xī
exclamatory particle
Origin unclear. Likely depicts two lines of air (八) blowing through branches (丂), indicating the sound of wind. Possibly similar in origin to 乎.
Components
Evolution

Oracle script
(~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze script
Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)Regular script
ModernMost common words with 兮
Freq. | Word | Meaning |
---|---|---|
(particle in old Chinese similar to 啊) | ||
(particle used to exaggerate certain adjectives, in particular 神經兮兮|神经兮兮, 髒兮兮|脏兮兮, 可憐兮兮|可怜兮兮, and 慘兮兮|惨兮兮) | ||
dirty |
Component uses
Meaning component in 1 character (1 verified)
Sound component in 1 character (0 verified)
Unknown component in 1 character (1 verified)
Sources
季旭昇《說文新證》p.392