其 qí — he/it; his/its · English

其

qí

he/it; his/its

At a glance · 其

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文、金文象竹木编制的簸箕之形，象形，本为「箕」字。后假借为代词、助词。隶楷作「其」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「其」本指簸箕（后作箕），假借为第三人称代词。

Structure

象形字，象箕形；后假借为代词、语气词。

At a glance

Pinyinqí

Radical八

Strokes8

UnicodeU+5176

Character type象形

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English he/it; his/its He, she, it; his, her, its; particle.

Français il/elle; son Il/elle; son/sa; particule.

Español él/ella; su Él/ella; su; partícula.

العربية هو/هي؛ خاص به ضمير «هو/هي» أو أداة.

Русский он/она; его/её Он, она; его, её; частица.

Common words

其他qí tāother
其实qí shíactually

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