁定

     zuótiān zàoyáo Wúzōngxiàn shì Chénjú rénmǎ de yào bèi jí le [Pinyin]

     The one who rumoured that Jacky Wu is Chen Chu's staff is now sued.

6. Used in transcription.

   吉林  ―  Jílín  ―  Jilin (from Manchu gilin)

   吉爾吉斯／吉尔吉斯  ―  Jí'ěrjísī  ―  Kyrgyzstan

   吉布地  ―  Jíbùdì  ―  Djibouti

   吉隆坡  ―  Jílóngpō  ―  Kuala Lumpur

   吉爾福德／吉尔福德  ―  Jí'ěrfúdé  ―  Guildford

   姆布吉馬伊／姆布吉马伊  ―  Mǔbùjí Mǎyī  ―  Mbuji-Mayi

   1. Short for 吉林 (Jílín, “Jilin Province”).
7. a surname
8. (～縣) Ji County (a county of Linfen, Shanxi, China)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 空 (“empty; void”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		空
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	空
	Taiwan	空
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	空
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	空
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	空
	Wuhan	空
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	空
	Hefei	空
Cantonese	Guangzhou	空, 吉
	Hong Kong	空, 吉
	Taishan	空
	Yangjiang	空
Gan	Nanchang	空
Hakka	Meixian	空
Jin	Taiyuan	空
Northern Min	Jian'ou	空
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	空
Southern Min	Xiamen	空
	Quanzhou	空
	Zhangzhou	空
	Tainan	空
	Chaozhou	空
	Jieyang	空
Wu	Suzhou	空
	Wenzhou	空
Xiang	Changsha	空
	Shuangfeng	空

Descendants

• → English: Ji

Compounds

• 不吉 (bùjí)
• 丙吉問牛／丙吉问牛
• 尹吉甫
• 乞拉朋吉
• 交吉
• 凶多吉少 (xiōngduōjíshǎo)
• 初吉
• 努隆吉 (nǔlóngjí)
• 卜吉
• 即吉
• 吉丁
• 吉丁當／吉丁当
• 吉丁疙疸
• 吉丟古堆／吉丢古堆
• 吉亞／吉亚 (Jíyà)
• 吉人
• 吉人天相 (jíréntiānxiàng)
• 吉仁 (Jírén)
• 吉他 (jítā)
• 吉備真備／吉备真备
• 吉兆 (jízhào)
• 吉光片羽 (jíguāngpiànyǔ)
• 吉凶 (jíxiōng)
• 吉凶悔吝
• 吉凶慶弔／吉凶庆吊
• 吉凶未卜
• 吉利 (jílì)
• 吉利話／吉利话
• 吉劇／吉剧
• 吉包
• 吉卜賽人／吉卜赛人 (jíbǔsàirén)
• 吉卜齡／吉卜龄
• 吉占
• 吉吉枓枓
• 吉呷 (Jígā)
• 吉問／吉问
• 吉器
• 吉地
• 吉士 (jíshì)
• 吉夕
• 吉娃娃 (jíwáwa)
• 吉安 (Jí'ān)
• 吉屋 (jíwū)
• 吉川英治
• 吉州窯／吉州窑
• 吉布地 (Jíbùdì)
• 吉帖
• 吉席
• 吉慶／吉庆 (jíqìng)
• 吉慶無虞／吉庆无虞
• 吉日 (jírì)
• 吉日良辰
• 吉旦 (jídàn)
• 吉星文
• 吉星高照
• 吉時／吉时
• 吉普女郎
• 吉普賽／吉普赛 (Jípǔsài)
• 吉普車／吉普车 (jípǔchē)
• 吉月
• 吉服
• 吉朋
• 吉期 (jíqī)
• 吉林 (Jílín)
• 吉格代加依 (Jígédàijiāyī)
• 吉水 (Jíshuǐ)
• 吉爾吉斯／吉尔吉斯 (Jí'ěrjísī)
• 吉爾庫克／吉尔库克
• 吉特巴
• 吉玎玎
• 吉田松陰／吉田松阴
• 吉田茂
• 吉祥 (jíxiáng)
• 吉祥如意 (jíxiángrúyì)
• 吉祥止止
• 吉祥物 (jíxiángwù)
• 吉禮／吉礼 (jílǐ)
• 吉羊 (jíxiáng)
• 吉蔑 (Jímiè)
• 吉藏
• 吉言 (jíyán)
• 吉貝／吉贝 (jíbèi)
• 吉賽爾／吉赛尔
• 吉辛
• 吉達／吉达 (Jídá)
• 吉里巴斯 (Jílǐbāsī)
• 吉金
• 吉金文
• 吉隆坡 (Jílóngpō)
• 吉魯巴／吉鲁巴 (jílǔbā)
• 吉鹽／吉盐
• 喬吉／乔吉
• 喜鵲叫吉／喜鹊叫吉
• 塔吉克 (Tǎjíkè)
• 塔吉克族 (Tǎjíkèzú)
• 多凶少吉
• 夢蘭叶吉／梦兰叶吉
• 大吉 (dàjí)
• 天相吉人
• 巴什吉爾／巴什吉尔
• 布拉吉 (bùlāji)
• 帕息吉
• 延吉縣／延吉县
• 得個吉／得个吉
• 從吉／从吉
• 成吉思汗 (Chéngjísīhán)
• 擇吉／择吉 (zéjí)
• 易元吉
• 春風藹吉／春风蔼吉
• 月吉
• 有吉
• 木吉 (Mùjí)
• 東吉／东吉 (Dōngjí)
• 柏吉烏斯／柏吉乌斯
• 歐吉桑／欧吉桑 (ōujísāng)
• 永吉 (Yǒngjí)
• 涓吉
• 混吉
• 潭祉叶吉
• 王吉
• 班迭棉吉 (Bāndié Miánjí)
• 福吉
• 秦吉了 (qínjíliǎo)
• 納吉／纳吉 (Nàjí)
• 維吉尼亞／维吉尼亚 (Wéijíníyà)
• 羅鉗吉網／罗钳吉网
• 良辰吉日 (liángchénjírì)
• 英吉沙 (Yīngjíshā)
• 薩利吉勒干南庫勒／萨利吉勒干南库勒 (Sàlìjílègānnánkùlè)
• 襲吉／袭吉
• 諏吉／诹吉
• 豐臣秀吉／丰臣秀吉
• 趨吉避凶 (qūjíbìxiōng)
• 逢凶化吉 (féngxiōnghuàjí)
• 避凶就吉
• 避凶趨吉
• 邱吉爾／邱吉尔 (Qiūjí'ěr)
• 鄭吉／郑吉
• 電吉他／电吉他 (diànjítā)
• 黃道吉日／黄道吉日 (huángdàojírì)

 

References

• “吉”, 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

吉

(Jōyō kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: きち (kichi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: きつ (kitsu, Jōyō)
• Kun: よい (yoi, 吉い)、よし (yoshi, 吉し)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
吉
きち Grade: S
on'yomi

Alternative forms

• 吉(きつ) (kitsu)

Noun

吉(きち) • (kichi) 

1. good luck

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
吉
きつ Grade: S
on'yomi

Noun

吉(きつ) • (kitsu) 

1. Alternative form of 吉 (kichi, “good luck”)

Korean

Hanja

吉 (eumhun 길할 길 (gilhal gil))

1. hanja form^? of 길 (“luck”)

Vietnamese

Han character

吉: Hán Việt readings: cát
吉: Nôm readings: kiết

1. chữ Hán form of cát (“auspicious, lucky”).