妓

妓 U+5993, 妓 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5993 ← 妒 [U+5992] CJK Unified Ideographs 妔 → [U+5994]

Translingual

Han character

妓 (Kangxi radical 38, 女+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 女十水 (VJE), four-corner 4444₇, composition ⿰女支)

Derived characters

• 𣇠

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 256, character 17
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6083
• Dae Jaweon: page 520, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1029, character 17
• Unihan data for U+5993

Chinese

trad.		妓
simp. #		妓

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 妓
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
支	*kje
枝	*kje
肢	*kje
汥	*kje, *ɡe, *ɡres
衼	*kje
馶	*kje, *qʰjes, *kes, *ɡe
鳷	*kje
忮	*kjes
伎	*kjes, *ɡe, *ɡreʔ
豉	*ɡjes
翅	*qʰjes
翄	*qʰjes, *ɡe
妓	*kre, *ɡreʔ
庋	*kreʔ, *kʷreʔ
跂	*kʰeʔ, *kʰes, *ɡe
蚑	*kʰes, *ɡe
吱	*kʰes
岐	*ɡe
歧	*ɡe
鬾	*ɡre, *ɡres
技	*ɡreʔ
芰	*ɡres
攱	*kʷreʔ, *kʷres
庪	*kʷreʔ
頍	*kʰʷeʔ
屐	*ɡreɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kre, *ɡreʔ) : semantic 女 + phonetic 支 (OC *kje).

Etymology

Attested earliest in Shuowen Jiezi and Wèi-Jìn period's literature (possible pronunciations *kɨe or *gɨeX); a hypohetical OC form would be *kre (Schuessler, 2007).

Apparently loaned from Vietic (ancient 越 (yuè) in southern China). Compare Proto-Vietic *-keːʔ (“woman, female”) (whence Vietnamese cái (“female”) & gái (“girl, female”)), elsewhere in Mon-Khmer, Proto-Waic *krih girl", Proto-North-Bahnaric *kdri: "female". Alternatively, Wang (1982) relates this to 技 (jì, “skill”), yet this may be folk etymology (ibid.).

Schuessler also points to other foreign words which meant "woman, girl" yet referred to women of low social standing in ancient China; e.g. 嬖 (bì), 嬯 (tái) (ibid.).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jì (ji⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gei⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kî
• Northern Min (KCR): gī / gí
• Eastern Min (BUC): gê
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kī / ki

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gi⁶

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵ci

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jì
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jì
    • Wade–Giles: chi⁴
    • Yale: jì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jih
    • Palladius: цзи (czi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gei⁶
    • Yale: geih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gei⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: géi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kei̯²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kî
    • Hakka Romanization System: gi^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gi¹
    • Sinological IPA: /ki²⁴/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gī / gí
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ki⁵⁵/, /ki⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gê
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛi²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kī / ki
    • Tâi-lô: kī / ki
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ki, ky
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ki²²/, /ki⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /ki⁴¹/, /ki³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ki²²/, /ki⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ki³³/, /ki⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ki³³/, /ki⁴⁴/

Note:

• kī - literary;
• ki - vernacular (俗).

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: gi⁶
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kĭ
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ki³⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵ci
    • MiniDict: ci^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²ji
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕi³⁴/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 妓
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡ɕi⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡ɕi⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/t͡ɕi⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡ɕi²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡ɕi³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡ɕi⁴⁴/
	Xining	/t͡ɕji²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/t͡ɕi¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡ɕi¹³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡ɕi³⁵/
	Chengdu	/t͡ɕi¹³/
	Guiyang	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Kunming	/t͡ɕi²¹²/
	Nanjing	/t͡ɕi⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡sz̩⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡ɕi⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡ɕi³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/d͡ʑi²³/
	Suzhou	/d͡ʑi³¹/
	Hangzhou	/d͡ʑi²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/d͡zz̩³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕʰi²²/
	Tunxi	/t͡ɕi⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵/
	Xiangtan	/t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡ɕʰi²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/kʰi⁴⁴/
	Taoyuan	/ki²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kei²²/
	Nanning	/ki²²/
	Hong Kong	/kei²²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/ki²²/ /ki⁵⁵/ 俗
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kɛi²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/ki⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/ki³⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ki³⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: gjeX

Rime
Character	妓
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	群 (30)
Final (韻)	支 (13)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	渠綺切
Baxter	gjeX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɡˠiᴇX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɡᵚiɛX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɡiɛX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/gjiə̆X/
Li Rong	/ɡjeX/
Wang Li	/ɡǐeX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/gie̯X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gei6

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡreʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	妓
Reading #	2/2
No.	17230
Phonetic component	支
Rime group	支
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	技
Old Chinese	/*ɡreʔ/

Definitions

妓

1. (literary) female entertainer; female performer of song and dance
2. prostitute

Synonyms

• (both senses): 娼 (chāng)

Compounds

• 包妓
• 召妓 (zhàojì)
• 名妓 (míngjì)
• 妓人
• 妓女 (jìnǚ)
• 妓嫲
• 妓師／妓师
• 妓弟
• 妓院 (jìyuàn)
• 娼妓 (chāngjì)
• 嫖妓 (piáojì)
• 官妓 (guānjì)
• 家妓
• 歌妓 (gējì)
• 流妓
• 藝妓／艺妓 (yìjì)
• 角妓
• 軍妓／军妓 (jūnjì)
• 雛妓／雏妓 (chújì)

 

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jī (ji¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jī
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ji
    • Wade–Giles: chi¹
    • Yale: jī
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ji
    • Palladius: цзи (czi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: kje

Rime
Character	妓
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	支 (13)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	居宜切
Baxter	kje
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠiᴇ/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚiɛ/
Shao Rongfen	/kiɛ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kjiə̆/
Li Rong	/kje/
Wang Li	/kǐe/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kie̯/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jī
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gei1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*kre/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	妓
Reading #	1/2
No.	17213
Phonetic component	支
Rime group	支
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	羈
Old Chinese	/*kre/

Definitions

妓

1. Used in 妓姕.

Japanese

Kanji

妓

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. geisha; prostitute

Readings

• Go-on: ぎ (gi)
• Kan-on: き (ki)
• Kun: あそびめ (asobime)、こ (ko)、わざおぎ (wazaogi)

Compounds

Compounds

• 愛妓(あいぎ) (aigi)
• 歌妓(かぎ) (kagi)
• 歌舞妓(かぶき) (kabuki)
• 官妓(かんぎ) (kangi)
• 妓生(キーセン) (kīsen), 妓生(ぎせい) (gisei)
• 妓院(ぎいん) (giin)
• 妓家(ぎか) (gika)
• 妓楽(ぎがく) (gigaku)
• 妓館(ぎかん) (gikan)
• 妓女(ぎじょ) (gijo)
• 妓籍(ぎせき) (giseki)
• 妓名(ぎめい) (gimei)
• 妓夫(ぎゅう) (gyū), 妓夫(ぎふ) (gifu)
• 妓楼(ぎろう) (girō)
• 芸妓(げいぎ) (geigi)
• 芸娼妓(げいしょうぎ) (geishōgi)
• 絃妓(げんぎ) (gengi)
• 狎妓(こうぎ) (kōgi)
• 小妓(しょうぎ) (shōgi)
• 娼妓(しょうぎ) (shōgi)
• 新妓(しんこ) (shinko)
• 雛妓(すうぎ) (sūgi)
• 声妓(せいぎ) (seigi)
• 美妓(びぎ) (bigi)
• 舞妓(ぶぎ) (bugi): female dancer
• 舞妓(まいこ) (maiko): dancing girl, particularly a maiko
• 名妓(めいぎ) (meigi)
• 老妓(ろうぎ) (rōgi)

Kanji in this term
妓
ぎ Hyōgai
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 妓 (“female entertainer”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぎ [gíꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡʲi]

Noun

妓(ぎ) • (gi) 

1. female entertainer

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 妓 (MC gjeX). Recorded as Middle Korean 기〯 (kǐ) (Yale: ki) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

妓 (eumhun 기생 기 (gisaeng gi))

1. hanja form^? of 기 (“prostitute”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 묘기 (妙妓, myogi)
• 가기 (歌妓, gagi)
• 명기 (名妓, myeonggi)
• 기생 (妓生, gisaeng)
• 기녀 (妓女, ginyeo)
• 무기 (舞妓, mugi)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

Vietnamese

Han character

妓: Hán Việt readings: kĩ, kỹ
妓: Nôm readings: kĩ, kỹ, đĩ

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

Compounds

• 倡妓 (xướng kĩ)
• 妓女 (kĩ nữ),
• 妓院 (kĩ viện)
• 娼妓 (xướng kĩ)
• 嫖妓 (phiêu kỹ)
• 官妓 (quan kỹ)
• 歌妓 (ca kĩ)
• 營妓 (doanh kĩ)
• 狎妓 (hiệp kĩ)
• 角妓 (giác kĩ)